The DMCA Works: Reddit & GitHub Release Transparency Reports. TorrentFreak reported on both Reddit and GitHub’s recently released transparency reports, including the number of copyright takedown notices in 2019. Though there was a significant increase in the number of Reddit takedown notices, 27% of them were denied because no actual infringement was found, among other reasons. “While this might be a sign that more copyright infringement is taking place, it’s also very likely that rightsholders are paying more attention to the site now.”
Celebrate Fair Use Week 2020. This week marks the Association of Research Library’s annual Fair Use/Fair Dealing week held to highlight and promote the opportunities presented by fair use and fair dealing, celebrate successful stories and explain these doctrines. For resources to help take part, click here. To read what has already been posted and share with others, click here.
Smithsonian Launches Open Access. Described as a “unique opportunity to bring Smithsonian collections to people in new ways, to engage with the public, and provide important context for challenging 21st-century issues,” the Smithsonian has launched Smithsonian Open Access. The new program allows people to download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images and data from across the Smithsonian’s 19 museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives, and the National Zoo “right now, without asking.”
Notorious Troll’s Latest Copyright Lawsuit Is Bananas. Mike Masnick examines the merits of the latest copyright claim brought by known copyright troll Richard Liebowitz on behalf of photographer John Taggart. The lawsuit involves an art installation at the Art Basel gallery in Florida which featured a banana duct taped to the wall, and a photograph of the installation used in a ClickOrlando news report. Masnick’s examination notes that “news reporting” is one of the defined categories for fair use and also questions what creative input the photographer Liebowitz represents actually provided to the basic photo of the banana.