Tag: copyright

  • Citizen Killock misleads MPs

    Citizen Killock misleads MPs

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    Parliament’s Business Select Committee heard some interesting news today, as they mulled the Hargreaves Report’s recommendations. Executive director of the Open Rights Group Jim Killock told MPs that the UK’s copyright laws were deterring investors and new businesses. Alas, he could have picked a better example. Killock said Netflix had looked at the UK market…

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  • Wolfie of the IPO

    Wolfie of the IPO

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    Britain could have invented the iPod – if it wasn’t for a copyright law that everyone ignores. So says the UK government in a remarkable economic justification of the so-called “Google Review”, the Review of IP and Growth led by Ian Hargreaves. The document was written for the government by civil servants at the IPO,…

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  • Free Ride: Disney, Fela Kuti and Google’s war on copyright
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    Free Ride: Disney, Fela Kuti and Google’s war on copyright

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    Wars over creators’ rights are pretty old – much older than copyright law. In one of the first “copyfights”, in 561AD, about 3,000 people died, writes Robert Levine in his new book Free Ride. St Colmcille and St Finnian clashed over the right to make copies of the Bible, with the King castigating Colmcille for…

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  • Copyright and the psychology of victimhood

    Copyright and the psychology of victimhood

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    Of course, there’s real oppression, then there’s having to pay for music you want to keep. You can listen to almost anything for free, anyway. Your reporter’s view is that file-sharing is a real joy – that should be legally available. The music industry should concentrate on innovation, and delighting the substantial majority of us…

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  • EU wants to erect opt-in hurdle for creators

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    A potentially incendiary EU report released today recommends making changes to the Berne Convention – and creating several new layers of bureaucracy in order to deal with the digitisation of cultural stuff. Creators would have to “opt-in” to a new database before getting their rights, which have historically been guaranteed by Berne signatories since 1886.…

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  • Hollywood ruling sends piracy chill through Google

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    “Why is it so hard to make the decision not to enter into business partnerships with sites whose business model is obvious infringement of the works of U.S. creators?” Hollywood is going after advertising companies who help fund pirate websites, and has now won a landmark victory.… Read More

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