Category: Copyright Policy

Copyright Policy Discussions

Technology Apologist Complex : Steven Johnson Strikes Again | Jonathan Taplin @ Medium

This week’s apology episode from Johnson is entitled The Creative Apocalypse That Wasn’t — and its one of the most brain dead pieces that the New York Times Magazine has ever published. I’m shocked the Public Editor has not already taken Johnson to task. I won’t go into all the details because David Newhoff has already destroyed most of Johnson’s argument that the Internet monopolies have actually been a boon to the average artist. This is total nonsense as this chart shows.

READ THE FULL POST AT MEDIUM:
https://medium.com/@jonathantaplin/technology-apologist-complex-eafcf14df530

by Trichordist Editor

Digital Media Association (DiMA) Always Against Musicians

Who is DiMA? Glad you asked, the Digital Media Association. Why do we care? Well, because they are actively working against artists rights. How do we know? Three words… “Defending Against Songwriters”. Yes, DiMA is dedicated to “Defending Against Songwriters” because, you know songwriters are a force that businesses need to defend themselves against.

Wow, really? Seriously? Ok, check it out…

DimaDoubleDipSongwriters

But lets take a look below where current DiMA policy positions are directly in opposition to artists and songwriters rights.

DiMA supports Pandora buying a terrestrial radio station in an effort to lower the royalties Pandora will pay to songwriters.

DiMA is opposed to the Fair Play, Fair Pay Act that would pay performers a terrestrial radio broadcast royalty.

DiMA is opposed to The Songwriter Equity act that would allow songwriters the ability to negotiate fair market rates for their work.

DimaPOlicyAgainstArtists

Who would work with DiMA that wasn’t forced to via statutory rates and rate courts?

 

 

by Trichordist Editor

5 Seriously Dumb Myths About Copyright the Media Should Stop Repeating | John Degen @ Medium

Please read John Degen’s 5 Seriously Dumb Myths About Copyright the Media Should Stop Repeating at the link below.

There you have it. I hope this quick list has helped my friends and colleagues in the media who may be hurrying to file a story on World Book and Copyright Day. Here’s a final, simple, rule of thumb for writing about copyright.

If you want to understand how a working artist feels about copyright, talk to an actual working artist.

The last time I checked, ivory-tower legal-theory departments and digital-utopian advocacy groups were not the best places to look for actual working artists.

READ THE FULL POST AT MEDIUM:
https://medium.com/@jkdegen/5-seriously-dumb-myths-about-copyright-the-media-should-stop-repeating-a92e934f12a4

by Trichordist Editor

Wondering Sound: “David Lowery Has Become Most Important Spokesperson for Artists Rights In Digital Era”

‘In the last three years, David Lowery has become perhaps most the important and ardent spokesperson for artist rights in the digital era. Who is he?’

Balanced, funny and in depth profile of fellow Trichordist writer David Lowery.  Must read.

READ THE FULL STORY AT WONDERING SOUND:
http://www.wonderingsound.com/feature/david-lowery-digital-music-cracker-interview/

by Trichordist Editor

All Three Pirate Bay Founders Now in Jail | Billboard

One of the founders of popular file-sharing website The Pirate Bay has been arrested under an Interpol warrant as he was crossing into Thailand from Laos, police said Tuesday. Hans Fredrik Lennart Neij, who uses the alias TiAMO, was detained Monday by Thai immigration police at a checkpoint in Thailand’s Nong Khai province, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) northeast of Bangkok.

READ THE FULL STORY AT BILLBOARD:
http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6304466/pirate-bay-founders-jail-hans-fredrik-lennart-neij

 

RELATED:

A Tale of Two Pirates? Daniel Ek (uTorrent) and Kim Dotcom (Megaupload)

by Trichordist Editor

Kim Dotcom declares he is ‘broke’ because of legal fight | BBC

Kim Dotcom, the founder of the seized file-sharing site Megaupload, has declared himself “broke”.

The entrepreneur said he had spent $10m (£6.4m) on legal costs since being arrested in New Zealand in 2012 and accused of internet piracy.

Mr Dotcom had employed a local law firm to fight the US’s attempt to extradite him, but his defence team stepped down a fortnight ago without explaining why.

READ THE FULL STORY AT THE BBC:
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30209067

RELATED:

A Tale of Two Pirates? Daniel Ek (uTorrent) and Kim Dotcom (Megaupload)

by Trichordist Editor

Copyright Critics Don’t Quite Get Artists | The Illusion Of More

A must read from David Newhoff for all creators with many points, well made.

Further, if it is true that a copyright-free future could shrink the pool of producers to those already financially secure (as predicted above), this suggests that all of the non-remunerative benefits of copyright might be of even greater value to those authors still willing and able to produce. And in the absence of those rights, we could easily see a reduction not only in the number of producers, but also in the number of works produced by that elite few. In a practical example, imagine the trustafarian artist working in the most altruistic manner, producing wonderful works solely to be experienced; he doesn’t care about money, but he does have to accept that McDonald’s can use his work to sell hamburgers, which betrays everything he is expressing. It is not farfetched to imagine the artist in this example will withhold works from public view, even if he continues to produce for his own pleasure.

READ THE WHOLE POST AT:
http://illusionofmore.com/copyright-critics-dont-get-artists/

by Trichordist Editor

When Iggy Pop can’t live off his art, what chance do the rest have? | The Globe and Mail

But a new reality has tripped him up and it’s the same one shafting artists all across the world: Namely, that everyone wants to listen, and no one wants to pay. This week, Iggy gave a lecture for the British Broadcasting Corp. called Free Music in a Capitalist Society. Artists have always been ripped off by corporations, he said; now the public is in on the free ride, too: “The cat is out of the bag and the new electronic devices, which estrange people from their morals, also make it easier to steal music than to pay for it.”

To keep skinny body and maverick soul together, Iggy’s become a DJ, a car-insurance pitchman and a fashion model. If he had to live off royalties, he said, he’d have to “tend bars between sets.” As I listened to his enthusiastic stoner Midwestern drawl, I thought: If Iggy Pop can’t make it, what message does that send to all the baby Iggys out there? In a society where worth is judged by price, for better or worse, what are you saying to someone when you won’t pay for the thing he’s crafted?

READ THE FULL STORY AT:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/when-iggy-pop-cant-live-off-his-art-what-chance-do-the-rest-have/article21154663/

by Trichordist Editor

DMCA “Takedown” Notices: Why “Takedown” Should Become “Take Down and Stay Down” and Why It’s Good for Everyone | Nova Edu

We reported on this earlier this year and it’s great to see other voices stepping up!

by Stephen Carlisle

In other words, Google’s not going to do anything unless Google gets a slice of the profit. When asked, shouldn’t search engines have an affirmative duty to prevent the reposting of materials, she responded that it would be “impractical to enforce and it would chill online speech.” 19 This answer begs the question: since when is the repeated posting of “blatantly infringing” material online protected speech? To quote the Supreme Court of the United States, the First Amendment “securely protects the freedom to make—or decline to make—one’s own speech; it bears less heavily when speakers assert the right to make other people’s speeches.” 20 According to the RIAA, they have sent more than two million takedown requests to Google about the website mp3skull. Despite this, mp3skull continues to top Google’s search results for “artist+songname+download.” 21 Whose speech is being chilled here?

READ THE FULL STORY AT:
http://copyright.nova.edu/dmca-takedown-notices/

RELATED:

DMCA “Take Down and Stay Down” Is The Logical Solution to a Flawed Loophole [VIDEO]

 

https://vimeo.com/94514834

by Trichordist Editor