Copyright Commerce and Culture

Although China seems to be working to eliminate mass sales of pirated goods, especially counterfeit DVDs, this regulation seems to be rather inconsistent across regions.

As a follow up to my blog about potential lawsuits from high-end designers against fast fashion stores, like Zara and Forever 21, it seems as though J. Crew is now being sued over a print design. However, the author rightfully points out that Wilkinson is not suing over the leopard print, per se, because no one has IP rights to that.

"The internet titan was found guilty of infringing a patent related to the Linux kernel and fined " "The software is used by Google for its server platforms and could also extend to its Android mobile platform.The kernel is at the core of the open-source operating system meaning this verdict could be far-reaching" "The implication here is really that there is a huge number of Linux users who will be required to pay royalties if this patent holder knocks on their doors in the US. This is definitely a major impediment to the growth of Linux and makes companies, including Google, that rely on open source code particularly vulnerable to patent threats.

"A federal appeals court upheld a ruling that EchoStar infringed TiVo patents for digital recording technology, raising hopes the long legal battle could end with a TiVo victory."

"Samsung chose to copy Apple's technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products," Apple said. "The copying is so pervasive that the Samsung Galaxy products appear to be actual Apple products."

More Righthaven trolling.

McLeod's full article in THE ATLANTIC.  Amazing, great stuff about sampling.

In contrast to an article I posted on February 14th, it seems as though Madonna has finally come around and noted that Gaga's new single, "Born This Way," sounds like her original music. This change of perspective is surprising.