>>> "Lesley Ellen Harris" <[log in to unmask]> 4/9/02 11:19:36 AM >>>
FROM THE OFFICES OF LESLEY ELLEN HARRIS

Copyright, New Media Law & E-Commerce News
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Vol. 6, No. 2, April 9, 2002

ISSN 1489-954X

Contents:


    1.. Studies, Legislation and Conventions:
    U.S. closer to digital piracy Act

    E.U. releases FAQ on Canadian privacy legislation

    Privacy concerns over proposed digital music laws

    2.. Legal Cases:
    CIPA constitutionality trial open

    Entertainment industry launches copyright suit

    Supreme Court rules on consumers' right to criticize

    Decreasing copyright protection in the U.S.

    Internet piracy leader pleads guilty

    Jury to hear file-trading case in October

    Man pleads guilty to criminal digital copyright violation

    Suit continues against Russian DMCA suit

    3.. E-Commerce:
    Universities help to block downloads of copyright music

    MGM offers downloadable movies on the Internet

    I-Crave TV makes a comeback

    U.S. Appeals Court keeps Napster offline

    4.. Of Interest:
    Taiwan steps up intellectual property protection

    Changes to U.S. Copyright Office practices

    5.. Seminars
Online Canadian and international copyright law course

Maryland Writers Association conference



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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 2002 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 

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    1.. STUDIES, LEGISLATION AND CONVENTIONS:
    U.S. CLOSER TO DIGITAL PIRACY ACT - Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest "Fritz" Hollings said that he would impose a government solution if entertainment and technology companies are unable to agree on means to stop digital piracy. The Security Systems Standards and Certification Act, introduced by Hollings, would force technology manufacturers to work with content providers to prevent illegal copying of music, films, etc., over the Internet and on electronic media. 

    E.U. RELEASES FAQ ON CANADIAN PRIVACY LEGISLATION - The European Commission has recently released an FAQ on its finding on Canadian privacy legislation. The Commission recognized last December that the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act "provides adequate protection for certain personal data transferred from the EU to Canada." The FAQ are at http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/dataprot/adequacy/canada-faq_en.htm.

    PRIVACY CONCERNS OVER PROPOSED DIGITAL MUSIC LAWS - Some privacy advocates are raising concerns that proposed U.S. legislation could endanger the anonymity of online music listeners. The proposed regulations would establish a per-song royalty rate, and also require Webcasters to keep "listener logs" in some instances, sharing this information with content providers. 

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    2.. LEGAL CASES:
    CIPA CONSTITUTIONALITY TRIAL OPENS - Librarians, civil libertarians and scientists opened their constitutional challenge against the Child Internet Protection Act ("CIPA") in Philadelphia earlier this year. CIPA requires public libraries and schools to use Internet filtering software on their computers in order to qualify for federal funding. Members of the public were barred from attending the trial after filtering companies argued that confidential filtering techniques would be disclosed. 

    ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY LAUNCHES COPYRIGHT SUIT - In March, the Motion Picture Association of America launched the first of a number of actions against MusicCity, an online provider of movies. Around 350,000 movies are downloaded from the Internet every day, and the entertainment industry is set to unite against video piracy in the same way that the music industry worked together to close down Napster. For more information, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/internetnews/story/0,7369,655792,00.html.

    SUPREME COURT RULES ON CONSUMERS' RIGHT TO CRITICIZE - The Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled that citizens have a constitutional right to publicly criticize companies, products and services. The court ruled that the right applies to the Internet, as well as to conventional media and on signs. For the full text of the case, see http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/rec/html/guignard.en.html.

    DECREASING COPYRIGHT PROTECTION IN THE U.S. - The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could decrease the length of copyright protection. The plaintiffs argue that the U.S. Congress has sided too heavily with copyright owners when it passed a law in 1998 that retroactively extended copyright protection by 20 years. The duration of copyright protection in the U.S. is now life-plus-70 (as in the E.U. countries), as opposed to life-plus-50 (as is the standard in the Berne Convention and in many countries including Canada.) The 1998 copyright changes were in the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. As a result of the extension, older Disney movies and copyrights that had been expected to enter the public domain soon were prevented from becoming freely available on the Internet or otherwise used with a license from Disney. Jonathan Zittrain, a Harvard Law School professor is representing the plaintiffs. He believes that the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to give authors and inventors the exclusive right to their works for a "limited" time, but the length of that period has gotten longer over the years. In 1790, copyrights lasted 14 years. With the 1998 extension, the period is 70 years after the death of the creator. Works owned by corporations are now protected for 95 years.

    INTERNET PIRACY LEADER PLEADS GUILTY - John Sankus Jr., co-leader of an international piracy ring, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit copyright infringement. Sankus, who is co-leader of DrinkorDie, an international piracy ring that distributes software, games and movies over the Internet, will face a fine of between $2.5 million and $5 million. 

