Week 11
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Wal-Mart Abandons Windows DRM, Sony/BMG and Warner
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/04/wal-mart-abando.htmlWal-Mart is currently going through the process of changing file formats for it's online music store. What was once DRM protected Widnows Media files, is now DRM-free MP3 files. This opens up Wal-Mart to customers who do most of their music listening on the famous iPod. However, their decision doesn't go without consequence. Flustered by the removal of DRM protection, Sony/BMG and Warner Music group are now unavailable on the Wal-Mart store. Since this includes a major portion of the library, Wal-Mart will be forced to make further decisions too keep their store afloat. I simply find it amazing how the digital format of music have become victimized from abusive situations like this. DRM is no longer affecting just users, but sellers as well.
BitGravity Employs Dynamic DRM to Protect Web Video
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2284982,00.aspIt's seems that personalization and dynamic code is now being used as a tool for DRM protection for digital media. BitGravity has developed a content protection system that prevents the attempt to download, and transfer flash videos. The software breaks up and rearragnes the order in which the video is presented for each user. Seeing how flash video has been widely succesful with websites like You Tube, I'm curious to see the process that will turn free flash videos into a new branch of internet commerce.
Silverlight Adds Content Partners, Gets New DRM
http://www.newsfactor.com/news/Growing-Silverlight-Gets-DRM/story.xhtml?story_id=033003QU25MLSilverlight, an advesary to many Adobe applications, has recently tied connections with Microsoft in hopes to bring some worthy competition. Along with this partnership, Microsoft has plans for a new DRM system that will tie Silverlight products closely with Windows Media 11. This story can be easily connected to Adobe's recent announcement of DRM controls for media creators. Since both of these software companies are putting the power of DRM's into creator's hands, there could be a possible change in how DRM is viewed by designers, and consumers.
Week 10
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Boeing trade secret case ends in hung jury
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=168374Gerald Eastman, a former employee at Boeing Co. was accused of infringing a trade secret when he shared computer documents with the Seattle Times. Eastman stated that he wished to alert the public of inadequate inspections being held in which the FAA refused to investigate. The case is currently on the district level, ending in favor of Boeing. A retrial may be requested within the next two weeks. I found this case intriguing considering the defendants reasoning for leaking information. Could this be a situation where the corporate big guns muscle their way out of a tight situation using IP law?
CA Provides Evidence of Illegal Copying of Source Code by Rocket Software
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/technology/article/ca-provides-evidence-illegal-copying-source-code-rocket-software_557766_12.htmlCA, Inc. is seeking $200 million in damages from Rocket Software on the grounds of copyright infringement, and misappropriation of a trade secret. Rocket apparently copied a series of codes from CA's software to implement in their own products. Seeing how software code has recently been applied to patents, this case makes example of how software code can be impacting on multiple branches of IP law.
Grocery giants keep trade secret at inquiry
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/grocery-giants-keep-trade-secret-at-inquiry/2008/04/01/1206850910687.htmlRecently supermarket giants have been withholding information under the label of a trade secret to explain recent address of high grocery prices challenges by the Choice and the Federal Opposition. This situation can address the line between keeping trade secrets, and manipulating the IP system in order to keep a monopoly over competition.
Week 8
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Where the Law Stands on Virtual Property
http://www.law.com/jsp/legaltechnology/pubArticleLT.jsp?id=1206614810253#4A recent case involving property ownership has spawned a peak of interest in the legalities of online virtual worlds. For the time being most of the cases have involved property rights and copyright infringement. Yet, some lawyers are looking into situations where an avatar's right of publicity could be at stake. I find this incredibly interesting in reviewing the different forms of human based copyrights. It entails the boundaries of applying the same copyrights to a virtual representation.
