Copyright law is frequently misused as a tool to censor unwanted online criticism. And often, this misuse does not make it into court. But one such case has recently made its way up to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. And yesterday, EFF filed a “friend of the court” brief, urging the court to consider the First Amendment interests at…

A coalition formed “to combat copyright piracy and demonstrate the value of creativity”— Creative America—has changed its name to CreativeFuture. Major motion picture and television companies initially formed this group now that is now considering the future, the present day, and no doubt, the past as well. CreativeFuture now has individual members as well industry and trade groups. These new…

As the world becomes increasingly dependent on “smart” devices, powered by software and connected to networks, the security of the software and firmware they run on increases in importance.  Whether in video games, medical devices, automobiles, or the infrastructure of the Internet, security vulnerabilities offer opportunities for malicious actors to cause widespread and potentially drastic damage. According to the White…

In publishing a searchable database of thousands of emails from Sony Pictures Entertainment last month, Wikileaks has given the public a peek behind the curtain of the Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA) use of government power to silence free speech and stifle innovation. For months, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has targeted Google with subpoenas — including a crushingly…

The following piece was co-authored by R Street Innovation Policy Director Mike Godwin. During the Great Depression, farm-equipment giant John Deere Co. famously refused to repossess tractors it had sold to American farmers who were having difficulties keeping up with their payment plans. In a particularly ironic illustration of just how much that spirit of bonhomie has evaporated in the…

U.S. Trade Regulators’ Criticism of Other Nations’ IP Practices is Flawed, Biased San Francisco – Overly broad intellectual property (IP) laws in Russia, Colombia, and Pakistan—which U.S. trade regulators say aren’t tough enough—stifle access to innovation and threaten artists, students, and creators around the globe with prison, censorship, and state prosecution, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said in a new…

Last week the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) held their spring conference in San Diego, to share intelligence about the latest strategies for combatting “counterfeiting” (by which they mean trademark infringement) and “piracy” (by which they mean copyright infringement). EFF’s Jeremy Malcolm attended as an invited panelist, giving us the opportunity to assert our views that anti-piracy campaigns should not infringe…

Today, Public Knowledge joins Re:Create, a new coalition dedicated to promoting balanced copyright laws in the United States. As a partnership between public interest groups and trade associations, Re:Create will work to ensure that copyright laws are clear, simple and transparent while still fostering innovation, creativity, education and economic growth. Public Knowledge will work with Re:Create to engage and inform…

WHY BALANCED COPYRIGHT IS ESSENTIAL FOR CREATIVITY by JONATHAN BAND on APRIL 29, 2015 Today, Maria Pallante, the Register of Copyrights, will testify in the House Judiciary Committee’s twentieth (and perhaps final) hearing in its ongoing copyright review. In her written statement, the Register correctly recognizes that “the ultimate beneficiary of copyright law is the public at large” and that…

*Guest post by Jonathan Band, policybandwidth* In her wrap-up testimony yesterday in the House Judiciary Committee’s two-year Copyright Review, Maria Pallante, the Register of Copyrights, identified three categories of policy issues: those that are ready for legislative process, those that warrant near-term study and analysis, and those that warrant further attention. Unfortunately, what many perceive to be the Copyright Act’s…