Copyright Part 2: Enforcement and Balances: Difference between revisions

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{{ClassCalendar}}
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'''March 12'''
'''March 4'''


Digital technologies spawned the proliferation of sharing of media and music, which has led to a number of controversial legal and technological strategies for control and copyright enforcement. “Controversial” may be putting it lightly; the ongoing fight between copyright owners and Internet evangelists is one of the most popularly debated fights surrounding Internet control.
Digital technologies spawned the proliferation of sharing of media and music, which has led to a number of controversial legal and technological strategies for control and copyright enforcement. “Controversial” may be putting it lightly; the ongoing fight between copyright owners and Internet evangelists is one of the most popularly debated fights surrounding Internet control.


This class focuses on how copyright is enforced online, with particular emphasis on the "notice-and-takedown" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), which allow Internet service providers to limit their liability for the copyright infringements of their users if the ISPs expeditiously remove material in response to complaints from copyright owners. The class will also look to the now-famous fight concerning SOPA and PIPA, and other attempts to more strictly regulate against online piracy.
This class focuses on how copyright is enforced online, with particular emphasis on the "notice-and-takedown" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), which allow Internet service providers to limit their liability for the copyright infringements of their users if the ISPs expeditiously remove material in response to complaints from copyright owners. The class will also look to the now-famous fight concerning SOPA and PIPA, and other attempts to more strictly regulate against online piracy.
Joining us will be [http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/aholland Adam Holland], who works here at Berkman on the [https://www.chillingeffects.org/ Chilling Effects] project.
== Assignments ==
The second half of assignment 2 (commenting on prospectuses) is due ''before class'' today. Information on the assignment can be found [[Assignments#Assignment_2:_Prospectus|here]].


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== Readings/Watchings ==
== Readings/Watchings ==
; The DMCA Notice-And-Takedown Process


* Digital Media Law Project, [http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/copyright-claims-based-user-content Claims Based on User Content] and [http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/protecting-yourself-against-copyright-claims-based-user-content Protecting Yourself Against Copyright Claims Based on User Content]
* Digital Media Law Project, [http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/copyright-claims-based-user-content Claims Based on User Content] and [http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/protecting-yourself-against-copyright-claims-based-user-content Protecting Yourself Against Copyright Claims Based on User Content]
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* [http://paidcontent.org/2013/02/24/how-google-did-the-right-thing-with-the-nascar-crash-video-and-why-it-matters/ Matthew Ingram, Paid Content, How Google did the right thing with the NASCAR crash video, and why it matters]
* [http://paidcontent.org/2013/02/24/how-google-did-the-right-thing-with-the-nascar-crash-video-and-why-it-matters/ Matthew Ingram, Paid Content, How Google did the right thing with the NASCAR crash video, and why it matters]
; Case Study - SOPA/PIPA
* [http://futureoftheinternet.org/reading-sopa Jonathan Zittrain, Kendra Albert, and Alicia Solow-Niederman, A Close Look at SOPA]
* [http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2012/01/15/mit-media-lab-opposes-sopa-pipa/ Ethan Zuckerman and Joi Ito, MIT Media Lab Opposes SOPA, PIPA]
; The big picture
* [http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-traffic-drops-in-america-grows-in-europe-131111/ Ernesto Van Der Sar, BitTorrent Traffic Drops in America, Grows in Europe]


* [https://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20120405/11221818390/perspective-complexities-copyright-creativity-victim-infringement.shtml Erin McKeown, A Perspective On the Complexities of Copyright and Creativity from a Victim of Infringement]
* [https://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20120405/11221818390/perspective-complexities-copyright-creativity-victim-infringement.shtml Erin McKeown, A Perspective On the Complexities of Copyright and Creativity from a Victim of Infringement]


'''Case Study: SOPA/PIPA'''
== Optional Readings ==
:* [http://futureoftheinternet.org/reading-sopa Jonathan Zittrain, Kendra Albert, and Alicia Solow-Niederman, A Close Look at SOPA]
 
:* [http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2012/01/15/mit-media-lab-opposes-sopa-pipa/ Ethan Zuckerman and Joi Ito, MIT Media Lab Opposes SOPA, PIPA]
; Case Study - ISP "Six Strikes
 
* [http://www.onthemedia.org/2013/feb/01/copyright-alert-system-and-six-strikes/ Brooke Gladstone, Interview with Jill Lesser of Center for Copyright Information (''On The Media'')]


'''Case Study: ISP "Six Strikes"'''
* [http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2013/02/25/the-6-likely-impact-of-six-strikes/ Jonathan Bailey, Plagiarism Today, The 6 Likely Impact of Six Strikes]
:* [http://www.onthemedia.org/2013/feb/01/copyright-alert-system-and-six-strikes/ Brooke Gladstone, On The Media, Interview with Jill Lesser of Center for Copyright Information]
:* [http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2013/02/25/the-6-likely-impact-of-six-strikes/ Jonathan Bailey, Plagiarism Today, The 6 Likely Impact of Six Strikes]


== Optional Readings ==
; Case Study - Operation In Our Sites


* [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1835604 Andy Sellars, Seized Sites: The In Rem Forfeiture of Copyright-Infringing Domain Names]
* [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1835604 Andy Sellars, Seized Sites: The In Rem Forfeiture of Copyright-Infringing Domain Names]
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== Links ==
== Links ==
* DMCA "safeharbor" statutory text, [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/512 17 USC § 512] (cornell LII)
* [http://www.youtube.com/yt/copyright/copyright-complaint.html YouTube's Copyright Notification Policy]
* [http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2014/02/26/12-57302%20web%20revised.pdf Garcia v. Google], DC 2:12-cv-083115-MWF-VBK (9th Cir. Feb 2014)
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Records,_Inc._v._Thomas-Rasset Capitol Records v. Jammie Thomas-Rasset] (wikipedia)
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_v._Tenenbaum Sony BMG v. Tenenbaum] (wikipedia)
* Berkman Center publication, [http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/media/uploads/81/iTunesWhitePaper0604.pdf "iTunes - how copyright, contract, and technology shape the business of digital media - a case study,"] (2004)
* Andy's paper on in-rem actions, [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1835604 "Seized Sites: The In-rem Forfeiture of Copyright Infringing Domain Names,"] (2011) (SSRN)
== Class Discussion ==
<div style="background-color:#CCCCCC;">Please remember to sign your postings by adding four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) to the end of your contribution.  This will automatically add your username and the date/time of your post, like so: [[User:Andy|Andy]] 15:12, 7 November 2013 (EST)</div>
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===Links From Adobe Connect Session===
With so much copyrighted material out in cyberspace it is helpful to have provisions like the DMCA takedown and notice provisions to help combat copyright infringement.  I think it is a reasonable approach to helping prevent abuses of copyright.  On the other hand, instances like the Akon takedown do appear to fall into abuse of the DMCA.  Nevertheless, I would argue that the DMCA actually worked in that instance because the material was taken down, but appealed and re-posted.  However, if the political satirist in the Akon incident did not have legal counsel, the takedown probably would have remained.  So there, I think is a flaw in the system, in that, companies with large pockets, and legal teams may be able to enforce their own form of censorship.  With the proliferation of user generated content like blogs, with bloggers commentating and re-mixing copyrighted content, what constitutes infringement is more difficult to see.  The good thing is that for the most part DMCA does not impose any prior restraint on expression.  Posters are allowed to post without restraint, and for the most part they are not liable as long as the material in question is taken down quickly (as least I think that last part is true?).
WIPO: http://www.wipo.int/about-wipo/en/
The class readings about chilling effects dig deeper into the problems that cease and desist letters, and DMCA takedowns have for expression on the Internet.  The Chilling Effects website talks about the harm that these C&D letters can have on expression.  Internet bloggers, satirists, and others may takedown their content on their own, causing a sort of self censorship for fear of prosecution from powerful adversaries.
SOPA, and PIPPA also would have caused a chilling effect, and probably out and out prior restraint on many users expression on the Internet. I think that a robust activist element from groups like the Berkman Center(shameless plug lol), the EFF, and Chilling Effects, help Internet users to know when new laws are being introduced to curb expression, and even help represent users who have had their material wrongfully censored or removed from the Internet. Yet, it concerns me a little bit that without such advocacy groups the little guys on the Internet would be at an even bigger disadvantage to the bigger fish on the internet.  
One question I have was about the Bit torrent article, I didn't understand the importance of Bit torrents decline in use in the US. Was it that the decline might signify that users are avoiding bit torrent for some reason? Also, I saw that bit torrent and youtube, and netflix use disproportionate  amounts of space on the system. Is this sustainable? Is it fair that a few applications and companies use up so much of the space? Does that cause harm, or take from other uses that the space could be used for? I'm not really sure how that "space" works. Is it unlimited?[[User:Mikewitwicki|Mikewitwicki]] 08:13, 4 March 2014 (EST)


More on WIPO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Intellectual_Property_Organization


More on the DMCA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act
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Google frequently changes their algorithms: http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/25/technology/gaming_google/index.htm
I can't wait to hear the information in this lecture pertaining to copyrighted material. I am often amazed at the sheer magnitude of the task of enforcing rights to certain types of media, particularly with the precipitous expansion of the internet. Recently a friend of mine directed me to the website letmewatchthis.ch, where you can stream movies that are currently in theaters. Many of the movies seem to be marked "for awards consideration only" which would indicate that professionals in the industry are leaking this media to the internet. As more and more people around the world gain access to the internet (I read somewhere that 8 new people a second gain access to the internet), how will copyright enforcement agencies be able to keep up? Also, it seems to me that it will require the commitment of those responsible for the content (such as those professionals in the film industry leaking content) and that buy-in does not seem to be widely taking place. [[User:Drogowski|Drogowski]] 14:35, 4 March 2014 (EST)


A (not entirely impartial) analysis of the dajaz1 case: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111208/08225217010/breaking-news-feds-falsely-censor-popular-blog-over-year-deny-all-due-process-hide-all-details.shtml


Counter notice form on Chilling Effects: http://www.chillingeffects.org/dmca/counter512.pdf


The Baby Dancing to Prince Story: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/home-video-prince/story?id=3777651
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Sociological research on user understanding of copyright - http://alexleavitt.com/nocopyrightintended/
Yet again, related to an earlier class, but another interesting write-up was just published on The Verge: [http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/25/5431382/the-internet-is-fucked The Internet Is Fucked (but we can fix it)] --[[User:Seifip|Seifip]] 19:05, 26 February 2014 (EST)


