03 August 2009 - Glossary added
A glossary has been added to the "resources" section. Additions to the glossary will happen continually. Suggestions are welcome!
See: Glossary
20 February 2009 - New to Online Resources: HRCAP
The Historical Recording Coalition for Access and Preservation (HRCAP) is an effort to create a copyright regime more conducive to both providing access to, and to preserving historic sound recordings.
28 October 2008 - Google, Authors Guild, agree to settlement
The Authors Guild and Google have come to an agreement which will end their three-year-old legal stand-off. Under the terms of the settlement, which must still be approved by a federal judge, Google will pay the Authors Guild $125 Million. The Guild will use a portion of those funds to establish a Book Rights Registry, through which holders of US Copyrights can arrange to be compensated for the use of their works.
22 September 2008 - First Sale decision in UMG v. Augusto
In June, A U.S. District Court judge ruled that lawfully acquired promotional CDs could be resold under 17 USC §109. A summary with links to the opinion has been added to the Decisions section.
In addition, a summary of section 109 has been added in the Laws section.
17 July 2008 - EU moves to increase copyright term
The European Union has moved to increase their term of copyright in sound recordings from 50 to 95 years. The press release, which was released yesterday (July 16), also includes a proposal to update the copyright term in the case of co-authorship in a musical composition to 70 years following the death of the last surviving author.
02 July 2008 - Defense response filed in Georgia State case
The defense has filed its answer in Cambridge University Press, et al. v. Patton, et al., claiming both sovereignty immunity and fair use. The case, the outcome of which would likely affect numerous U.S. colleges and universities, involves Georgia State University's use of electronic reserve materials.
01 June 2008 - ACTA negotiations to begin
is reporting that negotiations are set to begin next week in Geneva over the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The agreement is controversial, especially over reports that it includes extended power to conduct ex parte searches and seizures at border crossings.
The full article can be found here: Embattled ACTA Negotiations Next Week In Geneva; US Sees Signing This Year.
21 May 2008 - Orphan Works legislation introduced
The U.S. Congress is once again considering legislation to address the problem of orphan works (works still under copyright for whom there is either no living owner or the owner cannot be found). The bills are S.2913 ("Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008") in the Senate and H.R. 5889 ("Orphan Works Act of 2008") in the House of Representatives.
As of this writing, H.R.5889 has been approved by the subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, and has been referred to the Judiciary Committee. S.2913 has been recommended for debate by the full Senate.
A 2006 Orphan works bill considered by the 109th Congress was voted down.
20 May 2008 - Section 108 Study Group report released
The Section 108 Study Group has released its long-awaited report. The 212-page document details the groups recommendations for revising and updating 17 U.S.C. 108, which grants copyright exemptions to libraries and archives.
The report is available in PDF here: http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2008/08-063.html