You’re Invited! Re:Create Hosts Academic Showcase And Policy Event Next Week. The Re:Create Coalition will host a policy event on Tuesday, November 17 at the Martin Luther King Memorial Library (901 G St. NW, Washington, D.C.) starting at 8:30 a.m. On hand will be scholars and policy influencers discussing the changing landscape of copyright and how it’s affecting innovators and creators. Additionally, the Coalition will co-host an academic showcase with Howard University’s Institute for Intellectual Property & Social Justice on Monday, November 16 at the Howard University School of Law at 3:00 p.m. You can RSVP to the policy event here and academic showcase here.
House Judiciary Committee Continues Copyright Tour Out West. On Monday and Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee visited Silicon Valley and Los Angeles as part of its copyright listening tour. Chairman Bob Goodlatte and 10 other Committee members held a roundtable discussion at Santa Clara University on Monday and an event on Tuesday at UCLA in Los Angeles. Goodlatte told PoliticoPro’s Tony Romm in Goodlatte takes copyright tour to skeptical Silicon Valley (subscription required) that the goal of the review is to “identify portions of copyright law where we think there’s an opportunity and a need” to take action, although he did not provide a timeline for legislation. Following the San Francisco event, the Re:Create coalition released a statement noting it was “encouraged to see Congress listening to more diverse voices,” and it hopes that future events “will also incorporate more creators, such as online video artists and fan fiction writers, who represent an important part of the future of the creative community.”
Judge Rules ITC Does Not Have Regulatory Authority Over The Internet. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on Tuesday that the International Trade Commission (ITC) does not have authority over the Internet and can only regulate physical goods. As noted by The Verge in The ITC does not have authority over the internet, according to Federal Circuit, the decision “has already been applauded [by] open-internet advocacy groups.” Re:Create Coalition member Public Knowledge praised the decision in a statement: “By rejecting the ITC’s attempt to expand its jurisdiction, the Federal Circuit helps to ensure that Internet users have unfettered access to the free flow of information that has proved so useful for innovation and free expression.”
Education Organization Throws Hat Into The Ring For Control Of “Happy Birthday” Song. Another development in the “Happy Birthday” court case occurred this week when the Association for Childhood Education (ACE) filed court papers claiming that the song copyright actually belongs to them. ACE was co-founded by Patty Hill, the songwriter behind the iconic birthday tune, and is entitled to a share of the Hill Foundation’s income. Should the judge permit ACE to intervene, writes Eriq Gardner in The Hollywood Reporter, there will be three parties fighting for control of the song.
Judge Hands Down New Rules For TVEyes’ Use Of Fox News Clips. A federal judge issued a permanent injunction last Friday that will prevent media monitoring service TVEyes from allowing users to download Fox News Channel or Fox Business Network clips to their own computers or to search by date, time and channel, according to The Hollywood Reporter in the November 9 article Judge Restricts Sharing of Fox News Clips Through Email and Social Media. Furthermore, the judge ordered TVEyes to establish a “blocking feature” for hyperlinks to Fox clips to prohibit users from sharing clips of Fox content on social media. Users pay approximately $500 each month for the ability to watch, download, edit and share video clips, but under the new rules, clients will have limitations on their ability to share Fox News or Fox Business clips.
European Commission Considers Preventing Hyperlinks To Online Copyrighted Material. The European Commission is reportedly planning new rules that would regulate hyperlinks, holding users legally responsible for linking to copyrighted content. As Breitbart’s Allum Bokhari writes in European Commission Plots Web-Breaking Copyright Reform, “search engines like Google would have to ask publishers like Breitbart for permission before linking to our articles.” Some critics believe the Commission is seeking to use hyperlink regulation to boost the publishing industry, although it would likely “cripple ordinary communication on the Internet.”
American Library Association: The Market Can’t Solve All Copyright Problems, Government Action Needed Too. Carrie Russell with the American Library Association (ALA) makes a cheeky argument against the market’s ability to solve the problems of copyright infringement and piracy in the November 9 blog post Market Solves Infringement Problem? Yeah, Right. With the establishment of copyright trolls, takedown services and digital crawlers, Russell notes the rise in monetization of anti-piracy efforts, which ultimately fails to provide long-lasting solutions to creating a balanced copyright system.