» Copyright

Intent of SOPA/PIPA Was Good, But Language Was Bad, Says Attorney Miles Feldman

Abby Johnson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:23:37 +0000

Last week, the Internet clearly showed that it did not support the SOPA/PIPA bills that were before Congress. As a result of the Web blackout, Washington listened and put a delay on the bills. The topic, however, is still gaining attention.

According to intellectual property attorney Miles Feldman, the “drama is still being written.” As someone who has personally been involved with litigation involving the Black Eyed Peas, Will Smith, and others, he told us that he supported the overall purpose of SOPA and PIPA because online piracy is a serious problem. He, however, did not support the language of the bills due to their lack of clarity, which is why he is also concerned about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that is sparking interest of late.

As he explained to us, finding a balance between freedom of speech and intellectual property rights is an ongoing and challenging battle. That said, he doesn’t believe that these proposals serve as effective solutions.

He told us that he would like to see the entertainment industry and the Internet community come together to create a new Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that embraces the concept of SOPA/PIPA but that has a clause that eliminates a safe harbor for companies that are complying with the law.

What do you think of Feldman’s suggestions? Do you agree or disagree?

Will YouTube's Filter Work?

admin — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:05:23 +0000

YouTube recently launched an anti-piracy tool that allows content owners to automate the identification of copyrighted material on the video sharing site. But is the filter effective? It has received both praise and criticism. Abby Prince of WebProNews spoke with Attorney Louis Solomon of Proskauer Rose LLP about the tools. Find out his thoughts, only on WebProNews.

Chris Knight's Copyright Infringement Case Resolved

admin — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 19:49:26 +0000

WebProNews has an update to bring you on independent filmmaker Chris Knight and his copyright infringement accusations. YouTube sent Knight a takedown notice for a video clip he pulled from the VH1 show, Web Junk 2.0 and put up on YouTube.

Knight responded to Viacom with a counter claim. Now, just two weeks after the incident, the situation is resolved. Catch the full outcome including exclusive interviews with Chris Knight and Electronic Frontier Foundation‘s Senior Staff Attorney, Fred von Lohman, only on WebProNews.

YouTube's Copyright Crackdown

admin — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:59:26 +0000

The Google-owned video-sharing site, YouTube, has developed a filtering technique that will weed out illegally updated copyright material. The technology is currently being tested and will fingerprint user-uploaded videos that violate copyright restrictions. YouTube is hoping their filter will prevent copyright violations. Find out all the details, including when the filter will be enforced, right here on WebProNews.

Google Makes Wireless Phone

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:17:40 +0000

Google has a wireless phone in development. About a hundred people are working to develop the Blackberry-like device, which will be able to make Internet voice calls and support Google applications.

Microsoft associate general counsel Tom Rubin has criticized Google over its “cavalier” approach to copyrighted materials. Rubin thinks Google breaks copyright law because it has “bestowed upon itself the unilateral right to make entire copies of copyrighted books”.

Yahoo shut down its Mixd group mobile service for the youth market. In what looks like a consolidation move, those users are being moved to Yahoo Mobile. Yahoo could integrate some of Mixd’s look into Mobile.

Terry Semel, Yahoo’s CEO, picked up a bonus of eight hundred thousand shares worth $25.7 million in 2006. For the year, Yahoo’s shares dropped 35 percent while they worked on building their new advertising system.

The global Internet audience has grown ten percent in the past year. ComScore Networks said 747 million people aged 15 and up used the Internet in January 2007. The United States and China have the top two Internet-using populations.