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Copyrights and regulated markets
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Vested interest have done their best to cloud the copying of Intellectual property, a Government granted monopoly, with the counterfeiting of physical property which can put lives at risk. Other related definitions: Oligopoly Free market Regulated market The old school symbols of freedom, music and film, have become the new symbols of authoritarianism. Using musicians and artists to justify censorship has a level of black humor and poetic justice to it, especially when you thrown in the total lack or accountability and responsibility asked for in return for the monopolies. |
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WASHINGTON - The US added Canada to a priority watch list of countries
that it says have failed to enforce intellectual property rights,
citing concerns over poor border control and pharmaceutical practices.
(CP)
LAS VEGAS - The Postal Service used the image of sculptor Robert Davidson's Las Vegas replica on a 2010 stamp design instead of the New York original. (BBC) Replica Statue of Liberty
Trolls are stifling innovators OTTAWA - Canada is now home to some of the toughest anti-piracy rules in the world, but the focus on infringement has come at a cost. Canadian copyright law is unquestionably supportive of cracking down on piracy, but it lacks the flexibility needed for new creativity and innovation. (Michael Geist)
OTTAWA - The Royal Canadian Mint is suing
the Royal Australian Mint over a coin that celebrates the popular
Possum Magic children's book series.
Their issue is not with the furry
marsupial but with Australia's method for printing colour on to coins,
for which Canada claims to own the patent.
(BBC)
LOS ANGELES - Music streaming service
Spotify
has been sued by a music publishing company for $1.6B, for hosting
songs it allegedly doesn't have the full rights to.
The suit states that under the US
Copyright Act, each song has 2 copyright claims: one to the recording,
and the other to the composition.
Wixen
claims that Spotify didn't obtain the composition rights in their
deals, and is seeking damages of $150,000 per song, for over 10,000
songs.
(Guardian UK)
Montreal's Olympic Stadium may be among Canada's most iconic buildings, but that doesn't mean it can be put on a T-shirt, a Montreal designer has been told. The notice, sent out by SODRAC, demanded he stop producing the T-shirts. (CBC)
LOS ANGELES - Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin has defeated a lawsuit that accused the band of stealing the opening riff in Stairway to Heaven. (Guardian UK) PREVIOUS: Copyright case to trial Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven Spirit Taurus
SAN FRANCISCO - PETA sought a court order last year allowing them to represent the 6-year-old monkey named Naruto and administer all revenue generated by the famous image as well as the accompanying ones generated by him using the camera in Sulawesi, Indonesia. (RT) MORE: PETA to appeal PETA sues to give copyright for 'monkey selfies' David Slater
VANCOUVER - The
Vancouver
Aquarium has filed a lawsuit alleging
copyright infringement by a filmmaker whose documentary was critical
of the facility's treatment of dolphins and beluga whales.
Gary Charbonneau's documentary
Vancouver
Aquarium Uncovered was posted on
YouTube.
(CP)
SANTIAGO - 9 miners, trapped for 70 days
some 700 meters (2,295 feet) down a mineshaft in northern Chile, filed
suit against their former lawyers for committing fraud.
(EFE)
BOSTON - A Massachusetts man has been
accused of fraud and perjury by prosecutors for allegedly back-dating
drawings that he used as evidence to sue DreamWorks.
(BBC)
MORE:
Man charged with defrauding
Po Kung
Fu Panda
NEW YORK - A Fox News anchor is suing a US toy company,
Hasbro, for more
than $5M over a toy hamster that she says resembles her and shares her
name.
Harris Faulkner said the company's
portrayal of her as a plastic hamster 'was demeaning and insulting'.
