Letter from AmeriKat - Bits and Bobs

Other Bits and Bobs

• New Google Books Timetable - Judge Denny Chin scheduled the final fairness hearing in the Google Books Settlement for 18 February 2010 at 10 AM. The deadline for parties to file opposing and supporting briefs and for class members to opt-out of the proposal is between 14 December 2009 and 28 January 2010. For those individuals who wish to participate in the final hearing, you must file a request with the court by 4 February 2010. For more information see this article in the San Francisco Chronicle.

• Microsoft Commences Software Crackdown - Microsoft announced last Thursday that it has commenced around 300 lawsuits and criminal prosecutions in about 70 countries worldwide in an attempt to stop piracy of its software. This includes raids commenced in collaboration with China’s Copyright Administration. For more information please see this article in the Wall Street Journal.

• A Spot of Tea? Not For Jay-Z – According to articles in the NME (here) and the Examiner (here), Jay-Z and five other musicians from Universal Music Group are suing Alabama restaurant Spot of Tea for copyright infringement to the tune $30,000 in damages. Spot of Tea owner, Tony Moore, has stated that he has a licence “to play over six million songs”. For further information see the local CBS channel’s news report here.

• Copyright and the “McSteamy” Tape - For those IPKat readers who enjoy the intersection of privacy and copyright law, the AmeriKat refers you to an interesting posting on NPR (National Public Radio – the US equivalent of BBC Radio 4) regarding Gawker.com’s posting of a television actor’s sex tape and the subsequent copyright lawsuit brought against the website by the actor. Note that libel, slander and invasion of privacy did not form part of the lawsuit; the action was only a claim for copyright infringement. Gawker.com defended the publication of the video on their website by reference to Fair Use (Section 107). For further information see this article in the New York Times.

• 5^th Graders to Learn Copyright Law? - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has developed an elementary school curriculum to educate students about their “legal rights and responsibilities in the digital area”. The program can be seen at this link here. The AmeriKat suggests readers read the “True or False” Copy Quiz. For example, True or False: "The Motion Picture Association of America has anti-piracy sniffing dogs" and "The Public Domain is a polar research station in Antarctica." The AmeriKat thinks this is a great idea. In her opinion you can never start educating people about copyright soon enough!