Low-Orbit Ion Cannon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Orbit_Ion_Cannon
:Could you try to fix it by the end of the semester and outline the rectification in your final research project please? I'm certain we would all appreciate your efforts (smile).
--[[User:Melissaluke|Melissaluke]] 13:57, 4 March 2014 (EST)


Molly Sauter's Lunch Talk: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2013/01/sauter


A site that tracks some of the real-time cyber attacks around the world: http://map.honeycloud.net/
Ditto, not related to Copyright, but the theme of the class in general, politics & control of the Internet. The Quebec government started [http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/02/26/quebecs_language_watchdog_targets_stores_use_of_english_on_facebook.html fining businesses] for not writing in French on their Facebook pages. I've never understood why Canada has such a stereotype of being 'nice'. [[User:Deluxegourmet|Erin Saucke-Lacelle]] 23:37, 26 February 2014 (EST)


Neil Gaiman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman
:Erin, thanks for sharing this. Seems like a really interesting example of the ways in which the Internet and digital technologies are a new place for old and ongoing debates to play out. With so much of our lives now taking place online, it makes sense that concerns about language, heritage, and culture have to be grappled with anew. I wonder if some of the push-back from business owners-- like the one in this article who says "Facebook has nothing to do with Quebec"-- stems from the idea that the Internet is a malleable and border-less place and confusion over what laws govern speech on a global forum run by a US-based company. And yes, I have heard some Quebecois friends get a little less than "nice" when it comes to discussing their francophone heritage... [[User:Jkelly|Jkelly]] 15:16, 2 March 2014 (EST)


Thrift Shop Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes
::Wow! That's crazy. Do you know what justification they have (or are using) to fine the businesses? Is it a case like the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against disabilities by such measures as requiring all public establishments to follow building codes to ensure disabled individuals are accommodated? By this I mean, is Quebec doing this so that French-speaking people are not excluded?[[User:Castille|Castille]] 15:51, 3 March 2014 (EST)


Article on the UStream issue: http://io9.com/5940036/how-copyright-enforcement-robots-killed-the-hugo-awards
Hi [[User:Castille|Castille]] I have a hard time discussing this without letting it get personal, because I've faced off with Language Police, was beaten up as a kid in Quebec for being Anglophone (I was born in USA), and grew up following Quebec's laws which are at odds with the UN's Charter of Human rights (once again, WHY do Americans steriotype Canada as 'nice'??!!). So now, hearing that the Language Police are trying to control Facebook, which is an ''American'' company, I just get so mad.
Side-note: My own mother just received a letter from another Quebec Gov't agency, stating that she must delete any comments from users/customers on her company's Facebook page. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_of_the_French_Language Here is a link] to the laws in question, in case anyone is interested [[User:Deluxegourmet|Erin Saucke-Lacelle]] 12:32, 4 March 2014 (EST)


Copyright on Federal Government Works 17 USC 105: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/105
:Thanks for the link Erin! I am surprised Wikipedia hasn’t received a notice to re-write the Charter of the French language under Loi 101…in French (smile).  Quebec had no official language prior to 1974, and it makes a person ponder what Camille Laurin’s intent was to propose such a ridiculous idea. If the government is so fond of the language, why not impose regulation on the import/export business? All commodities created by any business residing in Quebec could be written in French.  A great majority of the world would have no idea if they had purchased crude oil or a tank of CoolAid ,and we could all guess what type of prescriptions we are purchasing from them on line. If they tightened the controls a little more, and enforced all imports to be written in French, we could slowly watch Quebec become non-existent. We could read about Quebec in our history books just like the Mayan. Brilliant idea!
--[[User:Melissaluke|Melissaluke]] 13:50, 4 March 2014 (EST)


Retraction Watch: https://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/
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Retraction Watch's comments on what happened: https://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/anil-potti-posts-restored-to-retraction-watch-following-false-dmca-claim/
The highly controversial Section 512 of the DMCA, 17 U.S.C. § 512 provides a “safety zone”, where online service providers could operate shielded from liability charges on account of copyright infringement. Service providers function by allowing people to modify, post, and search content on their servers. By hosting foreign content that is not generated by the OSP or ISP, they were placing themselves into position of being held liable on infringement charges. This changed in 1998, because as long as roughly three essential steps were taken, an OSP could take advantage of the “safe-harbor” clause.  One of those steps is the “expeditious” removal of infringing content. On the other side, the alleged offender can send a counter-notice disputing the copyright holders claim. This might seem in favor of the public domain with an anti-copyright agenda, but it does not diminish the copyright holders privileges in any way. This provision also allows the first step of prosecution in the form of takedown notices. While these measures are beneficial for the public good and provide a degree of protection, they seem utterly inefficient in situations like Erin McKeown experienced. In an attempt to control infringers and pirates, the ICE has engaged in domain seizures, which resulted in tens of thousands of innocent websites being shut down. [[User:Emmanuelsurillo|Emmanuelsurillo]] 22:26, 1 March 2014 (EST)


== Class Discussion ==
The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Takedown Hall of Shame has excellent examples of cease and desist letter offenders, even citing unusual claims such as one over the copyright privileges of a monkey’s photos! That is where major companies should take and follow Google’s example of standing up for users rights. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), MIT points out that to stop pirating has many dangerous side effects including but not limited to being unconstitutional in violating certain aspects of free speech. [[User:Emmanuelsurillo|Emmanuelsurillo]] 00:06, 3 March 2014 (EST)
<div style="background-color:#CCCCCC;">'''Please remember to sign your postings by adding four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) to the end of your contribution.  This will automatically add your username and the date/time of your post, like so: [[User:Asellars|Asellars]] 15:29, 21 January 2013 (EST)'''</div>
 
 
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I was unable to find out anything about how many actions have been taken under the Copyright Alert System.  Are there any known statistics on how many of these notices have been sent out or how many consumers have been affected? (whether centrally managed, or done by a third-party watchdog like EFF?)
[[User:Jradoff|Jradoff]] 13:48, 3 March 2014 (EST)
 
: [http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/199124-six-strikes-thwarting-piracy-leader-says The Hill] reported that an annual report should be expected soon on Six Strikes. (It just passed its first anniversary since implementation.) We're still waiting to see if that will have a level of analysis like this. [[User:Andy|Andy]] 10:26, 4 March 2014 (EST)
 
 
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I'm in a creative industry where intellectual property is important (software / online games).  Yet I think that criminalization of intellectual property violations is ridiculous.
 
I called all my U.S. senators and representatives back when SOPA/PIPA was in the legislative process--I found it highly offensive. It seems absurd to me that someone would be placed in jail for copyright infringement, or that we are making agencies of the U.S. government an arm of private industry by using them to enforce this (not to mention giving government broad control over shutting down content that some moneyed interest finds objectionable).


Google's decision concerning the horrific video posted in Matthew Ingram', Paid Content, How Google did the right thing with the NASCAR crash video, and why it matters, raises an interesting question. Google has now assumed the role of immediate arbiter in terms of determining what is and is not copyright infringement. I understand the point that the student who took the video at the NASCAR event created his own copyrighted document when he created the video, but NASCAR's counter, that it had a contractual right to the content of the video pursuant to the valid contract on the ticket the customer purchased would seem to have some merit to it. Google in accepting the customer's rights over NASCAR's contractual rights has effectively made a legal decision that will cause brand damage to NASCAR. I can see how NASCAR could claim these damages against Google in a suit.
The argument used by the industry is that copyright violation is equivalent to theft. I agree that many cases of copyvio are totally wrong, but I don't see why it can't be handled entirely through civil systems.  The fact is that intellectual property violations *are* different from stealing a physical good, simply because in the former case we're dealing with a nonrival good (i.e., if you steal my car then I can't use it anymore; if you copy my software package, I've lost some potential revenue from you but you haven't deprived my ability to sell it to others).  Furthermore, intellectual property violations are way more complex--these are cases that just aren't as clear-cut as showing that a theft actually occurred when you are caught with my stolen car.
I suppose this is just another example of how powerful Google has become in determining what average Westerner's will see on the internet. A quick Google search for the word 'nude' will have google proffering you thousands of images and videos of porn, which is easily accessible by minors. Google IS the way that we all access the internet, given its prevalance in our lives I'd be surprised if the government doesn't create more formality in Google's decision making processes with regards to copyright, freedom of speech, protection of minors, and all sorts of other legal issues that Google is now deciding for society. [[User:Joshywonder|Joshywonder]] 10:35, 3 March 2013 (EST)


:Thanks again for the great comments, Josh. The specific question about the validity of any "back of the ticket" attempt to assign copyright is an interesting one. My read on it, based on [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/204 this section] of the Copyright Act, would be that a total assignment to NASCAR would be invalid in the United States, as assignment of copyright requires a signed writing. This applies only to ''assignment'' however, (i.e., a total transfer of copyright ownership, which in the US would also mean the loss of rights in the original videographer). It could be that this ticket grants NASCAR a non-exclusive license to use the video, but the copyright owner would remain the videographer - meaning both that the original videographer would have the right to post the video on YouTube and NASCAR would not have standing to assert copyright in a lawsuit or through the DMCA. [[User:Asellars|asellars]] 09:33, 11 March 2013 (EDT)
I listened to the songs mentioned in the "Touch the Sun" / "Slung-lo" controversy referred to in the reading materials. I empathize with the creator of Slung-lo if they really feel their creation was improperly exploited, but I simply don't see the basis for their claim. But upon my listening I found both songs to be different, and the lyrics were (as far as I could tell) totally different. Billions of songs get made--lots will be similar. I shudder to think that a large and well-funded copyright holder could use claims like this to abuse others with the threat of criminal enforcement.
[[User:Jradoff|Jradoff]] 13:58, 3 March 2014 (EST)


::Hi Andy, you might be right that the copyright wasn't transferred in the situaution. But if NASCAR paid a bunch of wall-street lawyers to argue that it was, you can bet that they would at least put the student through his paces in proving that he owned the copyright. Off the top of my head, I would investigate whether he purchased the ticket with credit cards and signed the receipt and whether that qualifies as a signature for the purposes of the act. I'd also note that a competing broadcaster would almost certainly be banned from setting up a high tower and televising the races without a licence, one would think similar legal arguments would apply. If he tried to record and broadcast the entire event on Youtube there would likely be some law against that. In any event, the point was that Google immediately decided the dispute between the parties without guidance from the Courts, and given how often they do this I'd be surprised if the government doesn't step in to monitor them more in the future. [[User:Joshywonder|Joshywonder]] 16:26, 12 March 2013 (EDT)