Cell phones become tools for helping detectives find crime suspects
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbphone0322sbmar22,0,5269587.storyPrivate investigaters have recently been using cell phone technology to track individuals who may be oblivious to the portable's capabilities. With an activated cell phone, people not only track exactly where you are, but where you have been, the time and place you make calls, who you called, and the conversation you had. Of all the material we have covered concerning piracy, I feel that portable devices have to be one of the biggest holes in privacy protection in our society.
Companies Avoid Financial Penalties After Massive Computer Data Breaches
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/27/AR2008032703436_pf.htmlT.J. Maxx and Marshall recently had a security breach where more than 45.7 million credit cards became exposed to possible fraud in their system. Both companies have officially audited their information, yet have avoided to pay any federal fines. It seems as if our protected material is subject to exposure, and the systematic organization of millions of clients only raises the quantity of possible victims. It's truely worth asking whether or not new media technologies have placed our sensative information in a very insecure, and public situation.
Week 7
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Best Buy Apologizes for Cease-and-Desist Blooper
http://www.wqad.com/global/story.asp?s=7943241When a blog started selling blue polo t-shirts with a parody of the Best Buy logo, Best Buy responded with a cease and desist letter. The blog quickly posted the C&D letter which was later picked up by BoingBoing and Slashdot. In response to the growing publicity, Best Buy sent an apologetic letter to the blog. I find this amusing, how larger coproations decide that bad publicity isn't worth going through a trademark infringement threat.
Cybersquatting daisy-chain leads to Dell trademark infringement lawsuit
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?storyID=2008-02-26T025939Z_01_N25284931_RTRUKOC_0_US-AVISTAR-MICROSOFT.xmlDell has combined it's efforts to seek out a large quantity of URL's that are being cybersquatted. Dell's main compaints surrounded 5 companies who's main profit come from cybersquatting. An exhaustive research was conducted, and Dell had produced a vast list of URL's that infringe the trademarks of the original companies. Upon revealing their research, URL's sparatically became dropped from all five companies. While this is a step in the right direction. I believe this article shows how much cybersquatting goes on, even to this day.
Perfume Bay Changes Online Names After eBay Battle
http://www.bbj.hu/news/news_36626.htmlA perfume and make-up company was forced to change their URL name when approached by Ebay with a trademark infringement suit. The case was currently in the Court of Appeals when PerfumeBay decided to change the name of their company. Ebay's original complaint stated that consumers would be confused, thinking that PerfumeBay was an official branch of Ebay. Personally, I think this shows more of a gray area in trademark cases, where a larger company takes advantage of situations like this.
Week 6
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US upholds key stem cell patent held by University of Wisconsin group
http://www.wqad.com/global/story.asp?s=7943241 The US agency has upheld 1 of 3 patents that are currently held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The patent which they posess covers stem cells that have recently been an interesting topic in modern science. While the remaining two patent reviews are pending, the federal agency has complied with the first one, stating that their ownership over the stem cell patents does not hinder research. With the latest inclusion of patents covering living tissue, I find this to be quite unique considering the controversial nature of stem cell research.
Microsoft challenges 24 Avistar patents
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?storyID=2008-02-26T025939Z_01_N25284931_RTRUKOC_0_US-AVISTAR-MICROSOFT.xml Avistar, a communication company, is currently being challanged by Microsoft concerning 24 patents. Avistar has been challenged before, yet Microsoft has requested a re-examination of the patents; a process that could take up to 2 years. Whether or not the case is justified, it goes to show how long these disputes can take.
Genentech says key patent rejected, may appeal
http://www.bbj.hu/news/news_36626.html Genetech is currently fighting to obtain a medical patent. While the object being patented was discovered in the 1980's Genetech is wanting the patent to be granted till 2018. So far the patent office has rejected their request. To counter, Genetech is pursuing the possiblity to take the rejection to the Board of Appeals in the patent office. This gives example to what companies can do if their desired patent becomes rejected.Week 1
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Japanese police arrest computer virus maker
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22841443/Week 5
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Katie Onuma - MPAA Overestimated College Downloads
http://cornellsun.com/node/27049Amanda Sanchez - Legally Purchasing CD's and Get Sued for Violating Copyright Laws
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/520907/legally_purchasing_cds_and_get_sued.htmlAmanda Theiler - Recording industry threatens to sue students
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/22/BUNIUF1Q9.DTLWhile I personally believe that the original intent of copyright protection is justified, the manner in which it is handled today is not. The three articles that I've selected from these students show more of the gray area that is being exposed by the current state of copyright protection.
