Category Archives: copyright

Oracle v Google could Chill Software Development

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Unless you’ve completely unplugged from the news, you probably are aware that the long-running feud between Oracle and Google had a new court decision this week. An appeal court found that Google’s excuse of fair use wasn’t acceptable and that they did infringe on Oracle’s copyrights to Java. Oracle has asked for about $9 billion in damages, although the actual amount is yet to be decided. In addition, it is pretty likely Google will take it up to the Supreme Court before any actual judgment is levied.

The news is aimed at normal people, so it is pretty glossy about …read more

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Copyright Exception May Overrule Ability To Jailbreak 3D Printers

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At the end of October, the US Patent and Trademark Office renewed a rule allowing anyone to ‘jailbreak’ a 3D printer to use unapproved filament. For those of you following along from countries that haven’t sent a man to the moon, a printer that requires proprietary filament is DRM, and exceptions to the legal enforceability DRM exist, provided these exceptions do not violate US copyright law. This rule allowing for the jailbreaking of 3D printers contains an exception so broad it may overturn the rule.

A few months ago, the US Copyright Office renewed a rule stating that using unapproved …read more

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U.S. Copyright Office seeks changes to anti-piracy law derided by white-hat hackers

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The U.S. Copyright Office is calling for wide-ranging reforms of an anti-piracy law that critics say restricts the “right to tinker” and puts white-hat cybersecurity researchers in legal jeopardy. In a little-noticed report published last week, the office questions the “overall operation and effectiveness” of Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA. The section makes it a federal crime to to circumvent or get around special “technological protection measures,” designed to prevent piracy of digital products. The law was designed to protect movies, recorded music or books from endless duplication and distribution online. Critics of the section say that — because so many things now include software, and most has some form of anti-piracy protection — it’s effectively illegal to repair, tinker with or even look for security flaws in almost any kind of “smart” or connected product, despite an exemption under the la for security testing. “The current exemption includes a requirement that security researchers obtain prior permission” for any […]

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