(BBC)
Harris
Faulkner
Littlest pet shop hamster
A Canadian firm has been granted a patent for a 'space elevator' which will shoot cargo 12.4 miles into the stratosphere from where it can be launched more easily. (Telegraph UK) MORE: Thoth Technology Canadian company gets patent 1895 space elevator
Netflix and the online video streaming craze are taking a bite out of online piracy. (CBC) |
CALGARY - According to the letter dated Feb
8, 2018, Blanco Cantina must stop promoting its food and restaurant
with the phrase 'Taco Tuesday' as the term was trademarked by
MTY Food Group,
the franchisor of the Taco Time Mexican food outlets, on May 21, 1997.
(CTV)
At any moment, the average Canadian is basting in a vast landscape of trademarks: symbols, words or even basic sounds whose ownership has been fiercely staked out and defended. And they can all be found on the gargantuan Canadian Trademarks Database. The National Post sifted through as much of it as possible to uncover these little-known gems from the world of Canadian copyright law. (National Post)
Farmers are attempting to get legislation
passed in their states that would enable them, for the first time
since the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA),
to repair their own tractors or get an independent mechanic to help.
If farmers so much as open the
metaphorical hood to check out the computers they could be violating
the federal act.
(Fox)
MORE:
Right to fix own tractor
NEW YORK - A founder of
Run-DMC
filed a lawsuit accusing Amazon.com Inc and Wal-Mart Stores Inc of
selling a wide variety of clothing and accessories bearing the
pioneering rap group's name without permission.
(Reuters)
Here's a news bulletin for anybody in Canada calling themselves 'Ted': the Canada Revenue Agency owns your name. (CBC)
BRUSSELS - Talks for a free trade deal
between EU and the US face a serious impasse with 'irreconcilable'
differences in some areas, according to leaked negotiating texts.
(Guardian UK)
REPORT:
TTIP leaks
TTIP leak
Is TTIP dying?
TTIP
NEW YORK - Take-Two Interactive Software Inc has been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit over its depiction of tattoos belonging to NBA stars LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in a popular video game. Solid Oak Sketches LLC said Take-Two should pay damages for incorporating 8 tattoo designs, which the plaintiff had licensed from various artists, into its NBA 2K16 game. (Reuters)
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada issued its long-awaited decision in SODRAC v. CBC, a case that has major implications for the role of technological neutrality in copyright. (Michael Geist)
VANCOUVER - BC Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge dismissed Laura Robinson's claim of defamation over statements John Furlong made in response to a 2012 story she wrote for Georgia Straight about his past. (CBC) JUDGMENT: 2015 BCSC 1690 MORE: Did not defame journalist Robinson Loses Defamation Suit Defamation trial begins Court case begins John Furlong
TORONTO - Vancouver Dyke March organizers are outraged by Pride Toronto's recent attempt to trademark terms commonly used by grassroots organizations. (CP)PREVIOUS: Copyright board of Canada
SHENZHEN - One of China's top Internet companies, Xunlei, also runs one of its top tools for downloading pirated films. The MPAA is now suing Xunlei for violating an anti-piracy deal they signed in June 2014. (Epoch Times)
NEW YORK - Lawyers for the Beastie Boys are asking a New York court to order the maker of Monster Energy drink to pay nearly $2.5M in legal fees to cover their costs in a copyright violation case. In June, a Manhattan federal court jury awarded the rappers $1.7M in damages. (Irish Examiner)
BEIJING - The composer of one of the official anthems of Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics is facing an avalanche of criticism over claims his song bears an uncanny similarity to Let it Go, the theme from Disney's blockbuster animated film Frozen. (Guardian UK) MORE: Ice and Snow Dance v. Let it go 2022 Winter Olympics |
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OTTAWA - A House of Commons committee starts hearings on a review of Canadian copyright law. A group called the Canadian Music Policy Coalition, which represents 17 music associations, is circulating a document containing concepts it would like to see enacted. (Global) |
Mickey Mouse keeps changing copyright law Mickey Mouse act heading to Canada |
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2 lawyers were charged with a 'massive extortion scheme' in which they uploaded X-rated films to file-sharing sites, sued the people who downloaded them - and collected millions from victims who feared public humiliation, prosecutors said. Paul Hansmeier and John Steele actually produced some of the pornography, solely for the purpose of copyrighting it so they could file 'sham lawsuits' used to shake down their targets. (NBC) |
