09:46 • 20 Nov 2008
Copyright Articles
Humour editor pays damages on Ten years of stolen jokes
Judy Brown, a humour editor who published thousands of jokes from top comedians like Ray Leno and Rita Rudner has settled a copyright infringement case with damages expected to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Brown was accused of colle...US movie studios sue Chinese online cinema
20th Century Fox, Columbia, Disney, Paramount and Universal are suing Jeboo.com China’s largest provider of online movie content and Eastday Bar, a Internet Café chain for breaching copyright law. The Shanghai court hearing the case h...- In an operation in Wales involving police, officials from the Intellectual Property office and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), three people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in a national Internet-based music and film piracy rin...
German law smites Warhammer 40,000 fan film
'Damnatus', an ambitious film lovingly crafted by German fans and based on the world of a tabletop war game 'Warhammer 40,000' has been banned from release because German copyright law "confers rights on the creators of works (and) that cannot b...US media giants form copyright pact
Some of the biggest media companies in the US including Microsoft, Walt Disney and Viacom have agreed on a set of guidelines to protect copyrights online. The agreement is that they will each use technology to eliminate illegal content being uploa...Google launches copyright detection tool
Until now, YouTube users have freely uploaded and shared copyrighted material online and with so many clips it was hard for Google and right holders to step in. Google in retaliation, working on pressure from the media industry, has launched a copyri...Illegal downloader ordered to pay $222,000
A clear message was sent to illegal downloaders on the 4 October, that pirating and distributing content is a very costly risk. A US federal jury ordered, Jammie Thomas of Minnesota, to pay $222,000 for sharing copyrighted music through the Kazaa ...Ethics group searches Google for copyright infringement
A US ethics group has urged Congress to scrutinise Google's copyright control after finding hundreds of evidently pirated movies available online on the Internet Search leaders website. The non-profit group, which says it has no financial ties to ...- Prince is launching legal action against Google Inc. owners of the popular YouTube, for copyright infringement in an effort to end unauthorised use of his music and performances. A statement released on his behalf, said: 'Prince believes that as a...
Chaplin copyright no laughing matter
The Tokyo District Court has ruled that the late film icon Charlie Chaplin still holds the copyright to his work until 2015. This follows the case of two Tokyo-based DVD producers found guilty this week of violating the rights of nine Chaplin movies ...Studio cites Dirty tricks over ‘Baby’ line
It emerged this week that the Hollywood studio, Lionsgate, has launched proceedings against a range of firms that have allegedly used a line from the 1987 hit film, Dirty Dancing, for promotional purposes. Rights to the movie – originally produ...US backs Thai camcording crackdown
The US Embassy in Thailand has lent its weight to an IP campaign in the Far East territory, backing the launch of an anti-piracy film trailer. The short clip, created by Thailand’s Motion Picture Association (MPA), will be tacked onto screening...Universal refutes copyright allegations
Media giant NBC Universal has reacted angrily to criticisms from the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), alleging that it has placed unreasonably harsh copyright notices on its products. Included in a complaint to the US Federal ...Chaplin copyright no laughing matter
The Tokyo District Court has ruled that the late film icon Charlie Chaplin still holds the copyright to his work until 2015. This follows the case of two Tokyo-based DVD producers found guilty this week of violating the rights of nine Chaplin movies ...Massive counterfeit ring smashed
It was announced on 24 July that pirated Microsoft and Symantec software – estimated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to be worth approximately $500 million – has been seized in a raid in the southern province of Guangdong in ...City law transforms piracy drive
A tooled-up New York moviegoer has become the first person to be charged under a new, citywide anti-piracy law introduced by media baron and Mayor, Michael Bloomberg. Kalidou Diallo was arrested in the Bronx-based American Theatre on 2 July during an...World’s second largest mp3 site closes
Despite its consistent status as the second largest retailer of music downloads for iTunes, the Russian music site, Allofmp3.com, was closed down this week. According to various web watchers, the closure was ordered by the Russian government in respo...Book orgs join to provide for orphans
A Joint Steering Group formed by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and the International Publishers’ Association (IPA) has composed a five-point plan to guide the publishing industry on the use of orphan works. A consi...Search engine swept up in Spy game
A federal magistrate’s order passed in a US copyright infringement case has inflamed advocates of online freedom. Ruling on Columbia Pictures Industries v Bunnell, in which the film studio is suing the defendant’s TorrentSpy website, the ...Grease monkeys’ music may cost more than peanuts
The Scotsman reported on 21 June that car repairs service, Kwik Fit, is embroiled in a legal challenge from the Performing Rights Society (PRS), on the grounds that constant radio play in many of its UK garages is creating a tide of copyright infring...Telecom giant stands guard against piracy
On 19 June, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) hailed a recent announcement from AT&T that it will act to keep pirated content off its networks. IFPI chief, John Kennedy, said: ‘I am delighted that AT&T has...EC stats reveal ’06 copycat boost
On 31 May, the European Commission released details of the anti-counterfeiting seizures it conducted throughout 2006, with the figures indicating a groundswell of trafficking in illegal goods. Perhaps the most alarming revelation is that 250 million ...YouTube throws shapes after copyright storm
The choreographer behind the popular 1976 dance, the Electric Slide, has retracted takedown demands he issued to the online video-sharing portal, YouTube, following a legal challenge. True to its aim of providing viewers with a steady stream of amusi...Auction house hammers copycats
London-based auctioner Sotheby’s has won an infringement suit against a group of Hong Kong firms in a ruling passed on 22 May. The businesses had been operating as shell companies for a Chinese parent firm that used the same font employed in th...UK copyright term ‘should be extended’, say MPs
A Parliamentary committee from the UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport has argued that performers must be allowed to keep copyright on their works for at least 70 years, as opposed to the current 50. The committee published its recommendation i...- According to BASCAP, counterfeiting and piracy are spiralling out of control, draining business resources, sapping the global economy, threatening consumer health and robbing the creative community of reward for innovation. It’s time to take ac...
