Patent trolls, open source, do not track, SOPA, PIPA and much, much more: Facebook’s IPO filing has a real zoo of issues. The securities laws require that companies going public identify risk factors that could adversely affect the company’s stock. Facebook’s S-1 filing, which it sent to the SEC today, identified almost 40 such factors. [...]
Archive for the ‘Copyright’ Category
Fair use, the DMCA, and presidential politics
January 30th, 2012
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The 2012 presidential election cycle is already giving internet law enthusiasts things to talk about. Last week it was Ron Paul’s grumblings about an unauthorized campaign ad on YouTube. Now NBC is moaning about a Mitt Romney ad comprised almost entirely of Tom Brokaw on the Nightly News in 1997. NBC has asked the ad [...]
Are nonpirate Megaupload users entitled to compensation from the government?
January 28th, 2012
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If I left my coat in a taxi that was later impounded because, unknown to me, the driver was transporting heroin in the trunk, would I be left out in the cold? People who used Megaupload to lawfully store and transfer files are rightfully upset that their stuff is unavailable after last week’s raid. Some [...]
Megaupload takedown reminds us why website terms and conditions can be important
January 25th, 2012
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Kashmir Hill pointed out that at least one erstwhile file sharing service has changed its business model in response to the federal government’s action against Megaupload. She observes that: FileSonic users can’t be too happy to have one of the main features of the site taken away. But the company must be less worried about [...]
If you critique SOPA, read the text. If you read the text, read it right.
January 20th, 2012
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Earlier this week Eriq Gardner speculated in a tweet that less than one tenth of one percent of folks have actually read the SOPA legislation. I bet he’s right. It’s good to read the statute. But what might be worse than not reading it is reading it wrongly and thereafter propagating misunderstanding. One of the [...]
SOPA/PIPA reading list
January 18th, 2012
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This list is a work in progress. Newer additions are at the top of the list. Porn Sites Black Out For SOPA (WebProNews) The Internet at its Best (EFF) Anti-piracy battle reveals dysfunctional thinking (The Hill) A SOPA/PIPA Blackout Explainer (Wired Threat Level) SOPA, PIPA won’t break the Internet (Washington Post) SOPA Outrage Is Breaking [...]
No deposition of account holder allowed until he is named as defendant in BitTorrent copyright case
January 17th, 2012
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Hard Drive Productions, Inc. v. Doe, 2012 WL 90412 (E.D. Cal. July 11, 2012) In a mass copyright infringement suit, plaintiff served a subpoena on an internet service provider and got the identifying information for the account holder suspected of trading a copy of a movie via BitTorrent. The account holder was uncooperative with plaintiff’s [...]
Ninth Circuit: Apple did not engage in copyright misuse by restricting OS X to Apple hardware
September 29th, 2011
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Apple Inc. v. Psystar Corp., — F.3d —, 2011 WL 4470623 (9th Cir. September 28, 2011) [PDF] Back in 2008, Apple sued Psystar for copyright infringement arising from Psystar’s manufacture and distribution of computers preloaded with copies of Mac OS X. Psystar lost at the trial court level, with the judge rejecting its argument that [...]
Court denies anonymous motion to quash subpoena in BitTorrent copyright case
September 21st, 2011
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First Time Videos v. Does 1-18, 2011 WL 4079177 (S.D. Indiana, September 13, 2011) Plaintiff owns the copyright in an adult film that a swarm of anonymous “Doe” BitTorrent users allegedly traded. So plaintiff filed suit for infringement in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and issued subpoenas to the internet [...]