Indictment
.pdf Voltage v. Does .pdf |
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HOLLYWOOD - The movie industry has gone head to head with Google in recent years, demanding tougher anti-piracy measures from the search engine. This year the Warner Bros movie studio intensified its efforts and thus far it has flagged over 4M million allegedly infringing URLs. With help from its anti-piracy partner Vobile, Warner asked Google to censor several of its own URLs from the search engine. (Torrent freak) |
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OTTAWA - After years of false starts, Industry Minister James Moore unveiled the Digital Privacy Act, the long-awaited reform package of Canada's private sector privacy law. (Toronto Star)
Digital Canada 150
.pdf Who are Moore's 'Radical Extremists'? Detailed look at Bill C-32: part 1 Copyright laws are the opposite of allowing 'market forces' to act YouTube wins copyright battle with Viacom |
Copyright bill to ban breaking digital locks Digitization of Canada's heritage left to Google Copyright currently hard to enforce: police Entertainment Software Association Canadian Recording Industry Association Lots of power, no responsibility How the US got its Canadian copyright bill Copyright bill would ban breaking digital locks
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ECHELON is re-entering the headlines, and we are likely to learn more about the network's capabilities than conspiracy fans ever dreamed possible, all because of the copyright case against the defunct online storage company, Megaupload. (Reason) If Feds can bust Megaupload why bother with antipiracy bills? |
Protect Intellectual Property Act PIPA Why legislative idiocy will never die Megaupload assembles criminal defense US copyright raid in New Zealand Combating Online Infringements Act (COICA) |
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US lobbyists creating refugees WINDSOR - On April 15, 2011, a day known as "Black Friday" in the world of online poker, the US government made it impossible for a person to be paid money for playing online poker in that country. It's now illegal for online poker sites to pay players if they are located in the US. (CBC) |
Feds restoring 2 poker domains Canadian founder of PokerStars PokerStars Full Tilt Poker Absolute Poker Owners of gambling sites charged |
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MADISON - A US jury ordered Apple to pay the University of Wisconsin-Madison's patent licensing arm more than $234M in damages for incorporating its microchip technology into some of the company's iPhones and iPads without permission. (Reuters) Smartflash says it is not a patent troll |
Not everything deserves a patent Apple to seek US injunction against Samsung Apple turns its sights on Google's android Rockstar launches patent attacks Apple seeking to patent spyware South Korean court rules both infringed |
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WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court ruled that companies cannot patent parts of naturally-occurring human genes, a decision with the potential to profoundly affect the emerging and lucrative medical and biotechnology industries. (CBC) Lawsuit against US patent holder |
Court OKs patenting of human DNA if synthetic Question the validity of patents How human genes became patented in US ACLU wants patents declared unconstitutional |
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WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is giving up the legal fight over the name of the Washington Redskins. The department said the Supreme Court decision in Matal v. Tam in favor of an Asian-American band the Slants means the NFL team will prevail in a legal battle to cancel the team's trademarks. (CBS) |
US patent office cancels trademarks Trademarks for the Washington Redskins (.pdf) US Patent and Trademark Office |
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Pantone, a company with an effective monopoly over the colour specification industry, claims Minion Yellow 'projects playfulness and warmth and is suggestive of intellectual curiosity,' it turns out that intellectual property might be the real value its colour embodies. (Guardian UK) |
Pantone The company that owns almost every colour you can imagine Minion Yellow |
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OTTAWA - The final piece of the federal
Copyright
Modernization Act
took effect on Jan 1, requiring Internet service providers (ISPs) and
website hosts to relay letters from copyright holders to customers
associated with the unique Internet Protocol (IP) address where the
illegal downloading is alleged to have occurred.