:::Were NASCAR to do that expect me to argue the case for the student pro bono. :-) (By the way, the credit card slip argument was the best I could come up with as to a writing, but I think it's a failure as well.) More seriously, NASCAR can always exercise the rights of trespass law and remove someone once their presence was no longer welcome – and that right is what keeps NBC from cutting into Fox's exclusive coverage by buying a ticket and showing up. As to Google's role, it's worth nothing that Google's decision was not without a risk – by exercising its own discretion there what they did was remove their chance to benefit from the DMCA safe harbor, and thus exposing themselves for a potential contributory liability claim by hosting the material. Their decision to take that risk is very interesting, and not unlike how they would approach any other liability question outside of the DMCA world – they are immune from suit either way, and opt to decide based on their own interests. [[User:Asellars|asellars]] 17:00, 12 March 2013 (EDT)
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I find the legislation and history on copyright law and infringement extremely confusing. It seems as if SOPA and PIPA would have completely negated major aspects of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. I share the belief that the propositions of those bills would have limited innovation. Had SOPA/PIPA have passed, I think the case of Vietnamese accessing Facebook shows that there exists markets in foreign regions that will engage in illegal means of accessing those domain names. I also was interested in the "backdoor" that sites like youtube have for content providers to remove infringed material. What other "backdoors" exist regarding copyright law and content infrastructure? [[User:AaronEttl|AaronEttl]] 18:24, 10 March 2013 (EDT)
It seems that SOPA, PIPA, and the DCMA all seem to be working towards the same goal, that of eradicating copyright infringement/piracy. Why is the DCMA not sufficient? Internet piracy is a huge issue for the motion picture and music industries (and I'm sure for plenty of other industries) as it is stealing. I agree with Jradoff that it's not ''quite'' as bad as actual theft of property and therefore might not warrant a jail sentence, but it is essentially the same thing. What is the difference between going into a Best Buy and stealing a DVD or CD and stealing it from home? It seems the primary difference is simply the ease of convenience for the thief. I think we have only been desensitized to this kind of theft because it is so prevalent in society. Anyways, if we agree that internet piracy is "wrong", what can be done to curtail it further than the rules currently in place (i.e. the DCMA)? Have SOPA and/or PIPA been revised? In this article that I found on Forbes [http://www.forbes.com/sites/derekbroes/2012/01/20/why-should-you-fear-sopa-and-pipa/], author Derek Broes claims to have testified before Congress to propose "many solutions, none of which violate our First Amendment Right to Free Speech", but he does not elaborate on any specific alternatives or amendments to SOPA/PIPA. What effective alternatives are there, which would go above and beyond what is already in place, but wouldn't be as "harmful" as SOPA/PIPA? Is there still talk of a new iteration of the legislature? I would imagine that with the onslaught of backlash from the initial bills, they would have to call them something different to mitigate any potential hate...[[User:Castille|Castille]] 15:51, 3 March 2014 (EST)


:That's a really good point, Aaron. Thanks for mentioning it. You should definitely ask Adam about the YouTube ContentID system that they have used as an overlap to the DMCA, and what sort of problems he's seen in its implementation. [[User:Asellars|asellars]] 09:33, 11 March 2013 (EDT)


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As we study copyright, it is important to note that copyright and in fact all intellectual property laws ... patents, trademarks, trade secrets along with copyrights are in fact limitations of free speech. But the latter is not open and unlimited. Free speech has been called the core all truly democratic nations. What qualifies as a democracy is but another issue difficult if not impossible to determine depending on the definition and myriad of points of view. One estimate is 132.  Regardless, given there are an estimated 350-500 million Internet users in China alone, more than every man, woman and child in United States combined, designing and controlling an Internet as a vehicle for democratic nations alone will guarantee it will reach less than half of the world's population. But even in so-called democracies free speech is not unlimited. It is qualified and limited by the need for national securities and compelling interests, the the universal rather than the individual interest, moral fiber, sensititivity, defamatory laws and the damages that can often occur by uncontrolled exposure and disclosure of information that can do  more  damage than good. Some control is necessary to maintain order and prevent a disorganized free for all in an attempt to exercise free speech which many do only to exercise the principal and fight to assert their own freedom of expression, regardless of the consequences.


Intellectual property laws are intended to reward those who have created things with the sweat of their brow, the absence of which will quell any incentive and to enrich the social. Without intellectual property laws mankind over the last few ages of the Industrial and now Information Revolutions would have been relegated to pre-18th century technological, communication and transportation breakthroughs. Art and science would have been inhibited. So what is needed is a proper balance between individual freedom and the good of society.
The former government in Australia tried for many years to implement a voluntary scheme to crack down on piracy through a series of discussions with ISPs, instead of having the government legislating enforcement of copyright. The meetings stopped happening, as the representatives from iiNet (large Australian ISP), would often get up and walk out of the meetings.  


[[User:Rich|Rich]] 08:05, 11 March 2013 (EDT)
About 18 months ago, Australian Attorney-General George Brandis made a case against iiNet which attempted to hold them liable for their users on BitTorrent for piracy purposes, which was taken to the High Court. The entertainment industry was attempting to hold the ISP's liable because it is obviously not economically viable, (even if it is in fact possible) to prosecute each piracy user individually. iiNet was successful in their defense to which the High Court unanimously ruled the ISP is not liable for the acts of their users.


:The balance between copyright and free speech is a fascinating one. There are two [http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=eldred+v.+ashcroft&hl=en&as_sdt=2,22&case=12147684852241107557&scilh=0 very significant] [http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=Golan+v.+Holder&hl=en&as_sdt=2,22&case=3239612723066820072&scilh=0 Supreme Court cases] on point - and in general the conclusion of the Supreme Court is that copyright itself does not violate the First Amendment (Justice O'Connor in another case famously called it the "engine of free expression"), but only as long as it includes the "traditional contours" or fair use and the idea-expression dichotomy. While this does mean as a practical matter that substantive challenges to copyright laws will not win in US courts, we tend to impose ''procedural'' protections for categorically unprotected speech that had a serious role to play in the SOPA/PIPA debate, as well as "Operation in our Sites" mentioned in the additional reading. As to whether copyright is meant to reward the "sweat of the brow," I think that it certainly informs the desire to make copyright laws, but we know from [http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=Fesit+v.+Rural&hl=en&as_sdt=2,22&case=1195336269698056315&scilh=0 other Supreme Court precedent] that labor alone is not enough to obtain copyright protection in a work - it is instead the contribution of original expression that merits protection under the American system. Thanks for sharing! [[User:Asellars|asellars]] 09:33, 11 March 2013 (EDT)
iiNet’s routine business of providing access to the internet will not, by itself, mean that they authorise their customers' acts of copyright infringement.  At the same time, iiNet is not obliged to contact customers or terminate their accounts in response to notices from copyright owners.  Although users are liable for copyright infringement, it is hardly enforced at all in Australia. Australia is needing legislative reform in regard to copyright laws, as their attempts to enforce it have been futile. [[User:Marissa1989|Marissa1989]] 20:41, 3 March 2014 (EST)


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I should also note that this is very low on the government's agenda. Most of the pirated entertainment comes from the USA. There’s no motive or benefit for the Australian Government to fight against illegal downloading on behalf of the American entertainment industry. In addition, most websites used by Australians to pirate, like BitTorrent and Pirates Bay, are American-based websites, which adds another disincentive for them. Unfortunately, a lot of piracy goes on here all too easily without intervention or blocking; almost makes me wonder if (per capita), more piracy happens here. Unless it becomes a political issue or the Australian government loses money over it, they’ll remain reluctant to spend the time or energy to fix it.  [[User:Marissa1989|Marissa1989]] 00:03, 4 March 2014 (EST)


The DCMA and Safe Harbor Act seem a useful alterternative to the report of Germany blocking for example the meteor video from Russia because there was music playing faintly in the background. Being able to post that you do not own the copyright, make no money off of it, and simply are posting for entertainment is a very familiar story on YouTube when perusing for videos. The NASCAR accident video seems a matter of due diligence so they could protect themselves from liability from the victims claiming NASCAR did not try to stop people videoing their injuries while on NASCAR property during an event. The Slung Lo example showed me the difficulty of implementing copyright infringement in court when not represented by a large company, as the commentary on the Copyright Alert System and Six Strikes alluded to and in other commentaries online regarding Six Strikes weaknesses. SOPA and PIPA I understand wish to protect property, but how many people have links to copyrighted material? On YouTube, Facebook, and blogs? What if you send a copyrighted link by email? SOPA and PIPA would send a chilling effect throughout the internet that would actually drive down the amount of internet use. CAS would keep track of violations, and a user would have to be so careful to not get six strikes as employers could access who is some type of "criminal" copyright infringer according to a extra-judicial body such as CAS. There has got to be a better way. Ultimately, those who wish to profit off of internet content and sharing must post some type of copyright mark on their creation that says to all users with a symbol, this can never be shared without permission, for any reason. However, when one enters the public space, one has to understand that some type of sharing and infringement of ideas is going to occur for non-profit reasons. This should be encouraged. Perhaps the line should only be drawn when content is used for profit. In any case, if one puts out material publically for their own gratification, one should expect that it is going to be copied. If one wishes to protect those creation rights, a bundle of legal rights through copyright law is already available through access to the courts, without over regulating the internet that is literally opening an entire new world to a global population that has lived in isolation for too long.
[[User:Daniel Cameron Morris|Daniel Cameron Morris]] 03:18, 12 March 2013 (EDT)


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The First Amendment is an American legal concept,albeit free speech is global.  Intellectual property rights are infringements on free speech, albeit necessary to accomplish the purposes of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets which are to encourage advancements in the arts and scientists while assuring and creating incentives for those who create new ideas and products.  The antithesis of organization and control is total independence and free will.  If there are not safeguards in place to organize and monitor free speech chaos will follow.  I think it was once said that more deaths and injuries have been caused by the written and spoken word than all the guns every made.


