Re:Create Hosts SXSW Panel On Future Of Copyright. The Re:Create Coalition convened a panel of policy experts at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive in Austin last Friday, March 11. A crowd of tech experts, entrepreneurs and coalition allies listened to panelists–composed of a fanworks leader, social justice advocate, futurist and veteran reporter–debate topics of discussion such as increased access and democratization, fair use and derivative works, the prospect of Mickey Mouse entering the public domain, and the exportation of American IP protection. “Asking how future copyright can protect the market value of copyrighted works is asking the wrong question,” said panelist Betsy Rosenblatt of the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW). “The better question, urged by the Constitution, is how future copyright can promote progress, which may depend not only on market value, but also on other things like building creators’ skills, encouraging diverse creators, and facilitating availability of works.” Stay tuned for a full panel video and check out our press release for more quotes from the panelists.
Iconic Edition Of “To Kill A Mockingbird” To Disappear From Shelves, Thanks To Copyright Law. The Los Angeles Times column “The latest news on ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ shows how big corporations control copyright law” highlights the recent decision made by Harper Lee’s publisher Harper Collins to force an end to production of the cheaper, mass-market edition familiar to school children throughout America. Columnist Michael Hiltzik notes that the real burden of this decision falls on school districts who will have to pay more expensive book prices. He then recounts the history of copyright law to explain how a constitutional mandate to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts” has been distorted to a 70 year copyright term that “leaves the control of creative works in the hands of people who may not share the desire of the works’ creators.”
More Organizations Call For Change To DMCA. Many organizations have submitted public comments to the Copyright Office expressing their concerns with Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In When Copyright Law Jams Your Toaster, Moriah Mensah highlights R Street’s submission and explains how the Copyright Office should interpret technical protection measures (TPMs) set forth in Section 1201. “Our view is that significant restraint should be exercised before the Copyright Office decides that a person is bound by law not to modify anything that has software in it.”
Podcast: How Intellectual Property Can Effect Social Justice. WashingTECH hosted intellectual property law expert Lateef Mtima for a podcast titled How to Protect Intellectual Property to Boost Social Justice. The podcast does a great job explaining the relationship between the two. Check it out!
OTW Releases Newest Volume Of Scholarly Fan Studies Journal. The Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) recently released its latest version of Transformative Works and Cultures, a scholarly journal on fan studies. Among the topics, the essays cover “comparative work linking Classical ideas, texts, and notions with contemporary fan writings and practice.” Visit OTW’s website to read Volume 21, The Classical Canon and/as Transformative Works.