*Cross-posted from ARL News* Today, April 28, 2015, ARL joined US technology companies, trade associations, and civil society organizations in the launch of Re:Create, a coalition that promotes balanced copyright policy. A balanced copyright system depends on limitations and exceptions, such as fair use. As technology advances, it is imperative that the copyright law is responsive to these changes, balancing…

As a fight over the trade promotion authority (TPA) bill “engulfs the capitol,” debate has arisen over whether Congress should identify obtaining balanced copyright language as a U.S. trade priority. Both the Internet Association and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (where I work) criticized the bill’s failure to acknowledge the importance of promoting balanced copyright among U.S. trading partners,…

As Techdirt reported this morning, emails leaked from the Sony hack show MPAA CEO Chris Dodd campaigning to USTR Michael Froman against fair use. As DisCo has previously covered, Sony Pictures Classics, a subsidiary of MPAA member Sony, successfully argued that its use of a nine-word Faulkner quote in the film Midnight in Paris was fair use, saying: “Fair use…

One lesson from our victory in net neutrality bears repeating. Although strong protections for an Open Internet are a great step forward for the public, there are other ways for companies and organizations to block websites. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is the latest creative example of an organization working to restrict Internet users behind closed doors. And…

We are excited to announce that the world of 3D printing is coming back to Washington, DC this spring. On April 29th we will be holding 3D/DC 2015, our fourth annual bacchanalia of 3D printing and policy. If we do say so ourselves, this is the premiere 3D printing policy event of the year, bringing together the 3D printing world…

Today, Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced music licensing legislation that contains several proposals, some of which encourage a more fair market and others that would undermine competition in the music industry. The Fair Play Fair Pay Act proposes: requiring AM/FM broadcasters to pay sound recording royalties; setting statutory licenses under a “willing buyer, willing seller” standard;…

The announcement of the Canadian Government’s plan to extend copyright terms for sound recordings came as a surprise when it was released in Canada’s federal budget yesterday. The smooth stage management of the announcement has to be admired, accompanied as it was by pre-prepared soundbites from Canada’s music A-list extolling the benefits of this handout. In fact, with all the…

A New York Times series on secretive corporate lobbying of state attorneys general has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting today. The entire series does important digging on an area of political influence that’s generally less transparent than Congressional lobbying. But most relevant to EFF was the revelation last December—through emails revealed in last year’s high-profile Sony breach,…