(CTV) |
VANCOUVER - In a notice of civil claim,
Susan Fiedler says she
started fundraising F--k Cancer in 2008 - before Yael Cohen or Julie
Greenbaum began using the term to raise money for charity.
'A big part of what I'm doing is
really protecting my intellectual property,' said Fiedler.
(CBC) |
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WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has agreed to pay Apptricity $50M for pirating the company’s logistics software the US Army used beyond contracted parameters. (RT) |
TORONTO - Canada Goose has launched a lawsuit against Sears, accusing the department store of selling knock-offs of its "highly distinctive" parkas. (CP) Canada Goose |
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VANCOUVER - Gary Fung ran isohunt.com, a search engine for BitTorrent files, which helped users find virtually every type of copyrighted material, including music, movies, computer software, ebooks and pornography. (CBC) |
The Kindle edition retails for $14.99 at
Amazon.ca. But the book's publisher,
Random House,
charges Canadian libraries $85 per copy of the e-book.
(CBC) |
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Studios lose copyright lawsuit WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court ruled that a copyright dispute over the 1980 Oscar-winning movie Raging Bull can go another round in court. (AP) |
VANCOUVER - Skinny Puppy, the Vancouver industrial rock band that sent an invoice to the US military for allegedly using its music in Guantanamo Bay. (CTV) |
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Political parties don't like copyright laws OTTAWA - The Conservative government is planning to change Canada's copyright law to allow political parties to use content published and broadcast by news organizations for free in their own political ads. (CTV) COMMENT: Looting news for attack ads |
WASHINGTON - The justices said by a 6-3 vote
that Aereo
Inc. is violating the broadcasters' copyrights by taking the signals
for free.
(AP)
JUDGMENT:
American Broadcasting v Aereo
.pdf
Aereo ruled illegal
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OAKVILLE - 3 southern Ontario men are facing charges following an investigation in what's being called the largest counterfeit DVD burning and manufacturing operation in Canadian history. (CBC) MORE: Cops bust junk DVD ring |
PITTSBURGH - Marvell Technology Group Ltd said it will try to void a $1.17B damages award imposed by a federal jury that found the chipmaker had infringed two patents held by Carnegie Mellon University. (Reuters) MORE: Chipmaker faces patent fine |
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Sherlock Holmes fanfic authors: You're now free to write your hearts out. The characters, settings and other elements of the detective franchise are officially in the public domain, a federal judge has ruled. (Washington Post) JUDGMENT: US courts Ilnd 280181-40-0 Free Sherlock |
MONTREAL - At the center of the effort is Canipre, the only anti-piracy enforcement firm that provides forensic services to copyright-holders in Canada. (CTV) MORE: Anti-piracy firm a pirate We are tracking you NSA warrantless surveillance controversy Big Brother |
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NEW YORK - Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, has sued her literary agent for allegedly duping her into assigning him the copyright on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Guardian UK) |
TORONTO - First-year OCAD University students were given a pricey lesson in surrealism when their mandatory $180 art textbook was found to be missing a key ingredient - the art itself. (Toronto Star) |
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NEW YORK -
An attempt by the family
of singer
Bob Marley
to obtain the copyrights to some of his best-known
recordings has been thwarted by a judge in New York. (BBC)
RELATED:
Life hints from a professional artist
How to steal like an artist Artists lose to big business over song rights |
TORONTO - Police in Toronto have filed 21 charges in an investigation involving millions of dollars in fake goods and products, including wine, cosmetics and male-enhancement medications, such as Viagra. (CBC) MORE: 21 charged |
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Bands that emerged in the '90s were among the last to feel the oversight of major labels, radio play and music television. The internet revolution has made those cultural gatekeepers increasingly irrelevant (CBC) |
Studios win website blocking order LONDON - Hollywood studios have won a landmark High Court order to force BT to block its millions of broadband customers from accessing Newzbin2, a website that offers links to pirated films. (Telegraph UK) |
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HOLLYWOOD - New data uncovered by TorrentFreak shows that the MPAA might want to start in-house, as plenty of copyrighted material is being shared by employees of major Hollywood studios. (TorrentFreak) MORE: Where the music pirates are BSA guessed at piracy rates Lobbying board of Canada |