    JURY TO HEAR FILE-TRADING CASE IN OCTOBER - A copyright infringement case against file-trading companies Streamcast Networks, Kazaa BC and Grokster will be heard by jury, the first time a jury trial has been set in a file-trading case. A motion for dismissal by the file-trading companies was denied, as was the entertainment industries' request for summary judgment. 

    MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CRIMINAL DIGITAL COPYRIGHT VIOLATION - A California man pleaded guilty last week to charges involving thousands of bootlegged videotapes. The man had been charged under the Digitial Millennium Copyright Act, and the conviction is only the second in the U.S. under the new Act. For more information, see http://zdnet.com.com/2110-11-870988.html.

    SUIT CONTINUES AGAINST RUSSIAN DMCA SUIT - In another case under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a federal judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit against ElcomSoft, a Russian company which allegedly sells software to circumvent e-book copyright technology. ElcomSoft had argued that the U.S. court did not have jurisdiction, since sales occur over the Internet, but the federal judge held that sufficient conduct took place in the U.S. See http://zdnet.com.com/2110-1105-874258.html for the news story.



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    3.. E-COMMERCE:
    Universities help to block downloads of copyright music - Music companies are enlisting colleges to help track down student downloads from Napster-like music sharing sites. University of Buffalo authorities notified 25 students and two staff members that they had been caught downloading copyright protected songs, and were warned that they could face legal action from record companies. They were also told to remove the music files and warned that they could lose computer privileges. Universities acted after NetPD, an Internet policing site that works on behalf of Sony to track illegal music downloads, sent violation notices to computer network administrators.

    MGM OFFERS DOWNLOADABLE MOVIES ON THE INTERNET - MGM has announced plans to offer downloadable Video-on-Demand via the Internet, in co-operation with CinemaNow. For more information, see http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-000012921feb20.story.

    I-CRAVE TV MAKES A COMEBACK - Internet broadcaster I-Crave TV is planning to re-launch on May 1 under new owners. The original I-Crave streamed TV channels live over the Internet before being shut down two years ago by a multi-million dollar copyright infringement suit. The new I-Crave TV web site will offer free, subscription, and pay-per-view services, and is at http://www.icravetv.biz.

    U.S. APPEALS COURT KEEPS NAPSTER OFFLINE - A California federal appeals court affirmed an earlier District Court ruling that shut down Napster until it can fully comply with an injunction to remove all copyright protected music from its site. In July, the appeals court blocked the District Court ruling from being forced until the case was heard, although Napster did not resume operations. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    4.. OF INTEREST:
    TAIWAN STEPS UP INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION - The Taiwanese government, in an effort to change the country's reputation as a "Kingdom of piracy", has announced increased vigilance in the protection of intellectual property rights. For more information, see http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/20020225/20020225b3.html.

    CHANGES TO U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE PRACTICES - The U.S. Copyright Office recently announced the following change to its practices:

    "When a work designates more than one category in an Application for the Registration of a Copyright, you are required to check the box compilation and check the predominant category (only one) that represents the work. Descriptions of works are no longer accepted in an Application for Registration of a Copyright and the section should not be completed."

    The forms (available online at http://www.loc.gov/copyright/forms/) will be modified to reflect these changes.

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    5.. SEMINARS:
ONLINE CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW COURSE - Need to learn more about Canadian and international copyright law but never seem to have the time to attend a course or read an entire book on the topic? Copyrightlaws.com is pleased to announce the first online course on Canadian and International Copyright Law. How does it work? Sign up at http://www.acteva.com/go/copyright. The fee is $99 U.S. Then sit back and relax? Twice a week, beginning the week of May 1, 2002, you will receive e-lessons for a total of 9 weeks. Just to make sure you pay attention to these e-lessons, a quiz testing your knowledge for that particular e-lesson is included at the end of each lesson. This online course is based on the best-seller, Canadian Copyright Law 3rd ed., published by McGraw-Hill Ryerson. The author of this book, Lesley Ellen Harris, has prepared the e-lessons for this unique online course. The following topics will be addressed in the course: Understanding intellectual property What is protected by copyright and how protection is obtained How international copyright protection works Who owns copyright The duration of copyright Rights protected by copyright Exceptions to copyright How can rights be exploited How is copyright violated What are the remedies for the violation of copyright Legally using copyright materials Comparing Canadian and American copyright laws Digital copyright and electronic rights. For further information, email: [log in to unmask] or register at: http://www.acteva.go/copyright. 

MARYLAND WRITERS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE - Lesley Ellen Harris will speak on "Legal Issues for Writers" at the Maryland Writers Association Conference on April 20th. For the conference brochure, see http://www.marylandwriters.org/2002program.pdf.



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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.

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

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