On last week's discussion board I posted my comments on this subject in ore depth, so I will not repeat them here, other than to again empathize that free speech is part of global communication that the Internet provides and all societies do not welcome it with open arms so if we are to get the rest of the world to coordinate the great potential of the Internet, we need to compromise even our most cherished personal right.
Exciting-- I was just searching Google for an episode of Girls that I accidentally deleted from my DVR and found the following notification at the bottom of the search page:
[[User:Rich|Rich]] 08:18, 12 March 2013 (EDT)
In response to a complaint we received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 1 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint that caused the removal(s) at ChillingEffects.org. [[User:Castille|Castille]] 00:22, 4 March 2014 (EST)


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While I am all in favour of free speech, I guess I have to add - "to a point". 
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In the article about the Nascar video being reinstated, it seemed to be touted as some great victory for copyright and free speech that it was re-released after being pulled.  Here is my issue with that and all other like situations.  What about the right of the victim (or any individual) that has been hurt or worse and is then immortalized on video or in pictures trapped under a burning tire etc.  In the interests of full disclosure, a member of my family was killed in a serious car accident which resulted in a building partially falling on top of his vehicle.  It was bad enough to see the pictures of the car after he had been pulled out, but I can't imagine how horrible it would be to be the relative of that person and see pictures of him.  Freedom of speech is a gift and a wonderful thing, but in this age of instant pictures and video should we not be more sensitive to the lives attached (specifically) to tragedy?  What good does it do in the broader debate about freedom when the rights of the individual,  who may not be able to speak for themselves,  are not consulted.  I suggest that maybe that isn't freedom of speech as much as sensationalism although I am sure others would argue differently.  Life seems to swing in a pendulum.  Maybe my descendants will move back to a more closed society if one major event that I can't project pushes the value system of the majority to say enough.  I'm not sure and I would welcome any comments. [[User:Caroline|Caroline]] 09:43, 12 March 2013 (EDT) Caroline


:That's a great point, Caroline. We'll be turning to privacy in more depth in [http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/is2013/Privacy April]. The decision to post something like that or not is certainly one that has some precedent - and every time there is a horrific event captured on camera there are extensive discussions concerning whether it should be posted. And, for what it's worth, YouTube does reserve the right in its [http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines community guidelines] to regulate those things on its end - that said, we've already seen and will see again the weaknesses in relying on intermediary censorship to solve content issues. [[User:Asellars|asellars]] 11:46, 12 March 2013 (EDT)


::I, too, was going to make Caroline's point regarding the treatment of the footage of a violent injury or death. It seems to me that the fact that it depicts somebody's death would be sufficient justification to take the video down, assuming there was nothing newsworthy about the incident. Are we really surprised that NASCAR driving is dangerous? Do we need to see someone's grisly and gruesome death for evidence? Wouldn't words suffice? Doesn't Google, through YouTube, get to determine what they do and do not host on their servers? Are we confusing editing and good taste with censorship?[[User:Raven|Raven]] 13:17, 12 March 2013 (EDT)
It was interesting to read more on DMCA. I've never been too familiar with the specifics of the law but have faced it's effects constantly on YouTube as so many videos are removed over copyright claims. Reading more on it, I found this article very interesting: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/10/ten-years-later/ It portrays DMCA in a positive light, going as far as saying it "saved the web." I don't completely agree with the article, but I do think that content creators should have some safety net to ensure that their content cannot be used without proper credit or consent. And so, some safety net needs to be present but a filter that is too large is very concerning. The list of Takedown Hall of Shame is an alerting example of filtering gone wrong for the wrong reasons. It would interesting to see the solutions we come up with in the future. Will greater efforts of copyright regulation always be followed by an internet protest as large as the SOPA/PIPA one?


:::This is a small point, but I don't think the video actually depicts a person's death. There were a few serious injuries in the crash, but no one was killed. (At least my search of the news finds no such reporting.) And while the crash is troubling to watch (we certainly aren't requiring you to watch it, but it is embedded in the article for today's reading), it also is highly informative. The public outcry from the NASCAR video's wide circulation resulted in [http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2013/02/23/huge-car-crash-mars-nationwide-series-race-at-daytona/1941529/ reform to spectator conditions at NASCAR events]. Would words have sufficed? Possibly. And is Google serving as the ultimate arbiter right now? Definitely. But there are scores of examples in our history of when it took the world seeing a horrific situation in order to motivate action, so regardless of who makes the decision there are compelling reasons on both sides for having it disseminated or not. [[User:Asellars|asellars]] 13:40, 12 March 2013 (EDT)
[[User:Lpereira|Lpereira]] 20:45, 3 March 2014 (EST)


::::It's totally possible that the fact that it wasn't the scene of a death was evident to anyone viewing the clip closely. I just didn't watch closely. And I do appreciate the need to pressure event sponsors to ensure adequate public safety, especially if the attendees lack the good sense to manage that aspect of self-preservation for themselves. But must Google earn advertising revenue from the repeated viewing of another's misfortune? Or must Google pay for the hosting of such a video, if they cannot or will not earn revenue from hosting it? I don't think your point about whether we are viewing a death or a severe injury or merely a prolonged hospital stay is a minor one. I also don't think that we've been given enough evidence that Google has an obligation to host the video. However, I am willing to learn that that is because I haven't been paying sufficient attention. I don't mean to take censorship lightly, I hope that I don't. Nor do I mean to say that we should have some public morals squad, out removing videos that offend. I wouldn't want that either. I just would like to understand more clearly why it is in our best interests to tell Google what they can and cannot host on their servers, when what they are hosting could be offensive to many and the value the content provides to anyone is not clear. If you say that the existence of that video on YouTube saved lives, or provided some other public good, and you also say that we, the public, have given Google something other than our time and attention, something valuable that gives us the right to insist that they provide bandwidth to save lives, then ok. I can get behind that. [[User:Raven|Raven]] 14:51, 12 March 2013 (EDT)


:::::That's a great set of points. As to Google's right or reason for hosting it on YouTube, all I would add for perspective is the practical fact that having websites like YouTube substantially lowers the barriers to entry for participation online. (Imagine how tough a space this would be if everyone had to understand web publishing from DNS registration and CNAME setup through FTP through HTML in order to have a web page.) So all forms of online publication platforms - YouTube, Blogger, Twitter, Wordpress, Tumblr, Facebook, etc. – all serve an important value-added in that they lower the technical literacy necessary to get material online, and provide a platform that increases the likelihood that at least some network of people will see it. They, in effect, become the public squares of the online world. Should the profit, should they not, should they or the users decide what goes into the public debate – these are the really, really tough questions that we face now. What Section 230 does in the defamation/privacy world and Section 512 does in the copyright world is push a lot of the liability – and thus a lot of the legal pressure on the decisionmaking process, onto the user. But this doesn't mean the social media spaces will simply do what the user does – it can also mean that they can exercise their own editorial judgment based on their own values, and there's not much we can do as users to persuade them to change their mind. [[User:Asellars|asellars]] 17:05, 12 March 2013 (EDT)
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Interesting reading for today’s class. In my view, the right to a free speech is the right to express ones’ thoughts without any alternative censorship by the government. But main questions are: does the first amendment protect imply the right to hear the speech? The Copyright Clause itself is an expressional of First Amendment values that powers congressional rights under free speech principle. How to treat unexceptional impulse of copyright that embraces the coherence of the First Amendment? Copyright law includes a number of free speech accommodations that requires a scheme of originality, but what are the principles of copyright legislation? In my view, the questions should bot be whether the challenged law is consistent with unchallenged laws but instead whether the challenged law is consistent with the Copyright Clause (whereas consistency also comes with a priority of values). Intersection of these domains, have the same values that are conflicting with each other within their constitutional accommodations of law.  
Piracy is a major issue in Australia. The copyright laws are more loose than compared with other countries such as the US and it is relatively easy to download content illegally. Before watching a movie, an advertisement airs with the line “You wouldn’t steal a car, you wouldn’t steal a handbag, you wouldn’t steal a movie. Downloading pirated films is stealing. Piracy - it’s a crime!”. I understand this commercial has a moral angle in hopes to minimise illegal downloading. However,  If someone steals a car, handbag or wallet, a physical object that belongs to someone else has been removed without permission or payment. That would be theft. In one sense, if you download something illegally, it is a digital copy that changes hands. (‘Copy’ being the operative word). With piracy, nobody is physically deprived of anything, which is why I think most Australians don’t have a moral conflict when downloading illegally, which makes the advertisement’s suggestion that you are ‘stealing’ seem ludicrous.
[[User:User777|user777]] 11:26, 12 March 2013 (EDT)
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:The First Amendment, as it has been interpreted by the courts, includes within it a degree of a "right to be heard," but that has been limited in most circumstances to making sure that free speech rights are not pyrrhic by being without an audience - it does not generally allow an affirmative right of access to a particular fora other than certain publicly owned spaces (of which the Internet is not one). The degree to which the judiciary will exercise oversight over whether legislative action is consistent with the Copyright Clause is very, very weak, as was established in the [http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=eldred+v.+ashcroft&hl=en&as_sdt=2,22&case=12147684852241107557&scilh=0 same case] I flagged to Rich above. [[User:Asellars|asellars]] 11:46, 12 March 2013 (EDT)
Of course, this pirate ‘thief’ can make the work available to anyone for profit. However, not all online piracy is done for profit. Those profiting from piracy are the people selling copied films and CDs out of the back of their car, and people selling software ‘compilation’ disks.  


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Which brings me to the point, while the original creator might not be deprived of something, they ARE missing potential earnings. This is the difficult problem to solve. The past 10-odd years, we have seen a large value transfer from studios and publishers to those who will illegally download. However, I question whether or not the aspect of lost income from the entertainment industry is accurate. How is this measured? Are these estimated numbers exaggerated, or is this an honest reflection of loss for the entertainment industry?


Most arguments calling for stronger copyright right enforcement - such as those that support SOPA, PIPA, and the 6-strikes Copyright Alert System - base their argument on the billions of dollars lost to piracy, which itself can be divided to estimate the number of jobs lost in the United States.The two questions I always wonder are: are these numbers being exaggerated by the entertainment industry? And do these numbers truly reflect the real loss of the entertainment industry?
One of the main objectives of the Copyright Alert System is to return the earnings to the entertainment industry and original owners of content. But in the end, will this system end up throttling the internet and the principles associated, i.e. free speech, that we believe the internet should stand for?  
[[User:Marissa1989|Marissa1989]] 00:24, 4 March 2014 (EST)


Although what I'm going to say is going to be mainly based on peer observation, I think it's worth noting. For this comment, I'll focus on music. I know people who place a higher value on property rights and insists on buying their music in cd form or from iTunes. These people actually DO view internet piracy as stealing and frown upon it. But I shall be honest and point out that these people also have more leisure money to purchase what they want.
:Marissa --


On the other hand, I have also met people who are taking advantage of the internet to discover and "own" music that they would otherwise not buy if piracy options were not available. These are people who may or may not have had the leisure money, but nevertheless  would never have spent money to "own" the music if piracy was not an option in the first place.
:What a wonderful post! I think you excellently encapsulate the problem both in terms of in terms of monetary quandaries when dealing with the entertainment industry online (assessing profit lost) and the moral dilemma both the user and publisher must confront.  With iTunes charging $1.29 per song and most people having at least a few hundred songs on their iPod, the temptation is high to illegally download - especially amongst college student communities. iTunes has increased their prices probably to offset the lost profit from illegally downloading.