NEW YORK - After filing a lawsuit over Alexander McQueen's designs featuring the biker club's trademarked name and "death head" skull logo, the Hells Angels have settled with the fashion house as well as retailers Saks Fifth Avenue and Zappos.com, and at quite a cost to the three companies. (NY Magazine) |
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Universities vs copyright group TORONTO - Some universities no longer feel the need to pay for the services of Access Copyright which has provided a pool of protected intellectual work for almost two decades while distributing royalties to the writers, artists and publishers it represents. (CBC) MORE: Copyright Board of Canada Copyright Board tariff #5 .pdf Copyright charge New threat to copyright |
LAS VEGAS - Righthaven - the copyright enforcement partner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Denver Post - since March 2010 has filed at least 249 lawsuits against website operators and message-board posters alleging material from those newspapers was re-posted online without authorization. (Las Vegas Sun) MORE: Righthaven victims Copyright trolling for dollars |
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After being honored with an Oscar for best motion picture last year, the makers of The Hurt Locker have now also secured the award for the biggest file-sharing lawsuit the world has ever witnessed. (TorrentFreak) US Copyright Group You might be out $20K |
VANCOUVER - Three Canadian companies caught selling Louis Vuitton and Burberry knock-offs committed more than just a fashion faux-pas, say lawyers for the haute couture giants, who are suing the companies in federal court. (CP) |
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The creation of ZookZ was made possible by the 2007 WTO ruling that awarded Antigua $21M annually in the form of abrogated rights to US-produced entertainment, meaning Antiguan firms can copy and sell - free of charge - up to $21M each year in entertainment properties otherwise licensed by American entertainment firms. (Poker News) Internet belongs to the US |
US trademark laws out of control WASHINGTON - On May 3, just two days after Usama bin Laden was killed in a raid on the Al Qaeda leader’s Pakistan compound, Disney filed trademark applications to use the name "SEAL Team 6" on everything from entertainment, toys, video games, clothing, footwear - even Christmas ornaments and snow globes. (Fox) RELATED: GOP scared by Copyright paper |
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Copyright lobby goes after itself Members of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, including the Big Four (Warner Music Canada, Sony BMG Music Canada, EMI Music Canada, and Universal Music Canada), face the prospect of damages ranging from $50M up to $6B due to their use of artists' music without permission. (Ars Technica) MORE: Record industry faces liability SOCAN's secret copyright submission |
OTTAWA - Trademark and copyright protections exist to prevent commercial free-riders from exploiting the investments that businesses make in their products and marketing. These protections are not designed to insulate corporations from public criticism. (Toronto Star) PREVIOUS: SLAPP Censorship in Canada Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Excess copyright |
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Just as the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa looks for a new name, a city councillor claims he owns the current one. (Toronto Star) PREVIOUS: Canadian intellectual property office |
All jokes fit into 8 categories LONDON - Alastair Clarke, a British evolutionary theorist, identified eight patterns which all jokes could fit into no matter where you come from in the world. . (Telegraph UK) |
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BRUSSELS - The European Parliament rejected a global agreement against copyright theft, handing a victory to protesters who say the legislation would punish people for sharing films and music online. (Reuters) EU free trade talks would retool copyright laws What happens when you upset Disney The quiet unravelling of democracy ACTA Aug 25 text .pdf |
Can Canada's version be stopped? Companies can't use trademark law to indefinitely perpetuate exclusive rights Liberals, Bloc and NDP support motion to extend copyright tax |
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OTTAWA - Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart in a public letter to Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Canadian Heritage Minister Josée Verner, Stoddart cautioned against using forthcoming copyright legislation to undermine privacy. (Tyee) |
The concerns of copyright reform
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WASHINGTON - Fight for the Future's says that some of the comments
were posted using the names and details of dead people.
