EDUCAUSE | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses; Articles, Papers, and Reports; and Copyright Infringement

RIAA, MPAA resume lobbying push to expand copyright law

ckeller — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:51:57 -0500

The Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America are lobbying for a pair of bills that enjoy bipartisan support. Both are designed to give the federal government more power to police copyright violations, and both are likely to run into opposition from political foes of the RIAA and MPAA.

Sharing Your Notes Online — and Getting Paid for It

ckeller — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:18:28 -0500

A new Web site brings social networking and ad revenues to the traditional note-taking service, but the model could raise copyright issues.

Secrecy claims on copyright treaty

ckeller — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:13:46 -0500

The Bush administration's plans for a copyright treaty, dubbed "Hollywood's Christmas list" by privacy advocates, may be disrupted as protests over "secret negotiations" emerge in participating nations, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Copyright protection and the new stakeholders in online distance education: The Play’s the Thing

ckeller — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:33:46 -0500

This paper analyses the university as an Internet intermediary in the current climate of online distance education, classifies the stakeholders associated with the university in Web course management, and explores the need for an “Instructional Design Copyright Law”. The situation is likened to a theatrical production, with front-of-house preparations, backstage operations, and tragic characters.

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video

ckeller — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:36:42 -0500

This document is a code of best practices that helps creators, online providers, copyright holders, and others interested in the making of online video interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use. Fair use is the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances.

In Lawsuit, University Asserts That Downloading Copyrighted Texts Is Fair Use

ckeller — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:05:17 -0500

"In a closely watched copyright-infringement lawsuit, Georgia State University fired back this week at its accusers, three academic publishers that say the institution invites students to illegally download and print readings from thousands of works. The university asserts that its online distribution of course material is permitted under copyright law's fair-use exemption. "

Full Report of the Section 108 Study Group

ckeller — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:19:08 -0500

The Section 108 Study Group is a select committee of copyright experts charged with updating for the digital world the Copyright Act's balance between the rights of creators and copyright owners and the needs of libraries and archives. The Study Group was convened as an independent group by the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation program of the Library of Congress and by the U.S. Copyright Office. The recommendations, conclusions, and other outcomes of the Study Group's Report are its own and do not reflect the opinions of the Library of Congress or the U.S. Copyright Office.

Patent Office Rejects Blackboard's E-Learning Patent in Preliminary Ruling

ckeller — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:33:16 -0500

"The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a preliminary decision that rejects all 44 claims Blackboard Inc. made regarding the controversial patent it was granted for an online-learning system. If upheld, the decision could have sweeping ramifications for Blackboard's competitors and universities that use course-management software. "

Jury Sides With Blackboard in Patent Case

ckeller — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:26:30 -0600

A federal jury in Texas recently awarded the learning services giant Blackboard $3.1 million in its patent infringement lawsuit against a much smaller competitor, adding a new layer of complexity and uncertainty to a complex, uncertain market for higher education learning management systems.

Suppression Technologies: Summary Observations from a Common Solutions Group Workshop

ckeller — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:58:13 -0600

In an effort to better understand the technologies available for copyright infringement control, the Common Solutions Group invited leading vendors of detection and suppression technologies to present and discuss the architecture and implementation of their products at an intensive workshop held at Virginia Tech on January 9, 2008. This is their summary report.