The latest ARL Advocacy and Public Policy Update (covering the period from October 1 to December 22) is now available.  Previous Advocacy and Policy Updates can be found here. From the current update’s summary: Copyright continues to be an active area with a number of developments since October. The House Judiciary Committee continues to move forward with its copyright review…

The latest installment of the Star Wars saga broke box office records this past weekend, grossing $247 million in ticket sales in North America. This exceeds by $30 million the previous opening weekend record set this past June by Jurassic World. The Force Awakens also generated $280 million overseas, not including China, where the film will be released in January….

This past weekend, the latest installment of the Star Wars saga set box office records ($247 million in North American ticket sales) while receiving broad critical acclaim (95% positive reviews). The film’s enormous success teaches us important lessons about copyright policy. This post discusses how the Star Wars saga demonstrates the degree to which creative works rely on pre-existing works,…

Today the new Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) ruling was released, announcing royalty rates that will impact music streaming services and the broader music ecosystem.  Given how complicated all of this is, we thought an explainer would be useful. What is the CRB? The CRB is an administrative body at the Copyright Office comprised of three Copyright Royalty Judges who set…

Re:Create Releases New Video. Check out the newly released Re:Create Coalition video to learn more about our organization and our mission for a balanced copyright system! Star Wars Fan Receives Takedown Notice For Sharing Picture Of “Rey” Action Figure. Last week, a fan posted a photo to Facebook of a yet-to-be-officially-released Star Wars action figure seen on a store shelf….

The European Commission finally published its long-awaited Communication “towards a modern, more European copyright framework.” The Communication, serving as an action plan, outlines the different issues the European Commission is currently considering for legislative proposals to be adopted from spring 2016 onwards in areas such as limitations and exceptions, online platforms and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR). The European…

Happy Birthday Song Enters The Public Domain. According to court papers released on December 8, a settlement was reached in the lawsuit over the rights to the iconic “Happy Birthday” song, which will release the song into the public domain. The agreement was reached between Warner/Chappell and a group of artists and filmmakers who have paid millions of dollars in…

Judge Strikes Down Safe Harbor In Cox Lawsuit. A recent decision in U.S. District Court ruled that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) doesn’t protect Internet service providers (ISPs) like Cox Communications from liability for its subscribers illegal downloading activity. ISPs are supposed to be protected by the DMCA’s safe harbor provision, but music companies successfully argued that Cox failed…

Brussels – In letters to First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Members of the European Parliament, a wide coalition of stakeholders representing civil society, news publishers, consumers and the digital industry share their concerns regarding the European Commission’s approach in consulting on copyright matters. The European Commission is expected to adopt a Communication on copyright on 9 December detailing the Commission’s…