What’s New, From 1927
Here we are at the start of the new year, which for the Internet Archive means a note about what has just entered the public domain. 1927’s finest previously copyrighted …read more Continue reading What’s New, From 1927
Category Archives: copyright
GitHub Users File A Class-Action Lawsuit Against Microsoft For Training an AI Tool With Their Code
This lawsuit represents a growing concern from programmers, artists, and other people that AI systems may be using their code, artwork, and other data without permission. Continue reading GitHub Users File A Class-Action Lawsuit Against Microsoft For Training an AI Tool With Their Code
$23 Million YouTube Royalties Scam
Scammers were able to convince YouTube that other peoples’ music was their own. They successfully stole $23 million before they were caught.
No one knows how common this scam is, and how much money total is being stolen in this way. Presumably this is not an uncommon fraud.
While the size of the heist and the breadth of the scheme may be very unique, it’s certainly a situation that many YouTube content creators have faced before. YouTube’s Content ID system, meant to help creators, has been weaponized by bad faith actors in order to make money off content that isn’t theirs. While some false claims are just mistakes caused by automated systems, the MediaMuv case is a perfect example of how fraudsters are also purposefully taking advantage of digital copyright rules…
Watch Out For Lasercutter Manufacturers Violating GPL
For companies that build equipment like CNC machines or lasercutters, it’s tempting to use open-source software in a lot of areas. After all, it’s stable, featureful, and has typically passed …read more Continue reading Watch Out For Lasercutter Manufacturers Violating GPL
Copyright, What You Need To Know
Last week brought the story of a group of crypto enthusiasts who paid well over the going rate for a rare sci-fi book, then proposed encoding scans of all its …read more Continue reading Copyright, What You Need To Know
Hackaday Links: December 19, 2021
Key fobs as a service? Have we really gotten to that point? It would seem so, at least for Toyota, which is now requiring a subscription to use the company’s …read more Continue reading Hackaday Links: December 19, 2021
Separating Ideas From Words
We covered Malamud’s General Index this week, and Mike and I were talking about it on the podcast as well. It’s the boldest attempt we’ve seen so far to open …read more Continue reading Separating Ideas From Words
Department of Commerce Says We Need Fewer Repair Restrictions
The NTIA has told the Copyright Office it needs to weaken the DMCA and make it easier for people to fix their own stuff. Continue reading Department of Commerce Says We Need Fewer Repair Restrictions
Suing Infrastructure Companies for Copyright Violations
It’s a matter of going after those with deep pockets. From Wired:
Cloudflare was sued in November 2018 by Mon Cheri Bridals and Maggie Sottero Designs, two wedding dress manufacturers and sellers that alleged Cloudflare was guilty of contributory copyright infringement because it didn’t terminate services for websites that infringed on the dressmakers’ copyrighted designs….
[Judge] Chhabria noted that the dressmakers have been harmed “by the proliferation of counterfeit retailers that sell knock-off dresses using the plaintiffs’ copyrighted images” and that they have “gone after the infringers in a range of actions, but to no avail — every time a website is successfully shut down, a new one takes its place.” Chhabria continued, “In an effort to more effectively stamp out infringement, the plaintiffs now go after a service common to many of the infringers: Cloudflare. The plaintiffs claim that Cloudflare contributes to the underlying copyright infringement by providing infringers with caching, content delivery, and security services. Because a reasonable jury could not — at least on this record — conclude that Cloudflare materially contributes to the underlying copyright infringement, the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment is denied and Cloudflare’s motion for summary judgment is granted.”…
Continue reading Suing Infrastructure Companies for Copyright Violations
Cop Was Instructed to Use Music to Disrupt Filming
Police are playing copyrighted music while being filmed to prevent activists from uploading the video; one in Illinois says he was “advised” to do so. Continue reading Cop Was Instructed to Use Music to Disrupt Filming