>>> "Lesley Ellen Harris" <[log in to unmask]> 10/29/01 4:52:54 PM >>>

FROM THE OFFICES OF LESLEY ELLEN HARRIS

Copyright, New Media Law & E-Commerce News

Vol. 5, No. 4, October 29, 2001

ISSN 1489-954X

Contents:


    1.. Studies, Legislation and Conventions:
    U.S. set to double copyright police

    U.S. Copyright Office releases DMCA study

    WIPO General Assembly 2001 session ends

    2.. Legal Cases:
    Canadian freelancers win copyright case

    Freelancers win payment for CD-ROM articles and photos

    3.. E-Commerce:
    Internet music download service launched

    4.. Of Interest:
    Happy 30th Birthday, email

    Doucet appointed to Copyright Board of Canada

    Canadian Webcaster still wants to retransmit TV programs

    5.. Publications and Web sites: New copyrightlaws.com site launched

______________________________________________________

Copyright, New Media & E-Commerce News is distributed for free by the office of Lesley Ellen Harris. Information contained herein should not be relied upon or considered as legal advice. Copyright 2001 Lesley Ellen Harris. This newsletter may be forwarded, downloaded or reproduced in whole in any print or electronic format for non-commercial purposes provided that its author is acknowledged and that you cc: [log in to unmask]

This newsletter is archived with the National Library of Canada at:

http://collection.nlc-bnc.ca/100/202/300/copyright-a/index.html 



    1.. STUDIES, LEGISLATION AND CONVENTIONS:
    U.S. SET TO DOUBLE COPYRIGHT POLICE FORCE - Next year's budget reveals a doubling in the number of Justice Department attorneys and FBI agents to police the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The Senate has allocated $10 million for copyright prosecutions, up from the current $4 million.

    U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE RELEASES DMCA STUDY - The U.S. Copyright Office recently released a study on how the Digital Millennium Copyright Act provisions and the world of e-commerce are affecting traditional copyright law. The full text of the study is at http://www.loc.gov/copyright/reports/studies/dmca/dmca_study.html.


    WIPO GENERAL ASSEMBLIES 2001 SESSION ENDS - The Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") concluded earlier this month without an agreement reached on an international treaty on performers' rights in audiovisual performances. The issue, which was also discussed without resolution at a Diplomatic Conference in Geneva in December 2000, has now been held over to the 2002 session of the WIPO Assemblies. For more details, see the press release at http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/releases/2001/p291.htm.


    2.. LEGAL CASES:
    CANADIAN FREELANCERS WIN COPYRIGHT CASE - A Superior Court in Ontario (Canada) has held that freelance writers in Canada own the copyright in articles resold through online databases. The case was a $100 million class-action lawsuit launched by thousands of freelancers against information corporations such as Thompson and Bell Globemedia. In his October 4, 2001 ruling, Mr. Justice Peter Cumming commented, "The Globe is selling access to stand-alone freelance articles. ... It is impossible to view the reproduction of the plaintiff's work on the Globe's various databases as reproduction of a 'collective' work." While the freelancers can claim victory on the central issue of who owns copyright in the articles, the judge did not rule on the other issue in the case - whether freelancers who sold their work to a variety of newspapers had also consented to these articles appearing in an online database. This latter point will be decided in a trial.

    FREELANCERS WIN PAYMENT FOR CD-ROM ARTICLES AND PHOTOS - In another victory for digital freelancers, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that National Geographic must pay freelance journalists for the use of their stories and photographs on a CD-ROM. On Oct 9, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by the magazine, which insisted it would be impossible to track down all the freelancers whose photographs and articles were used in the magazine from 1888 to 1996. The Court held that features of the CD-ROM such as music and advertisements made it a new product for which freelancers should be paid.


    3.. E-COMMERCE:
    INTERNET MUSIC DOWNLOAD SERVICE LAUNCHED - Peter Gabriel's record company, Real World Records, recently joined with world music record company Womad and the digital music distribution service OD2 to launch a subscription service for Internet music downloads. The service, known as Womad Digital Channel (http://www.womadshop.com/digitalchannel/), consists of a monthly package of 40 tracks for just over US$7. Such services are being introduced by record companies to stop consumers using services like Napster to download music without paying royalties.


    4.. OF INTEREST:
    HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, EMAIL - Email reached the grand old age of 30 recently. The first email was sent by Ray Tomlinson, an American engineer who invented the program, sometime in the fall of 1971. Tomlinson doesn't remember the contents of the first message or who the recipient was. The first emails could only be sent to and from users with mailboxes on the same computer, but even from the beginning included the well-known @ symbol.

    DOUCET APPOINTED TO COPYRIGHT BOARD OF CANADA - On October 5, the Minister of Industry, Brian Tobin, announced the appointment of Brigitte Doucet as a full-time member of the Copyright Board of Canada for a five-year term. Doucet was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1994, and has specialized in music and copyright, as well as business law. Her most recent post was with the Association des producteurs de films et de télévision du Québec (APFTQ), where she worked as legal counsel in work relations.

    CANADIAN WEBCASTER STILL WANTS TO RETRANSMIT TV PROGRAMS - Despite dropping an application for an Internet retransmission tariff, JumpTV still intends to become the first company to legally rebroadcast TV programs on the Internet. JumpTV withdrew from Copyright Board hearings that could have set statutory tariffs for retransmission of TV programs via the Internet. Rather than becoming involved in a process to create new rules for Webcasters, the Canadian company may try to retransmit TV shows under existing copyright law. JumpTV argued that Canadian regulations which allow cable and satellite companies to retransmit content under statutory license and fees for content could be applied to Webcasters. The company also claims it has the technology to prevent programming being leaked to countries outside Canada. For more details, see http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/171057.html.


    5.. PUBLICATIONS AND WEB SITES:
NEW COPYRIGHTLAWS.COM SITE LAUNCHED - Lesley Ellen Harris' comprehensive copyright law site has recently undergone a revamp. The site, at http://www.copyrightlaws.com, contains articles on topics like licensing terms, copyright collectives and music on the Internet. There's also a copyright quiz, and links to information about reports, seminars and consulting services. The site was designed with the help of students of Sheridan College Post Graduate Interactive Multimedia Program.


This newsletter is prepared by Lesley Ellen Harris, a Copyright and New Media Lawyer and Consultant. Lesley is the author of the books Canadian Copyright Law (McGrawHill) and Digital Property: Currency of the 21st Century (McGrawHill - see http://www.mcgrawhill.ca/digitalproperty) Lesley can be reached at [log in to unmask], and at http://copyrightlaws.com.


This LEH-Letter issue was prepared with the help of Beth Davies.

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