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U.S. Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Copyright Term Lengths

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 23, 2007 - 10:03am.

San Francisco - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has rejected an appeal from Internet activists, including Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle, that would have reexamined the extensions to copyright term lengths enacted during the 1990s.

tags: Law | Policy | Rulings | Internet Archive | Copyrights | Orphan Works | Ninth Circuit | Kahle |

Aussie Court Rules Linking to Pirate MP3 Files Can Be Illegal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2006 - 12:50pm.

San Francisco - An Australian federal court has upheld a lower court's ruling that found linking to unauthorized MP3 files on third-party websites can be illegal, CNET News.com reported.

tags: Piracy | Universal Music | MP3 | Rulings | Australia | Copyrights | MP3s4free.net |

Spanish Judge Rules "Personal Use" Downloaders Aren't Criminals

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2006 - 7:36pm.
London - A judge in Spain has ruled that those who download free music off the Internet for personal use are not criminals, The Register reported. Judge Paz Aldecoa, of Santander in northern Spain, called file-sharing "a practiced behavior where the aim is not to gain wealth but to obtain private copies."
tags: Internet | Video | Law | Music | Europe | Consumers | Fair Use | Rulings | File-Sharing | Spain | Promusicae |

Swedish Courts Dole Out First File-Sharing Fines

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2006 - 2:07pm.
London - Two Swedish men who uploaded movies and music to the Internet were convicted and fined by Swedish courts this week, according to The Register, which cited a report from Swedish site The Local. In the first case in Sweden where someone was fined for music file-sharing, a 44-year-old man from Boras paid an undisclosed sum for making songs available from artists including the Eurythmics and Roxette. In a separate case, a 32-year-old man from Norrkoping was convicted and fined for posting a Swedish film online. The cases are of note because both convictions came as a result of supporting evidence consisting of an IP address linked to a file-sharing network, which a Swedish judge in a case in September ruled was insufficient to prove guilt.
tags: Law | Lawsuits | Tech | Piracy | Europe | Sweden | Rulings | File-Sharing | Fines |

Oklahoma Judge Blocks Implementation of Video Game Law

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 12, 2006 - 1:15pm.
Washington - A federal judge in Oklahoma on Thursday blocked implementation of a new state law that prohibits the sale of video games to minors that depict "inappropriate" violence. U.S. District Court Judge Robin J. Cauthron issued a preliminary injunction against the Oklahoma law, siding with the video game industry's arguments that the law is unconstitutionally vague, and violates First Amendment free speech rights. "This marks the ninth Court decision in the past five years to enjoin restrictions on video games," said Doug Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the trade group representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. "We're grateful for the preliminary injunction and look forward to prevailing in the effort to permanently strike down the law."
tags: Games | Law | Commerce | Censorship | Oklahoma | Rulings | Retail | ESA |

Judge Blocks Louisiana Video Game Law

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 25, 2006 - 1:17pm.
Baton Rogue, La. - A federal judge has blocked a Louisiana law that would ban the sale of video games to minors if an average person would conclude the games "depict violence in a manner patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors."
tags: Games | Law | Censorship | Violent Games | Ratings | Legislation | Rulings | Retail | ESA |

Dutch Court Rules File-Swapper Identities Protected Under Privacy Laws

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 17, 2006 - 1:24pm.
London - A Dutch appellate court has impeded the music industry's anti-piracy efforts there, striking down requests that would have compelled Internet service providers including Wanadoo and Tiscali to reveal the identities of suspected file-swappers, The Register reported.
tags: Internet | Video | Law | Tech | P2P | Piracy | Music | ISP | Rulings | File-Sharing | Privacy | Netherlands |

Apple Stops Witch Hunt for Employee Leaks

Authored by Jay Baage on July 14, 2006 - 7:39am.
Ruling Apple has decided to end its legal fight to make bloggers reveal who leaked secret information about its new products.
tags: Internet | Blogs | Apple | Rulings | Citizen Journalism | Information |

Will Sony BMG's Court Trouble Sink Possible EMI-Warner Deal?

Authored by Jay Baage on July 13, 2006 - 8:20am.
Christina Aguilera A European Union Court decision from two years ago that allowed the creation of the 50/50 joint venture known today as Sony BMG, the world’s second biggest record label with artists such as Christina Aguilera, has surprisingly just been annulled.
tags: Music | Europe | Sony BMG | Rulings | EMI | Wall Street |

Judge Rules "Sanitized" DVDs Violate Filmmakers' Copyrights

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 10, 2006 - 1:34pm.
Los Angeles - A federal court in Denver has ruled that companies that sell unauthorized edited versions of VHS and DVD movies that remove profanity, sex and other content deemed offensive are infringing on the filmmakers' copyrights.
tags: Internet | Video | Law | Movies | DVD | Censorship | Copyright | Rulings | CleanFlicks | Family Flix |

Apple Computer Wins U.K. High Court Dispute with Beatles' Record Label

Authored by dmw on May 8, 2006 - 7:06pm.
London - Britain's High Court has ruled that Apple Computer may use its trademark bitten-apple logo in conjunction with its iTunes Music Store in the U.K., taking the computer firm's side in a trademark dispute with the Beatles' record label, Apple Corps. Judge Edward Mann said in his ruling that Apple Computer used the fruit logo in connection with the store and not with the music sold within the store, and thus did not breach a 1991 agreement the company made with the record label not to compete in the music industry. "I think that the use of the apple logo is a fair and reasonable use of the mark in connection with the service, which does not go further and unfairly or unreasonably suggest an additional association with the creative works themselves," Judge Mann wrote in his ruling.
tags: Law | Lawsuits | Music | UK | Apple | Beatles | Rulings |