In Katie's article, the MPAA became somewhat exposed when it was realized that their research concerning illegal downloads of college students were over estimated, by as much as 200%. Yet, what is more interesting is that the MPAA is not publicly releasing their research for review of validity. This has raised some eyebrows, making some analysts skeptical of the MPAA's research. The report originally showed that college student downloads have caused 44% of the total losses due to illegal downloads, where in turn, actually came out to be 15%. Could this simply be an attempt to justify a task similar to the RIAA singling out individual infringers with legal threats?
Amanda Sanchez's article raises up a more questionable subject, cross medium charges. In the article, the RIAA claims that if you transport the song file from one medium to another (i.e. iTunes Songs burned onto a CD), you've committed copyright infringement. If you purchase an MP3, you should only listen to it on your computer. If you purchase a CD, you should only listen to it on a CD player. If you ever mix the two formats, you should pay a fee. Even if you wish to back-up your music collection for safety purposes, you should pay a fee. This is a prime example of how IP law is suffocating the arts.
Amanda Theiler's article discusses the physical actions the RIAA have taken on infringers. Natalie Miles was threatened by attorneys for songs she had downloaded, and shared through peer-to-peer networks. Unless she pays a settlement of $3,000 she will be sued in the federal court. Miles however had no idea she had these files on her computer. Her computer has always been open for her roommates, and friends, to use. And somewhere down the line, illegal files were obtained. This is just one example of the 5,000 letters that have been sent to college students with legal threats. Some students who have not been able to pay, have dropped out of college and are currently working to pay off their fines. As Miles states it, "I just don't think that these people realize that they're ruining people's lives." I find these types of situations to be hardly justified. These actions are hardly making up the losses on the copyright owner's end, and it is in no way solving the problem of piracy.
These three examples show some of the situations that are bringing the current state of copyright into question. Presenting unverified research to make a statement, finding ways to add fees to consumer's usage, and turning the fight against infringement into a human lottery of college students show just how ugly IP law can get.
Week 2
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Sony in legal wrangle over Buzz trademark
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=32520
Good news for TiVo: court upholds patent claims against Echostar
http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/31/appeals-court-upholds-tivo-patent-claims-against-echostar/
Apple, AT&T, 31 others sued for infringing on smart phone patent
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/012908-minerva-smart-phone-lawsuit.htmlWeek 1
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Japanese police arrest computer virus maker
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22841443/The title of the article pretty much says it all. The thing that makes it interesting though is that Japan is still in process of creating laws that deal with malicious computing programs (i.e. computer viruses). Because of this, the suspect is being charged with copyright infringment, even though his activities didn't necessary compromise any copyrights. I find this interesting because the police seem to use copyright infringment as a "default charge", which shows the misuse of this IP law.
The Concerns of Copyright Reform
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7201993.stmCanada has recently been going through the Copyright Act with intentions to make a few alterations in order to modernize it's intent. However the Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart made a stand against Copyright Reform in Canada. Her main concerns involve the misuse of privacy if some of these changes are implimented. I found this interesting, since we can evaluate how other countries have been reacting to the attempts to modernize IP laws for the digital age.
Need Some Cash? Sue Google! Everyone Else Is Doing It.
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/15-09/st_googleWired Magazine takes a brief look at 5 situations where a smaller company has taken it upon themselves to sue Google for various reasons. This gives examples of how some companies try to work around IP laws in order to gain some money.