The FCC has
voted
two-to-one to reverse net neutrality laws enacted in 2015.
Almost 2.8M comments have been filed on the FCC's plans since the
consultation opened at the end of April.
Last week it was reported that
hundreds of
thousands of comments supporting the proposals had been posted by
bots. (BBC) |
Federal Communications Commission Commissioner on Internet Regulation Government Planning 'Insider' ACTA group Turning Net into a virtual police state Canadian DMCA: What you can do They're shrinking the internet How the Grinches stole 'net neutrality'
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Court jails Pirate Bay founders STOCKHOLM - A court in Sweden has jailed four men behind The Pirate Bay, the world's most high-profile file-sharing website, in a landmark case. (BBC)
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Protecting an old business model |
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Net firms quizzed on speed limits LONDON - Bosses at six of the UK's top net providers are being asked to explain why consumers do not get the broadband speeds firms advertise. The six executives are being questioned by Ofcom's Consumer Panel which acts as the regulator's customer champion. (BBC) |
OTTAWA - At the heart of counterfeiting debate are repeated claims that it is a growing problem in Canada that results in billions of dollars in losses each year. Responding to an Access to Information Act request for the sources behind the $30 billion claim, Canada's national police force last week admitted the figures were based on "open source documents found on the Internet." (Toronto Star) |
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Johnson & Johnson sues Red Cross over use of Cross Emblem NEW YORK - Johnson & Johnson (founded 1886), the health-products giant that uses a red cross as its trademark, sued the American Red Cross, demanding that the charity halt the use of the red cross symbol on products it sells to the public. (AP) MORE: International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (founded Oct. 29, 1863) |
LONDON - Millionaire rock stars are traditionally more synonymous with conspicuous consumption than the workers' struggle, but artists have formed a new organization to stand up for their rights. It will have a six-point manifesto, including fair compensation after deals between labels and technology companies, and a "use it or lose it" approach to copyright so that recordings don't go unreleased. (Guardian UK) |
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The Associated Press (AP) doesn't get to make it’s own rules around how its content is used, if those rules are stricter than the law allows. (TechCrunch) |
Copyright infringement alleged by AP
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WASHINGTON
- The decision could potentially prevent
Personal
Audio LLG
legally requiring media groups to pay it if they update their sites
to show new episodes.
The US Patent Office has now
invalidated
critical parts
of related intellectual property rights it had previously granted to
Personal Audio in 2012.
(BBC) Texas patent court strike again |
Microsoft claims i4i's evidence is 'irrelevant' Belgian papers win Google copyright suit Fine for Google over French books TorrentSpy loses Calif. copyright lawsuit |
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Seconds that shaped 1,500+ songs ATLANTA - Amen, Brother was a little-known B-side released in 1969. Barely noticed at the time, its drum solo has been hugely influential, appearing in different forms in more than 1,500 other songs - but the band behind it never made any money from it. Over the years, it has become one of the most sampled drum beats of all time. (BBC) |
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How it feels to be sued for $4.5M MP3s illegal, grounds for lawsuit Pharrell Williams Robin Thicke Marvin Gaye Why he settled copyright dispute Sam Smith Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers |
Copyfraud Canadian copyright law 'remarkably complex' Canadian Private Copying Collective Music Industry Needs Dose Of Innovation Court says file sharers don't have to be named Fox expands digital copy to iTunes Single-mother must pay $80K per song |
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Net firms in music pirates deal Jury finds Thomas liable for infringement Hollywood puts squeeze on Canada Bit brother sees Internet as up for grabs Music Companies grab share of YouTube sale Canadian Music Creators Coalition Spitzer subpoenas companies price-fixing |
New bill would punish students Recording Industry vs. The People Music companies sue 8,000 more Time Warner settles fraud charges Copyright walks fine line on civil liberties |
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