Then there are those who have no financial obstacles at all but argue that it is foolish to spend money when there obviously are ways to get the music freely. I think this group can be divided into those who would buy music if there was no piracy option and those who would not have spent money in the first place.
:Prominent musicians have also responded in conflicted ways with some actually embracing the idea.  Artist Shakira is a known supporter of illegally downloading and has stated so in several interviews. Likewise, Beatles legend, John Lennon once said, “Music is everybody’s possession. It’s only the publishers who think that people own it" (Vignos 2012).  On the other hand, Stevie Wonder fears that illegally downloading will lead to music being treated like "garbage" in the streets.  The music industry has drastically changed with big business taking over as evidenced from the history of "Motown" music and the rise and fall of the father of Motown records, Berry Gordy.


I really wonder if ideas like the Copyright Alert System would really boost the earnings of the entertainment industry (which is their true objective after all) or whether in the end these systems end up throttling the internet and the principles, such as free speech, that we think the internet should stand for.
:As Marissa, notes the term "stealing" is perhaps not the appropriate verb for the act because you are not physically depriving someone of something; however, it is the actual profit lost that is at stake.  The problem is how this would-be profit would be calculated. How many people would have actually bought the song instead of downloading?  I would guess the number would be much lower that those who went ahead and downloaded.  Clearly, illegally downloading and copying music is immoral but how can we prevent this widespread practice most effectively?  As it stands, very seldom are people prosecuted.  Perhaps this is because the crime is not taken as seriously as other types of theft or is not as despised or looked down upon in our society.  On the other hand, it might be just too difficult to catch all of the downloaders and trace their activity to a point where it would hold up in court with reasonable cause.


--[[User:Muromi|Muromi]] 11:55, 12 March 2013 (EDT)
:http://www.michigandaily.com/opinion/viewpoint-illegal-downloads-music-industry


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--[[User:AmyAnn0644|AmyAnn0644]] 10:50, 4 March 2014 (EST)


After reading the article ''A Perspective On The Complexities Of Copyright And Creativity From A Victim Of Infringement'', one important idea surrounding this topic became clear: we acknowledge copyright infringement when it directly affects us.  Many ignore online copyright, because it is often embedded in the actions that people take when using the Internet.  In other words, some may be committing illegal acts without realizing it, while others do so purposely.  Whether unintentional or intentional, one must contemplate both sides of the copyright law debate: protecting the creator or restricting one’s freedom of speech. 


I think one comment in Erin McKeown’s blog captures the essence of the other articles: ''“I'd also like us all to acknowledge that the current copyright system, the unmovable boulder in the stream, rather than protecting rights holders and acting as a deterrent to infringement, is in its very complications a shelter for those who use others' material without permission and an obstacle to those who would like to legally use or remix content.”'' Due to the complexity, loopholes, and associated legal processes surrounding copyright infringement, many can often remain unprotected.  Some agree and others do not…what do you think? 
::You guys are hitting on some great points! The question of whether to call infringement "theft" or "stealing" is about as controversial as they come. On the one hand, and to borrow from [http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/a1_8_8s12.html Jefferson], sharing an idea/expression/discovery is by its inherent nature nonrivalrous - I can share with you an idea without diminishing my possession of the same idea. On the other hand, if I give you something in lieu of you buying it yourself, I may not be diminishing my own possession, but I may be interfering with the author's income, and thus risking their incentive to create in the first place. But on the other, other, hand, the studies that have looked at piracy's effect on sales are wildly divergent as to whether a download can be translated to a lost sale - some, including [http://www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/FileSharing_March2004.pdf Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf] have found that there is actually no correlation between downloads and lost sales. That sounds totally insane at first, but when you consider the possibility that a large margin of people download music they would never buy (if required to obtain the music in that way), it is much more plausible. (The study still has many other critics, of course.) [[User:Andy|Andy]] 11:01, 4 March 2014 (EST)
     
   
   
SOPA’s enactment seems to make this environment even more convoluted. It gives tools to the U.S. Attorney General to combat “foreign infringing sites,” but sites with...''“a domain name registered outside the U.S. seems to count as ‘foreign,’ even if it’s run by an American company and hosted on U.S. soil. Id., at § 101(5)-101(8)'' (Zittrain et al., A Close Look at SOPA, 2011)This policy not only places a lot of companies in the line of fire, but it also puts an enormous amount of responsibility in the hands of corporate Executives''“The overwhelming controversy regarding SOPA’s public remedies regards the provision allowing a court to order a service provider–essentially an unwitting middleman–to take all 'technically feasible and reasonable measures' to block an infringing site”'' (Zittrain et al., A Close Look at SOPA, 2011)
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The recent Federal Appeals Court ruling ordering Google to remove the inflammatory film "The Innocence of Muslims" from YouTube.com, appears to stretch the copyright interpretation. The ruling certainly sets a precedent for both basic copyright law, eectronic distribution and the First Amendment. Not being a lawyer, Kozinski's ruling appears troubling. In reading the copyright interpretation, I get the impression we've exceed copyright law and entered in to some troubling precedents. Any thought?[[User:VACYBER|VACYBER]] 10:12, 4 March 2014 (EST)
 
:We'll be talking about the Garcia v. Google case for a while in the second half of class today. Stay tuned! [[User:Andy|Andy]] 10:26, 4 March 2014 (EST)
 
Thanks for sharing this, VacyberI find this to be a dangerous, unconstitutional precedent and appalling ruling!  If anyone has seen the video, it did not incite violence of any kind.  Simply because someone interpreted a video to be insulting does not warrant its removalIf everything posted online that someone (or some group) deemed offense were to be removed, the court would never have a day off and the internet as we know it may cease to exist (at least in terms of its vast information-sharing capabilities). By catering to one group and limiting freedom of speech, we are not doing anyone any favors and are only foolishly destructing our own liberties.  It will be interesting to see how future cases will be handled and I look forward to the class discussion!
--[[User:AmyAnn0644|AmyAnn0644]] 11:01, 4 March 2014 (EST)
 


The gray area of accountability that we read about a few weeks ago, in relation to the Anti-Muslim Youtube video, emerges again when analyzing online copyright laws.  Who is ultimately held responsible?  Why should Internet-related companies decide between freedom of speech and/or copyright infringement (vs. the government)?  If the private sector is expected to assume new roles and responsibilities, how can companies truly play this role, in terms of time, resources, and judgment calls?  ''“The burden of reviewing user-submitted content – every blog post, every video, every image – would be impossible for a company to manage, and companies would have likely stuck with the Web 1.0 model of publishing edited, vetted content instead of moving to a Web 2.0 model where users create the content”'' (Zuckerman and Ito, MIT Media Lab Opposes SOPA, 2012).
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As a final thought, I’d like to second the statement above, by Asellas.  I agree that the balance between copyright and free speech is an interesting controversy. I also agree with your final statement, illustrating the true definition of copyright protection, i.e., copyright defends original expression that merits protection under the U.S. legal system. The complexity and associated controversies surrounding “original expression” are ubiquitous—there are many “shapes and sizes” of original expression, which in many ways, makes this current debate so challenging to decipher. I look forward to hearing your thoughts! [[User:Zak Paster|Zak Paster]] 13:24, 12 March 2013 (EDT)
Erin McKeown's article rises a very important point that is common too most of the legal system, not just copyright: Most laws claim that they intent to protect those most in need, but in fact favour the big and powerful, usually rich as opposed to poor, and groups and corporations as opposed to individuals. Now, I'm not one of the people who believe poor individuals intrinsically deserve more that rich corporations, but I do believe they deserve to have equal protection in our legal system, and not just on paper. The problem is, the way copyright law, and many other laws work, it is usually not viable for individuals to sue infringers because it takes too much time, money, knowledge (for starters, the knowledge that you ''can'' sue at all) and other resources. Especially given that most individuals do not have the knowledge or a legal team behind them who could provide them with the knowledge related to copyright law, they are much less likely to benefit from it as they cannot easily estimate whether any action will be worth the investment. This is a major problem that needs to be resolved, lest the copyright law benefits more those who infringe, than their victims. --[[User:Seifip|Seifip]] 11:50, 4 March 2014 (EST)




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Super Bust and The In Rem Forfeiture paper presented further disturbing evidence of the disconnect between how the internet operates and how it is governed. It seems to me that the judges may not have understood that the domain names were property with potential income streams attached, and that the crimes they were accused of were commercial and non-urgent. I'd like to think that because the alternative seems so much more disturbing. Possibly again I am being naive. I have seen those forums, though not the chat rooms, and I agree, that if you are looking for a quick way to stream or download free movies, books, music and TV shows, you'll find plenty there to help you. I was interested to learn that these discussions were protected by the First Amendment, I think I'd just assumed that there were too many of them to shut down. I am, however, coming around to believe that something effective should be done about the piracy of these works. We have, over the last ten years or so, seen a tremendous transfer of value from the movie studios and music publishers to those willing to download illegally. It seems to me it is time to capture that value and account for it. I think, if I thought about it at all, I justified arguing against devoting law-enforcement to controlling piracy to the assumption that these companies were shifting revenue outside the U.S. to avoid taxes. I think I found it distasteful that they would then turnaround and insist that we, the public, help them capture lost income. (I certainly am not willing to pay the taxes to support jail time for those downloading content illegally.) I understand that many people who download without purchasing would not purchase, as many who stream without paying would also not purchase. I do believe though, that they would do something else, and I'm wondering if we are capturing that aspect accurately. I'm also wondering if somehow, we were able to capture that value, it might pay for some or all of the needed up-grade to our internet infrastructure. [[User:Raven|Raven]] 15:29, 12 March 2013 (EDT)


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This just in... The Russian court in Khabarovsk forced Rostelekom to block internet access to Wikipedia (!!), Yandex (largest Russian website) and Kinopoisk (Russian IMDB). The pretext is that the three websites contain anti-semitic content, in case of Wikipedia a link to Mein Kampf in the article on Hitler. --[[User:Seifip|Seifip]] 13:18, 4 March 2014 (EST)


With regards to the DMCA and, more specifically, the DMCA "safe harbor" provisions, it seems to me that anything that facilitates the access to or general interaction with the Internet (such as ISPs or search engines) should not be held responsible for specific content. However, services such as web hosting and individual websites that allow public posting should be held responsible for the information that they are actively providing the public since they are the one and only means by which that information can be accessed.
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Having read all articles, I came to conclusion that "takedown notices" are quite enough for prevention of copyrights infringement. It sould also be applied to defamation, trademark and other intellectual property rights as the system proves to be very effective. POPA and PIPA cannot be accepted as: 1) they are unlikely to be implemented due to absence of mechanism of searching the sites that infringe copyrights (there are hundrends/thousands of them); if this legislation is adopted and not implemented in future, the power of legislation can be undermoned 2) the website may contain legal and "illegal" materials, so it will be unfair to block the particular webiste on this ground. Aysel Ibayeva([[User:Aysel|Aysel]] 14:28, 4 March 2014 (EST))


