Re:Create At SXSW 2017 – Last Chance To Vote! For a second consecutive year, the Re:Create Coalition is applying to bring the copyright conversation to SXSW. Our panel, Know Your CopyRIGHTS as a Digital Creator, features a YouTube personality, journalist/author and a digital attorney discussing fair use, what is considered infringement and other complex copyright regulations. Voting closes tomorrow, so please take a moment to vote for our panel today!
Leaked EU Copyright Proposal Threatens Creators And The Internet. Last week, a leaked draft of the European Commission’s much anticipated copyright proposal emerged, and it leaves many creators and internet advocates worried. In Leaked EU Copyright Proposal A Complete Mess: Want To Tax Google To Prop Up Failing Publishers, Techdirt’s Mike Masnick outlines all the troubling aspects of the plan and how it will stifle innovation and creativity in Europe. According to Masnick, the plan “really seems focused on coming up with new ways to tax successful internet companies” and uses copyright to “reward those who have refused to innovate.” Jeremy Malcolm with the Electronic Frontier Foundation details how the “link tax” and the “sharing of value” proposals impose burdens on service providers and harm innovation.
Mozilla Petitions EU To Update Copyright Laws. Mozilla has launched a petition to urge the European Union to adopt pro-innovation copyright laws and notably takes a stand against the removal of safe harbors: “Abandoning [the principle of innovation] by holding platforms liable for everything that happens online would have an immense chilling effect, and would take away one of the best parts of the internet — the ability to innovate and breath new meaning into old content.”
200 Musicians Support Limits To Copyright In “Blurred Lines” Appeal. More than 200 musicians are standing by Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke, filing an amicus brief in the “Blurred Lines” copyright appeal, according to an August 30 article in The Hollywood Reporter. Top names include Weezer, Linkin Park, Hans Zimmer, Poison, and Earth Wind & Fire who argue in the brief that the case could have a chilling effect on creativity: “All music shares inspiration from prior musical works…Such a result, if allowed to stand, is very dangerous to the music community, is certain to stifle future creativity, and ultimately does a disservice to past songwriters as well.” Both Computer & Communications Industry Association’s (CCIA) Ali Sternburg and R Street’s Sasha Moss penned blog posts noting the importance of the amicus brief, citing both the irony and rarity of recording artists advocating against overly broad copyrights. Public Knowledge also filed an amicus brief in the court case, writing: “Copyright law should not get in the way of a composer’s ability to make [references to memories and feelings]. To do otherwise would seriously inhibit the creation of new music.”
An Online Image Search In France May Cost Money Soon. “The French tech industry is, once again, the loser,” writes Maud Sacquet in his blog post, An Unfortunately Typical French Initiative (Plus CA Change, Plus C’Est La Meme Chose). Sacquet criticizes French lawmakers for adopting a measure that would impose a new royalty for indexing images on the internet in France. Several European advocacy groups joined in writing a letter to the Minister of Culture Audrey Azoulay advocating against the proposal, including CCIA and CDT, stating: “Basic, everyday activities of online users such as posting, linking and embedding photos online, [will] be subject to a cloud of legal uncertainty.”