Peter Hollens: A Cappella Extraordinaire And New Creator. A self-described “dorky dad,” Peter Hollens is an American singer, songwriter, and producer best known for his a cappella cover songs on YouTube, which have reached more than 400 million viewers and surpassed 1.5 million subscribers. “I believe that the future of music is one in which it goes hand-in-hand with technology,”…

The Internet Heralds A New Generation Of Online Creators And Economic Activity. The New York Times’ Farhad Manjoo made the case for How the Internet Is Saving Culture, Not Killing It, explaining in a March 15 story how the internet has resulted in both an explosion of creativity and entrepreneurship — often hand-in-hand. The rise of subscription-based platforms like Netflix…

“[F]rom blogs to podcasts to YouTube, the last 20 years have been marked by a succession of formats that have led to ever-lower barriers for new and off-the-wall creators” WASHINGTON—An article published in The New York Times on Wednesday, How the Internet Is Saving Culture, Not Killing It, examines how the internet has resulted in an explosion of creativity and…

Why Farmers Need A “Right to Repair” Their Tractors. The Guardian took a look at how copyrighted software prevents farmers from fixing their own machinery in A right to repair: why Nebraska farmers are taking on John Deere and Apple. Because much of today’s farming equipment is high-tech, the article noted that “Only manufacturers and authorized dealers are allowed [to…

Fair Use Week: A Big Success. The Association of Research Libraries was joined by 142 organizations and individuals across the country to celebrate fair use last week. Each day of Fair Use Week, participants shared educational materials and stories in order to explain how Americans benefit from fair use everyday. Click here for highlights, including posts from the Re:Create Coalition…

Dear Copyright Office, Safe Harbors Work. The Re:Create Coalition, its members and a number of other organizations submitted reply comments to the Copyright Office on February 21 as part of the its ongoing copyright review process. The comments collectively highlight the importance of safe harbor provisions in fostering creativity and innovation on the internet. “Thanks to the openness of the…

Many organizations submit reply comments highlighting importance of safe harbor provisions in fostering the internet and supporting free speech online. Re:Create Coalition: “Thanks to the openness of the user-generated platforms on the internet enabled by Section 512 of the DMCA, there is now a growing and important class of ‘new creators’…Users are an extremely important stakeholder in this conversation…Their voices…

The Re:Create Coalition submitted the following additional comments regarding the subject of the DMCA safe harbor provisions contained in 17 U.S.C. § 512. Pursuant to the notice of inquiry published by the Copyright Office (the Office) in the Federal Register at 81 Fed. Reg. 78,636 (Nov. 8, 2016), later extended at 82 Fed. Reg. 8,629 (Jan. 27, 2017), the Re:Create Coalition…

People Of Color Bypass Hollywood, Use Internet To Host Their Music, Films And TV. In Why storytellers of color ignore usual gatekeepers, take a chance on the internet, NPR examines how diverse voices in music and film are using online platforms like Vimeo, YouTube and Netflix to bypass traditional entertainment industry gatekeepers. In 2014, 90% of cable shows had white…

Professor Mark Lemley’s Words Of Wisdom For The DMCA: Let It Be. In the third episode of Copy This, host Kirby Ferguson talks with Mark Lemley, Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Ferguson and Lemley help listeners navigate the complex – yet important – details of the DMCA, what safe harbors are, and…