After hearing the Slung-lo song, I have to admit that while it's not my typical genre of music, the tune is catchy and to my untrained and unprofessional ear there is no doubt whatsoever that the song was copied. However the article seemed to focus too much on the emotions of the legal battle and less on the legal technicalities and nuances, which would have been much more interesting.
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Finally, one comment with regards to the so-called seizure of domain names. In the instance referenced by the Super Bust posting, as best as I can tell, the government only succeeded in forcing the registry redirect nameserver requests and did not succeed in blocking all traffic to those sites. In practical terms, if someone wanted to access these websites, all they would presumably have to do is enter the IP address into their web browser and they would still have full access.
The problematics of copyright infringements is widespread on the web. From musicians to journalists and other content creators, it is becoming harder and harder to track it all particularly due to the amount of content being uploaded every second. However, I think that a mere "take-down" notice should suffice to prevent such act. I like to use the example of YouTube's Contend ID technology for it is an effective and quick way to help resolve copyright infringement claims from content creators. For YouTube, they could resolve copyright infringement claims in three different ways. The content owner could choose to block, remove, or better yet monetize their claim. Therefore, the payoff for the claimer is highest in any case. Unfortunately, all governments, regulators, and ISPs do not have YouTube's technology or resources to handle copyright infringements claims at the same level. As a result, I think that a "take-down" notice should be enough. [[User:cheikhmbacke|cheikhmbacke]] 15:32, 4 March 2014 (EST)


[[User:CyberRalph|CyberRalph]] 17:26, 12 March 2013 (EDT)
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First of all , during my reading of the class discussion, I recalled Spotify that offers streaming service created by Daniel Ek and sponsored by Sean Parker, with the purpose of reducing piracy in a European country such as Sweden. At the time, Sweden was the home of Pirate Bay where the Swedish thought was a right to listen free lyrics. Is It a solution against piracy sponsored by the creator of Napster? Nowadays, where transformations occur online, where social interactions are hype, where the share of information is a global necessity. Therefore, the market for music develops with greater efficiency. Many companies are creating ways to combat piracy and developing the market with a higher quality service in order to change the behaviors of the users. However, the rules of copyright are not adapted for the challenges of the new concept of the new virtual market. Gisellebatista


***
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I cannot wait to start this lecture. Copyright has always been an issue not only on the internet but also on paper. Internet is just making it easier for people to violate the rules and for people to discover and report to the host.
However, I also found it difficult to determine if something is in fact copied from another person as copying is not always about word to word copy and paste.
On the other hand, I believe most companies would just take down the material when they receive a takedown notice without further investigation. As it is easier and they are for profit companies after all.


The advent of the six-strikes rule speaks of the integrated and basically unambiguous power of Empire to replicate and self-instantiate over the voiceless objections of the Multitude. In these spaces, I have previously discussed critiques of the ontology of intellectual property. In particular, I have sought to cast doubt on the doctrine that the Internet promotes or even allows a harmonious equilibrium of online behaviors in which the distribution of power is subject to communitary consensus. In no sense should these attacks be construed as hostile to the project of copyright enforcement as such. Although prephilosophical fallacies involving the "natural rights" of "creators" mislead us with mellifluous rhetoric, the reality of bourgeois governance remains, as always, rooted in the persistence of the state. It is the height of unintentional self-destruction for the disorganized proletariat to imagine that it can continue its expropriative rampage against the culture industry, for the endless and inward-curling systems of Empire still function unambivalently in the service of the elite. Whether or not this is to be "desired" is essentially irrelevant, as the "problem," so modeled, is insoluble. It is unrealistic to imagine a more indulgent regime with regard to copyright infringement; internal tensions between the cultural, governmental, and telecommunicative modules of the Empire have granted 5- count em, 5- opportunities for unaccountable criminality to the Multitude. To imagine the possibility of another world is impractical and self-delusive.
[[User:Jolietheone|Jolietheone]] 15:55, 4 March 2014 (EST)
[[User:Johnfloyd6675|Johnfloyd6675]] 17:30, 12 March 2013 (EDT)


***
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I brought this example up in class last week and Ryan asked that I save it for this week. As the Ingram reading points out, CNN and NBC are ruthless when it comes to forcing YouTube to remove these network's content. Last year, I attempted to upload a 45 second clip from NBC Universal's program "30 Rock" for use in an educational presentation. YouTube, at the behest of NBC Universal, removed the clip almost immediately. I understand NBC's need to protect their interests through copyright, but here's the rub: I do not collect ad revenue from my YouTube channel, so I would not have profited financially from use of the content. Also, I set the video to private so no one but me even had access to it. Plus I cited "fair use" in the video's caption to indicate my intentions. Why wasn't my use of the content protected under 17 U.S.C. § 107 "fair use" for "nonprofit educational purposes"? I wanted to plead my case, but as Ingram points out, "In effect, there is virtually no leeway for protests or attempts to get a provider to defend their demands." Based on last week's lecture on copyright, it seems that I did no violate NBC's copyright. Additionally, why does NBC appear more protective of their content than other networks? 


This section of Editing Copyright Part 2, is about Enforcement and Balances, and it spoke a lot about plagiarism and identity froad. Hereis why.
Also, if this person's story is to be believed, it seems that there's a bit of a double standard. Based on his account, The Jay Leno Show aired his content without payment, then YouTube removed the original uploader's video claiming that it violated NBC Universal's copyright. What gives?  
Who cares? Not Wittgenstein!
Now what? PDF's are more secure than webpages.
What's next? A system of infalalibility because internet communication is not the next thing enymore. So basically What's next is not a sitcom.
Is this really worth mentioning? No.
What is this author's opinion? Get a life!
To conclude, merely the act of enforcement is not something Balances pertain to because Enforcement is a power of the Judiciary only at a policing level; whereas, Balances are required by the Court, good to be in the House and Senate, and are a sign of a good Democratic President. [[User:Johnathan Merkwan|Johnathan Merkwan]] 17:41, 12 March 2013 (EDT)


***
[http://splitsider.com/2012/05/an-open-letter-to-jay-leno-about-stealing-my-video-and-then-getting-it-removed-from-youtube/] [[User:Vance.puchalski|Vance.puchalski]] 15:58, 4 March 2014 (EST)

Latest revision as of 15:36, 18 March 2014

March 4

Digital technologies spawned the proliferation of sharing of media and music, which has led to a number of controversial legal and technological strategies for control and copyright enforcement. “Controversial” may be putting it lightly; the ongoing fight between copyright owners and Internet evangelists is one of the most popularly debated fights surrounding Internet control.

This class focuses on how copyright is enforced online, with particular emphasis on the "notice-and-takedown" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), which allow Internet service providers to limit their liability for the copyright infringements of their users if the ISPs expeditiously remove material in response to complaints from copyright owners. The class will also look to the now-famous fight concerning SOPA and PIPA, and other attempts to more strictly regulate against online piracy.

Joining us will be Adam Holland, who works here at Berkman on the Chilling Effects project.

Assignments

The second half of assignment 2 (commenting on prospectuses) is due before class today. Information on the assignment can be found here.


Readings/Watchings

The DMCA Notice-And-Takedown Process
Case Study - SOPA/PIPA
The big picture

Optional Readings

Case Study - ISP "Six Strikes
Case Study - Operation In Our Sites


Videos Watched in Class

Links

Class Discussion

Please remember to sign your postings by adding four tildes (~~~~) to the end of your contribution. This will automatically add your username and the date/time of your post, like so: Andy 15:12, 7 November 2013 (EST)




With so much copyrighted material out in cyberspace it is helpful to have provisions like the DMCA takedown and notice provisions to help combat copyright infringement. I think it is a reasonable approach to helping prevent abuses of copyright. On the other hand, instances like the Akon takedown do appear to fall into abuse of the DMCA. Nevertheless, I would argue that the DMCA actually worked in that instance because the material was taken down, but appealed and re-posted. However, if the political satirist in the Akon incident did not have legal counsel, the takedown probably would have remained. So there, I think is a flaw in the system, in that, companies with large pockets, and legal teams may be able to enforce their own form of censorship. With the proliferation of user generated content like blogs, with bloggers commentating and re-mixing copyrighted content, what constitutes infringement is more difficult to see. The good thing is that for the most part DMCA does not impose any prior restraint on expression. Posters are allowed to post without restraint, and for the most part they are not liable as long as the material in question is taken down quickly (as least I think that last part is true?). The class readings about chilling effects dig deeper into the problems that cease and desist letters, and DMCA takedowns have for expression on the Internet. The Chilling Effects website talks about the harm that these C&D letters can have on expression. Internet bloggers, satirists, and others may takedown their content on their own, causing a sort of self censorship for fear of prosecution from powerful adversaries. SOPA, and PIPPA also would have caused a chilling effect, and probably out and out prior restraint on many users expression on the Internet. I think that a robust activist element from groups like the Berkman Center(shameless plug lol), the EFF, and Chilling Effects, help Internet users to know when new laws are being introduced to curb expression, and even help represent users who have had their material wrongfully censored or removed from the Internet. Yet, it concerns me a little bit that without such advocacy groups the little guys on the Internet would be at an even bigger disadvantage to the bigger fish on the internet. One question I have was about the Bit torrent article, I didn't understand the importance of Bit torrents decline in use in the US. Was it that the decline might signify that users are avoiding bit torrent for some reason? Also, I saw that bit torrent and youtube, and netflix use disproportionate amounts of space on the system. Is this sustainable? Is it fair that a few applications and companies use up so much of the space? Does that cause harm, or take from other uses that the space could be used for? I'm not really sure how that "space" works. Is it unlimited?Mikewitwicki 08:13, 4 March 2014 (EST)



I can't wait to hear the information in this lecture pertaining to copyrighted material. I am often amazed at the sheer magnitude of the task of enforcing rights to certain types of media, particularly with the precipitous expansion of the internet. Recently a friend of mine directed me to the website letmewatchthis.ch, where you can stream movies that are currently in theaters. Many of the movies seem to be marked "for awards consideration only" which would indicate that professionals in the industry are leaking this media to the internet. As more and more people around the world gain access to the internet (I read somewhere that 8 new people a second gain access to the internet), how will copyright enforcement agencies be able to keep up? Also, it seems to me that it will require the commitment of those responsible for the content (such as those professionals in the film industry leaking content) and that buy-in does not seem to be widely taking place. Drogowski 14:35, 4 March 2014 (EST)



Yet again, related to an earlier class, but another interesting write-up was just published on The Verge: The Internet Is Fucked (but we can fix it) --Seifip 19:05, 26 February 2014 (EST)

Could you try to fix it by the end of the semester and outline the rectification in your final research project please? I'm certain we would all appreciate your efforts (smile).