Knock-off park riffs on Disney theme
A state-run Beijing theme park planner has built an entire resort that rips off the worldwide attractions of Disney. Reports carried in several Far East news sources from 6 to 10 May indicate a massive, unlicensed use of trademarked characters and lo...Store owner shellshocked over turtle art suit
The owner of a Pittsburgh video store is facing prosecution over the choice of décor for his building. 20 year-old Milton Barr, proprietor of independent outlet, MIB Ninja Entertainment, has run into trouble for advertising the store with a di...Music industry continues to plug Copyright Gap
On 30 April, in a continuation of the debate over performers’ rights in the music industry, Labour MP Michael Connarty called on the British Government to lobby the European Union for an extension of the sound recording copyright term. At pre...Crunch time for Apple over EC claims
One day after a watershed announcement in which EMI agreed to remove digital rights management (DRM) locks from its songs sold on Apple’s iTunes, Apple itself received a European Commission (EC) Statement of Objections over restrictive trading....BREIN battles Euro web pirates
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announced on 21 March that Dutch anti-piracy group, BREIN, has successfully triggered the take-down of illegal peer-to-peer (p2p) site, dsb-tracker.org. Its operator chose to remove the...US author reframes copyright debate
Bestselling American author, Jonathan Lethem, has revealed the unusual terms of a film option deal he has planned for his new novel, You Don’t Love Me Yet, which was published in the US on 13 March. Under the conditions of the deal, he will not...Copycat blunder wrecks Indian report
News broke on 22 February that a patent law report commissioned by the Indian government from a five-member expert panel has been rendered null and void by its own leader, as parts of it may have been plagiarised. Spearheaded by Dr RA Mashelkar, the ...Execs in rethink on tune locks
Results of a new survey indicate that digital rights management (DRM) technologies are no longer considered key to the economic health of the music business. Significantly, the news points out that many voices on the number-crunching side of the reco...Beatles’ last push nets Apple license
A tale of bickering twins came to an end on 5 February, as the Beatles-founded record company Apple Corps, and computer giant Apple Inc, announced the conclusion of their lengthy trademark dispute. For 25 years, each firm had accused the other of con...IP theft deals $2bn worldwide blow, report shows
One day ahead of Geneva's WIPO-sponsored Third Global Congress, ‘Shared Challenges, Common Goals’, the counterfeit-watching Gieschen Consultancy has revealed some disturbing statistics on the global economic damage caused by IP crime in 2...Uh-oh: YouTube messes with Murdoch
It emerged on 26 January that Rupert Murdoch’s Fox network has subpoenaed the online video service, YouTube, for personal details of a user who uploaded swathes of Fox content – some of which before it has even been broadcast. ‘E...Creative greats to imagine copyright future
Delegates from a range of creative industries will gather in Brussels’ Sheraton Hotel from 30 to 31 May to discuss the future of copyright, it was revealed on 23 January. Hosted by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Com...US anti-piracy group names new chief
NBC Universal’s executive vice president and general counsel, Rick Cotton, is the new chairman of the US Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy (CACP), it was announced on 17 January. Cotton takes over from Gillette’s Paul Fox, who r...YouTube offers JASRAC an olive branch
It was announced on 20 December that delegates from the online video portal, YouTube, have offered to meet representatives from several Japanese media firms concerned about the site’s history of infringement. YouTube executives are planning to ...YouTube comes under attack in Japan
Last week saw YouTube come into criticism with the Japanese entertainment industry for not being proactive enough in preventing copyright infringement. A group of Japanese companies has sent a letter to YouTube chief executive Chad Hurley and chi...Gowers report has massive implications for the music industry
Around midday on Wednesday 6 December, the British Treasury published the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, as part of its pre-budget report. This marks the culmination of 12 months of research by Andrew Gowers, a former editor of the Financial...Sound and vision giants team up on Blitz
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) heralded the gift-giving season this week with the launch of a two-month Holiday Blitz – a series of initiatives designed to combat and in...Israel reports heavy losses in fraud plague
Israeli companies were deprived of $500 million revenue in 2005 by piracy, the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce announced this week. In the sector-based league of losses, media suffered badly, with filmmaking missing out on $38 million and ...- In a move that has impressed open-source advocates, the Californian software firm, Sun Microsystems, released the code for its flexible Java system on Monday under General Public License (GPL). Users are now free to develop new software out of the co...
Mandelson blasts China's record on broadcast fees
EU Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, launched an attack on Chinese broadcasters on Wednesday for failing to pay royalties to European rights holders. His speech, which followed a Tuesday meeting with China’s commerce minister, Bo Xilai, also...Global fraud haul hits $700m by mid-2006
A major report on global IP fraud for the first half of 2006 has revealed devastating insights into the links between counterfeiting and organised crime. The paper, compiled by the Calgary-based Gieschen Consultancy from BASCAP’s Daily Counterf...- Roderick Dadak, partner, and Dr Thomas Hays, consultant, at law firm Lewis Silkin LLP, ask what the recent Da Vinci Code judgement means for copyright law Dan Brown’s million-selling The Da Vinci Code (DVC) didn’t just start a craze am...