Copyright News

ASCAP Soliciting Money To Attack Creative Commons

7:07 pm EST June 26th, 2010 | Media | 4 Comments

creative commonsHollywood reacts like a dinosaur to innovation.

ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), according to ASCAP member Mike Rugnetta, has sent a letter out asking its members to send donations that would go to fighting organizations like Creative Commons, the EFF, Public Knowledge and other supporters of the free culture movement. He posted the letter to prove it (Part 1, part 2).

“At this moment,” the letter says, “we are facing our biggest challenge ever. Many forces including Creative Commons, Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation and technology companies with deep pockets are mobilizing to promote “Copyleft” in order to undermine our “Copyright.” They say they are advocates of consumer rights, but the truth in these groups simply do not want to pay for the use of our music. Their mission is to spread the word that our music should be free.”

This, of course, is total bull. Creative Commons was created as a way for creators to share their art without subjecting it to the onerous copyright law that Hollywood has pushed through (largely with the help of Democrats).

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The One Democratic Special Interest I Hate

1:36 am EST December 16th, 2009 | Democrats | 1 Comment

The Democrats get accused often of being in the pocket of various special interest groups – trial lawyers, the ACLU, unions – whether they’re in the pocket of those groups or not doesn’t trouble me, as I largely agree with a lot of the goals of those folks (less so with unions than the others).

But the one interest group that Democrats are far too likely to ask “how high” to and that I hate is Hollywood. Not the trippy-dippy Hollywood, the socially liberal bunch who are far too earnest but have their hearts in the right place, no, my problem is with the business side of Hollywood – the side that sees a Democratic administration as their copyright plaything.

Vice President Joe Biden pledged Tuesday to employ all the resources of the federal government to mount a coordinated, multi-faceted approach to stem the increasing problem concerning the piracy and theft of intellectual property.

Biden said the Obama administration is committed to pooling all the available resources within the federal government to mount the coordinated effort.

I believe in right to intellectual property, but when Hollywood talks about it, this almost always means things like restrictive, onerous DRM, the defacto elimination of fair use, and controls that make platforms like the internet less free and open.

I’m not sure exactly what form this effort will take by the feds, but I have no doubt it will suck.

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Dealing With HBO’s Copyright Bullying

7:21 pm EST January 19th, 2009 | Media | 9 Comments

Apparently HBO is removing all those video excerpts of yesterday’s concert at the Lincoln Memorial. I’m no copyright expert, but I really wish someone would go ahead and post clips on their blog or other website, then get HBO to defend the idea that they own a public concert given on federal property in the middle of the inauguration of America’s next president.

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