--Melissaluke 13:57, 4 March 2014 (EST)


Ditto, not related to Copyright, but the theme of the class in general, politics & control of the Internet. The Quebec government started fining businesses for not writing in French on their Facebook pages. I've never understood why Canada has such a stereotype of being 'nice'. Erin Saucke-Lacelle 23:37, 26 February 2014 (EST)

Erin, thanks for sharing this. Seems like a really interesting example of the ways in which the Internet and digital technologies are a new place for old and ongoing debates to play out. With so much of our lives now taking place online, it makes sense that concerns about language, heritage, and culture have to be grappled with anew. I wonder if some of the push-back from business owners-- like the one in this article who says "Facebook has nothing to do with Quebec"-- stems from the idea that the Internet is a malleable and border-less place and confusion over what laws govern speech on a global forum run by a US-based company. And yes, I have heard some Quebecois friends get a little less than "nice" when it comes to discussing their francophone heritage... Jkelly 15:16, 2 March 2014 (EST)
Wow! That's crazy. Do you know what justification they have (or are using) to fine the businesses? Is it a case like the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against disabilities by such measures as requiring all public establishments to follow building codes to ensure disabled individuals are accommodated? By this I mean, is Quebec doing this so that French-speaking people are not excluded?Castille 15:51, 3 March 2014 (EST)

Hi Castille I have a hard time discussing this without letting it get personal, because I've faced off with Language Police, was beaten up as a kid in Quebec for being Anglophone (I was born in USA), and grew up following Quebec's laws which are at odds with the UN's Charter of Human rights (once again, WHY do Americans steriotype Canada as 'nice'??!!). So now, hearing that the Language Police are trying to control Facebook, which is an American company, I just get so mad. Side-note: My own mother just received a letter from another Quebec Gov't agency, stating that she must delete any comments from users/customers on her company's Facebook page. Here is a link to the laws in question, in case anyone is interested Erin Saucke-Lacelle 12:32, 4 March 2014 (EST)

Thanks for the link Erin! I am surprised Wikipedia hasn’t received a notice to re-write the Charter of the French language under Loi 101…in French (smile). Quebec had no official language prior to 1974, and it makes a person ponder what Camille Laurin’s intent was to propose such a ridiculous idea. If the government is so fond of the language, why not impose regulation on the import/export business? All commodities created by any business residing in Quebec could be written in French. A great majority of the world would have no idea if they had purchased crude oil or a tank of CoolAid ,and we could all guess what type of prescriptions we are purchasing from them on line. If they tightened the controls a little more, and enforced all imports to be written in French, we could slowly watch Quebec become non-existent. We could read about Quebec in our history books just like the Mayan. Brilliant idea!

--Melissaluke 13:50, 4 March 2014 (EST)


The highly controversial Section 512 of the DMCA, 17 U.S.C. § 512 provides a “safety zone”, where online service providers could operate shielded from liability charges on account of copyright infringement. Service providers function by allowing people to modify, post, and search content on their servers. By hosting foreign content that is not generated by the OSP or ISP, they were placing themselves into position of being held liable on infringement charges. This changed in 1998, because as long as roughly three essential steps were taken, an OSP could take advantage of the “safe-harbor” clause. One of those steps is the “expeditious” removal of infringing content. On the other side, the alleged offender can send a counter-notice disputing the copyright holders claim. This might seem in favor of the public domain with an anti-copyright agenda, but it does not diminish the copyright holders privileges in any way. This provision also allows the first step of prosecution in the form of takedown notices. While these measures are beneficial for the public good and provide a degree of protection, they seem utterly inefficient in situations like Erin McKeown experienced. In an attempt to control infringers and pirates, the ICE has engaged in domain seizures, which resulted in tens of thousands of innocent websites being shut down. Emmanuelsurillo 22:26, 1 March 2014 (EST)

The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Takedown Hall of Shame has excellent examples of cease and desist letter offenders, even citing unusual claims such as one over the copyright privileges of a monkey’s photos! That is where major companies should take and follow Google’s example of standing up for users rights. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), MIT points out that to stop pirating has many dangerous side effects including but not limited to being unconstitutional in violating certain aspects of free speech. Emmanuelsurillo 00:06, 3 March 2014 (EST)




I was unable to find out anything about how many actions have been taken under the Copyright Alert System. Are there any known statistics on how many of these notices have been sent out or how many consumers have been affected? (whether centrally managed, or done by a third-party watchdog like EFF?) Jradoff 13:48, 3 March 2014 (EST)

The Hill reported that an annual report should be expected soon on Six Strikes. (It just passed its first anniversary since implementation.) We're still waiting to see if that will have a level of analysis like this. Andy 10:26, 4 March 2014 (EST)




I'm in a creative industry where intellectual property is important (software / online games). Yet I think that criminalization of intellectual property violations is ridiculous.

I called all my U.S. senators and representatives back when SOPA/PIPA was in the legislative process--I found it highly offensive. It seems absurd to me that someone would be placed in jail for copyright infringement, or that we are making agencies of the U.S. government an arm of private industry by using them to enforce this (not to mention giving government broad control over shutting down content that some moneyed interest finds objectionable).

The argument used by the industry is that copyright violation is equivalent to theft. I agree that many cases of copyvio are totally wrong, but I don't see why it can't be handled entirely through civil systems. The fact is that intellectual property violations *are* different from stealing a physical good, simply because in the former case we're dealing with a nonrival good (i.e., if you steal my car then I can't use it anymore; if you copy my software package, I've lost some potential revenue from you but you haven't deprived my ability to sell it to others). Furthermore, intellectual property violations are way more complex--these are cases that just aren't as clear-cut as showing that a theft actually occurred when you are caught with my stolen car.

I listened to the songs mentioned in the "Touch the Sun" / "Slung-lo" controversy referred to in the reading materials. I empathize with the creator of Slung-lo if they really feel their creation was improperly exploited, but I simply don't see the basis for their claim. But upon my listening I found both songs to be different, and the lyrics were (as far as I could tell) totally different. Billions of songs get made--lots will be similar. I shudder to think that a large and well-funded copyright holder could use claims like this to abuse others with the threat of criminal enforcement. Jradoff 13:58, 3 March 2014 (EST)




It seems that SOPA, PIPA, and the DCMA all seem to be working towards the same goal, that of eradicating copyright infringement/piracy. Why is the DCMA not sufficient? Internet piracy is a huge issue for the motion picture and music industries (and I'm sure for plenty of other industries) as it is stealing. I agree with Jradoff that it's not quite as bad as actual theft of property and therefore might not warrant a jail sentence, but it is essentially the same thing. What is the difference between going into a Best Buy and stealing a DVD or CD and stealing it from home? It seems the primary difference is simply the ease of convenience for the thief. I think we have only been desensitized to this kind of theft because it is so prevalent in society. Anyways, if we agree that internet piracy is "wrong", what can be done to curtail it further than the rules currently in place (i.e. the DCMA)? Have SOPA and/or PIPA been revised? In this article that I found on Forbes [1], author Derek Broes claims to have testified before Congress to propose "many solutions, none of which violate our First Amendment Right to Free Speech", but he does not elaborate on any specific alternatives or amendments to SOPA/PIPA. What effective alternatives are there, which would go above and beyond what is already in place, but wouldn't be as "harmful" as SOPA/PIPA? Is there still talk of a new iteration of the legislature? I would imagine that with the onslaught of backlash from the initial bills, they would have to call them something different to mitigate any potential hate...Castille 15:51, 3 March 2014 (EST)




The former government in Australia tried for many years to implement a voluntary scheme to crack down on piracy through a series of discussions with ISPs, instead of having the government legislating enforcement of copyright. The meetings stopped happening, as the representatives from iiNet (large Australian ISP), would often get up and walk out of the meetings.

About 18 months ago, Australian Attorney-General George Brandis made a case against iiNet which attempted to hold them liable for their users on BitTorrent for piracy purposes, which was taken to the High Court. The entertainment industry was attempting to hold the ISP's liable because it is obviously not economically viable, (even if it is in fact possible) to prosecute each piracy user individually. iiNet was successful in their defense to which the High Court unanimously ruled the ISP is not liable for the acts of their users.

iiNet’s routine business of providing access to the internet will not, by itself, mean that they authorise their customers' acts of copyright infringement.  At the same time, iiNet is not obliged to contact customers or terminate their accounts in response to notices from copyright owners.  Although users are liable for copyright infringement, it is hardly enforced at all in Australia. Australia is needing legislative reform in regard to copyright laws, as their attempts to enforce it have been futile. Marissa1989 20:41, 3 March 2014 (EST)

I should also note that this is very low on the government's agenda. Most of the pirated entertainment comes from the USA. There’s no motive or benefit for the Australian Government to fight against illegal downloading on behalf of the American entertainment industry. In addition, most websites used by Australians to pirate, like BitTorrent and Pirates Bay, are American-based websites, which adds another disincentive for them. Unfortunately, a lot of piracy goes on here all too easily without intervention or blocking; almost makes me wonder if (per capita), more piracy happens here. Unless it becomes a political issue or the Australian government loses money over it, they’ll remain reluctant to spend the time or energy to fix it. Marissa1989 00:03, 4 March 2014 (EST)




Exciting-- I was just searching Google for an episode of Girls that I accidentally deleted from my DVR and found the following notification at the bottom of the search page: In response to a complaint we received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 1 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint that caused the removal(s) at ChillingEffects.org. Castille 00:22, 4 March 2014 (EST)




It was interesting to read more on DMCA. I've never been too familiar with the specifics of the law but have faced it's effects constantly on YouTube as so many videos are removed over copyright claims. Reading more on it, I found this article very interesting: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/10/ten-years-later/ It portrays DMCA in a positive light, going as far as saying it "saved the web." I don't completely agree with the article, but I do think that content creators should have some safety net to ensure that their content cannot be used without proper credit or consent. And so, some safety net needs to be present but a filter that is too large is very concerning. The list of Takedown Hall of Shame is an alerting example of filtering gone wrong for the wrong reasons. It would interesting to see the solutions we come up with in the future. Will greater efforts of copyright regulation always be followed by an internet protest as large as the SOPA/PIPA one?

