Medical providers face countless challenges in responding to the COVID pandemic, and copyright shouldn’t have to be one of them. Hundreds of volunteers came together to create the Medical Device Repair Database posted to the repair information website iFixit, providing medical practitioners and technicians an easy-to-use, annotated, and indexed resource to help them keep devices in good repair. The database includes documentation…

TLDR: Amid the coronavirus pandemic and critical ongoing conversations about race-based inequalities and injustices, Americans are increasingly turning to the Internet to learn, share, and stay informed. That’s shining a brighter light on the ways in which Internet platforms handle all kinds of content—including misinformation, violent speech, and alleged infringement from the country’s highest office. What’s Happening This Week: President Donald Trump…

When our nation reels from a global pandemic and nationwide protests against systemic racial injustice and law enforcement abuses, the circumstances call for prioritizing public health and civil rights.  It hardly seems the time to re-examine digital copyright law.  It turns out, however, that the misuse of digital copyright law can short-circuit discussions of these critical issues. This week, copyright…

In a world under a notice and staydown policy, as opposed to the current notice and takedown law under section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), online platforms would be forced to censor user generated content like photos, blogs or TikTok videos to avoid liability, which could force their business to shut down. Below is a list of…

Tuesday’s hearing in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) provided a clear indication that Chairman Tillis and the content industry seek to replace the notice-and-takedown framework with “notice-and-staydown”, as explained below. This is one of four main takeaways from the Section 512 hearing. Other takeaways involve the debate surrounding…

In the midst of pandemic and protest, the Senate Judiciary Committee continued on with the third of many planned hearings about copyright. It is an odd moment to be considering whether or not the notice-and-takedown system laid out by Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is working or not, but since Section 512 is a cornerstone of the Internet and because protestors…

Re: Subcommittee Hearing: Isthe DMCA’s Notice-and-Takedown System Working in the 21st Century? Dear Chairman Tillis and Ranking Member Coons: On behalf of the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) , I write to submit the 1 following observations for the Subcommittee’s consideration of the subject of Section 512, and request that this statement be included in the record of the…

Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a legal cornerstone for the internet’s successful and transformative power to grow the American economy, level the playing field, boost access to information and advance global culture. At a time when our entire lives have shifted to online platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DMCA is perhaps more important…

Last week, President Trump signed the Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship, which was a direct attack on the liability protections offered by Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act. These protections launched the commercial internet and secured the United States as the world’s leader in the digital economy. While many are questioning the economic impact of revoking the liability protections…

Outside of the beltway, people all over the United States are taking to the streets to demand fundamental change. In the halls of Congress and the White House, however, many people seem to think the biggest thing that needs to be restructured is the Internet. Last week, the president issued an order taking on one legal foundation for online expression: Section 230. This…