New Research: International Balanced Copyright Policies Results In Positive Economic Development And Creativity. New research from American University’s law school found that balanced copyright policies are tied to positive economic development and creativity in a sample of 21 countries across the world. American University’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property established the Copyright User Rights Database to explore balanced copyright policies in 21 different countries. Countries with more open copyright limitations and exceptions (such as fair use and safe harbors) have more productive and higher-quality scholarly research, and fair use industries like software publishers and engineering researchers see higher revenues. U.S. companies also benefit, with foreign affiliates earning higher income, sales and value in host countries that have balanced copyright.
Re:Create Coalition At BYU Copyright Symposium. Re:Create Executive Director Joshua Lamel participated on the Brigham Young University Copyright Symposium panel, “DMCA Tug-of-War: Balancing the Interests of Rightsholders, Users, and ISP’s,” which explored the copyright balance struck under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Lamel was joined on the panel by BYU Associate Professor of Law Clark Asay and Michael Erickson, an intellectual property litigator.
Instagramming Her Way To Success. Entrepreneur profiled fashion blogger Danielle Bernstein on how she used Instagram to grow her blog WeWoreWhat into a successful business. Bernstein started the street-style blog six years ago before turning the camera on herself, showcasing her personal style. Today with 1.7 million Instagram followers, her blog and social media channels earn revenues via e-commerce and brand collaborations. “When I would post something, a brand would tell me that it [sold] out that day,” she said. “Things like that validated that my Instagram was powerful in a sense so that’s how I realized I should focus on it.”
R Street Urges Trade Negotiators To Stay On Course In NAFTA Negotiations. In a letter sent to Senators and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the R Street Institute urged NAFTA negotiators to promote America’s balanced copyright policies in the trade agreement. On top of other policy points, R Street encouraged USTR to adhere to the international standard of 50 years under current NAFTA rules. R Street cautioned negotiators not to press Canada to increase its copyright duration as it would “cause further confusion and uncertainty for creators, users, and disseminators of creative works; would keep very old works out of the public domain; and would exacerbate the existing problems surrounding orphan works of unknown authorship.”
Doctorow: Engineers Should Support Right To Repair. In a recent Boing Boing article, Cory Doctorow made the argument that electrical engineers should support right to repair provisions that would expand the exceptions to Section 1201 of the DMCA. Pointing to iFixit founder Kyle Wiens and Repair.org Executive Director Gay Gordon-Byrne’s recent IEEE Spectrum blog post, Doctorow emphasizes the undeniable “economic, technical, and environmental benefits of permitting a domestic industry of local, expert technologists to help their neighbors get more out of their gadgets.”