Lpereira 20:45, 3 March 2014 (EST)




Piracy is a major issue in Australia. The copyright laws are more loose than compared with other countries such as the US and it is relatively easy to download content illegally. Before watching a movie, an advertisement airs with the line “You wouldn’t steal a car, you wouldn’t steal a handbag, you wouldn’t steal a movie. Downloading pirated films is stealing. Piracy - it’s a crime!”. I understand this commercial has a moral angle in hopes to minimise illegal downloading. However, If someone steals a car, handbag or wallet, a physical object that belongs to someone else has been removed without permission or payment. That would be theft. In one sense, if you download something illegally, it is a digital copy that changes hands. (‘Copy’ being the operative word). With piracy, nobody is physically deprived of anything, which is why I think most Australians don’t have a moral conflict when downloading illegally, which makes the advertisement’s suggestion that you are ‘stealing’ seem ludicrous.

Of course, this pirate ‘thief’ can make the work available to anyone for profit. However, not all online piracy is done for profit. Those profiting from piracy are the people selling copied films and CDs out of the back of their car, and people selling software ‘compilation’ disks.

Which brings me to the point, while the original creator might not be deprived of something, they ARE missing potential earnings. This is the difficult problem to solve. The past 10-odd years, we have seen a large value transfer from studios and publishers to those who will illegally download. However, I question whether or not the aspect of lost income from the entertainment industry is accurate. How is this measured? Are these estimated numbers exaggerated, or is this an honest reflection of loss for the entertainment industry?

One of the main objectives of the Copyright Alert System is to return the earnings to the entertainment industry and original owners of content. But in the end, will this system end up throttling the internet and the principles associated, i.e. free speech, that we believe the internet should stand for? Marissa1989 00:24, 4 March 2014 (EST)

Marissa --
What a wonderful post! I think you excellently encapsulate the problem both in terms of in terms of monetary quandaries when dealing with the entertainment industry online (assessing profit lost) and the moral dilemma both the user and publisher must confront. With iTunes charging $1.29 per song and most people having at least a few hundred songs on their iPod, the temptation is high to illegally download - especially amongst college student communities. iTunes has increased their prices probably to offset the lost profit from illegally downloading.
Prominent musicians have also responded in conflicted ways with some actually embracing the idea. Artist Shakira is a known supporter of illegally downloading and has stated so in several interviews. Likewise, Beatles legend, John Lennon once said, “Music is everybody’s possession. It’s only the publishers who think that people own it" (Vignos 2012). On the other hand, Stevie Wonder fears that illegally downloading will lead to music being treated like "garbage" in the streets. The music industry has drastically changed with big business taking over as evidenced from the history of "Motown" music and the rise and fall of the father of Motown records, Berry Gordy.
As Marissa, notes the term "stealing" is perhaps not the appropriate verb for the act because you are not physically depriving someone of something; however, it is the actual profit lost that is at stake. The problem is how this would-be profit would be calculated. How many people would have actually bought the song instead of downloading? I would guess the number would be much lower that those who went ahead and downloaded. Clearly, illegally downloading and copying music is immoral but how can we prevent this widespread practice most effectively? As it stands, very seldom are people prosecuted. Perhaps this is because the crime is not taken as seriously as other types of theft or is not as despised or looked down upon in our society. On the other hand, it might be just too difficult to catch all of the downloaders and trace their activity to a point where it would hold up in court with reasonable cause.
http://www.michigandaily.com/opinion/viewpoint-illegal-downloads-music-industry

--AmyAnn0644 10:50, 4 March 2014 (EST)


You guys are hitting on some great points! The question of whether to call infringement "theft" or "stealing" is about as controversial as they come. On the one hand, and to borrow from Jefferson, sharing an idea/expression/discovery is by its inherent nature nonrivalrous - I can share with you an idea without diminishing my possession of the same idea. On the other hand, if I give you something in lieu of you buying it yourself, I may not be diminishing my own possession, but I may be interfering with the author's income, and thus risking their incentive to create in the first place. But on the other, other, hand, the studies that have looked at piracy's effect on sales are wildly divergent as to whether a download can be translated to a lost sale - some, including Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf have found that there is actually no correlation between downloads and lost sales. That sounds totally insane at first, but when you consider the possibility that a large margin of people download music they would never buy (if required to obtain the music in that way), it is much more plausible. (The study still has many other critics, of course.) Andy 11:01, 4 March 2014 (EST)




The recent Federal Appeals Court ruling ordering Google to remove the inflammatory film "The Innocence of Muslims" from YouTube.com, appears to stretch the copyright interpretation. The ruling certainly sets a precedent for both basic copyright law, eectronic distribution and the First Amendment. Not being a lawyer, Kozinski's ruling appears troubling. In reading the copyright interpretation, I get the impression we've exceed copyright law and entered in to some troubling precedents. Any thought?VACYBER 10:12, 4 March 2014 (EST)

We'll be talking about the Garcia v. Google case for a while in the second half of class today. Stay tuned! Andy 10:26, 4 March 2014 (EST)

Thanks for sharing this, Vacyber. I find this to be a dangerous, unconstitutional precedent and appalling ruling! If anyone has seen the video, it did not incite violence of any kind. Simply because someone interpreted a video to be insulting does not warrant its removal. If everything posted online that someone (or some group) deemed offense were to be removed, the court would never have a day off and the internet as we know it may cease to exist (at least in terms of its vast information-sharing capabilities). By catering to one group and limiting freedom of speech, we are not doing anyone any favors and are only foolishly destructing our own liberties. It will be interesting to see how future cases will be handled and I look forward to the class discussion! --AmyAnn0644 11:01, 4 March 2014 (EST)



Erin McKeown's article rises a very important point that is common too most of the legal system, not just copyright: Most laws claim that they intent to protect those most in need, but in fact favour the big and powerful, usually rich as opposed to poor, and groups and corporations as opposed to individuals. Now, I'm not one of the people who believe poor individuals intrinsically deserve more that rich corporations, but I do believe they deserve to have equal protection in our legal system, and not just on paper. The problem is, the way copyright law, and many other laws work, it is usually not viable for individuals to sue infringers because it takes too much time, money, knowledge (for starters, the knowledge that you can sue at all) and other resources. Especially given that most individuals do not have the knowledge or a legal team behind them who could provide them with the knowledge related to copyright law, they are much less likely to benefit from it as they cannot easily estimate whether any action will be worth the investment. This is a major problem that needs to be resolved, lest the copyright law benefits more those who infringe, than their victims. --Seifip 11:50, 4 March 2014 (EST)




This just in... The Russian court in Khabarovsk forced Rostelekom to block internet access to Wikipedia (!!), Yandex (largest Russian website) and Kinopoisk (Russian IMDB). The pretext is that the three websites contain anti-semitic content, in case of Wikipedia a link to Mein Kampf in the article on Hitler. --Seifip 13:18, 4 March 2014 (EST)


Having read all articles, I came to conclusion that "takedown notices" are quite enough for prevention of copyrights infringement. It sould also be applied to defamation, trademark and other intellectual property rights as the system proves to be very effective. POPA and PIPA cannot be accepted as: 1) they are unlikely to be implemented due to absence of mechanism of searching the sites that infringe copyrights (there are hundrends/thousands of them); if this legislation is adopted and not implemented in future, the power of legislation can be undermoned 2) the website may contain legal and "illegal" materials, so it will be unfair to block the particular webiste on this ground. Aysel Ibayeva(Aysel 14:28, 4 March 2014 (EST))


The problematics of copyright infringements is widespread on the web. From musicians to journalists and other content creators, it is becoming harder and harder to track it all particularly due to the amount of content being uploaded every second. However, I think that a mere "take-down" notice should suffice to prevent such act. I like to use the example of YouTube's Contend ID technology for it is an effective and quick way to help resolve copyright infringement claims from content creators. For YouTube, they could resolve copyright infringement claims in three different ways. The content owner could choose to block, remove, or better yet monetize their claim. Therefore, the payoff for the claimer is highest in any case. Unfortunately, all governments, regulators, and ISPs do not have YouTube's technology or resources to handle copyright infringements claims at the same level. As a result, I think that a "take-down" notice should be enough. cheikhmbacke 15:32, 4 March 2014 (EST)


First of all , during my reading of the class discussion, I recalled Spotify that offers streaming service created by Daniel Ek and sponsored by Sean Parker, with the purpose of reducing piracy in a European country such as Sweden. At the time, Sweden was the home of Pirate Bay where the Swedish thought was a right to listen free lyrics. Is It a solution against piracy sponsored by the creator of Napster? Nowadays, where transformations occur online, where social interactions are hype, where the share of information is a global necessity. Therefore, the market for music develops with greater efficiency. Many companies are creating ways to combat piracy and developing the market with a higher quality service in order to change the behaviors of the users. However, the rules of copyright are not adapted for the challenges of the new concept of the new virtual market. Gisellebatista


I cannot wait to start this lecture. Copyright has always been an issue not only on the internet but also on paper. Internet is just making it easier for people to violate the rules and for people to discover and report to the host. However, I also found it difficult to determine if something is in fact copied from another person as copying is not always about word to word copy and paste. On the other hand, I believe most companies would just take down the material when they receive a takedown notice without further investigation. As it is easier and they are for profit companies after all.

Jolietheone 15:55, 4 March 2014 (EST)


I brought this example up in class last week and Ryan asked that I save it for this week. As the Ingram reading points out, CNN and NBC are ruthless when it comes to forcing YouTube to remove these network's content. Last year, I attempted to upload a 45 second clip from NBC Universal's program "30 Rock" for use in an educational presentation. YouTube, at the behest of NBC Universal, removed the clip almost immediately. I understand NBC's need to protect their interests through copyright, but here's the rub: I do not collect ad revenue from my YouTube channel, so I would not have profited financially from use of the content. Also, I set the video to private so no one but me even had access to it. Plus I cited "fair use" in the video's caption to indicate my intentions. Why wasn't my use of the content protected under 17 U.S.C. § 107 "fair use" for "nonprofit educational purposes"? I wanted to plead my case, but as Ingram points out, "In effect, there is virtually no leeway for protests or attempts to get a provider to defend their demands." Based on last week's lecture on copyright, it seems that I did no violate NBC's copyright. Additionally, why does NBC appear more protective of their content than other networks?

Also, if this person's story is to be believed, it seems that there's a bit of a double standard. Based on his account, The Jay Leno Show aired his content without payment, then YouTube removed the original uploader's video claiming that it violated NBC Universal's copyright. What gives?

[2] Vance.puchalski 15:58, 4 March 2014 (EST)