copyright

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Baseball Won't Give You Permission to Talk About It

Fan calls league's bluff on legal disclaimer

(Newser) - If you’ve ever watched baseball, you’ve probably heard the stern warning that “Any rebroadcast, retransmission, or account of this game, without the express written consent of Major League Baseball, is prohibited.” Well, Phil Villarreal of the Consumerist wanted to tell his buddy about a recent Diamondbacks-Astros...

Kindle Users Sue Over Amazon's Orwellian Deletes

(Newser) - Customers who had their paid-for copies of 1984 and Animal Farm yanked from their Kindles over a copyright issue are taking Amazon to court, InformationWeek reports. The company has apologized for its action and vowed not to repeat it, but the plaintiffs, who include a high school student whose homework...

Amazon Goes Orwellian on Kindle
Amazon Goes Orwellian
on Kindle
Jul 18, 2009 6:45 AM CDT

Amazon Goes Orwellian on Kindle

Company deletes customers' downloads of 1984, Animal Farm

(Newser) - Amazon turned into Big Brother this week after mistakenly selling pirated copies of George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm to Kindle users, Ars Technica reports. The company, without warning, remotely deleted the books from customers' devices after discovering the publisher didn't have the rights to sell them. Customers who lost...

Music Industry Hunts for Cash in Pirate Bay Sale

Trade group wants its chunk of $7.8M acquisition

(Newser) - The music industry wants its money back from those copyright vigilantes at Pirate Bay, and now it sees a decent chance to get it, reports CNET. An industry trade group plans to go after the $3.6 million in damages awarded by a Swedish court now that a software company...

Jacko Leaves Pile of Debt
 Jacko Leaves Pile of Debt 
Jun 26, 2009 10:00 AM CDT

Jacko Leaves Pile of Debt

Could have recouped losses with comeback

(Newser) - Michael Jackson died deep in debt, Reuters reports: Wall Street Journal sources put the figure at $500 million earlier this month. The entertainer and his managers had hoped a planned concert series this summer would refill his coffers. Still, Jackson’s copyrights to his songs and his stake in the...

Judge Shelves Catcher In the Rye Knock-Off

Restraining order may be prelude to trial for Salinger, 'sequel' writer

(Newser) - A federal judge today blocked the publication of a modern novel featuring the characters of The Catcher in the Rye while she weighs whether there’s a valid copyright case. Author JD Salinger, 90, sued the Swedish publisher of 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye for not seeking his...

French Court Throws Out Anti-Piracy Law

(Newser) - France’s constitutional council today shot down the country’s newly minted “three strikes” law against Internet piracy, Ars Technica reports. The council said the law, which set up an administrative body to punish pirates, violated basic principles of French law, assigning essentially judicial duties to a non-judicial body,...

Feds Step Up Antitrust Probe of Google Books Deal

Antitrust investigation focuses on Google's settlement with publishers

(Newser) - Justice Department investigators have intensified their probe into a deal Google made with publishers last year to put millions of books online, the Wall Street Journal reports. Publishers have been formally asked to provide information relating to the deal, which critics charge violates antitrust laws by giving Google an effective...

Yahoo Sues for Free Fantasy Football Stats

Company argues NFL union has no copyright on players' info

(Newser) - Yahoo has taken the NFL Players Association to court in a bid to use players' information for its online fantasy football game without paying royalties, CNET reports. Yahoo argues that since the players' names, biographies, and statistics are already in the public domain, it no longer needs to gain permission...

McDonald's Doesn't Own 'Mc' Prefix: Malaysian Judge

Court reverses decision against McCurry's restaurant

(Newser) - A Malaysian court ruled that McDonald’s does not control the rights to every word with the “Mc” prefix, the AP reports. The appellate court overturned a 2006 decision that forced a Malaysian restaurant named “McCurry’s” to pay damages to McDonald’s for using the name to...

Pirate Bay Judge Belongs to Pro-Copyright Groups

(Newser) - One of the men convicted in the Pirate Bay file-sharing case is demanding a retrial, claiming that the judge is in cahoots with copyright-protection organizations, the Local of Sweden reports. Judge Tomas Norstrom acknowledges being a member of such groups but denies any conflict of interest. Last week, he found...

Pirate Bay Ruling Invigorates Pirates

(Newser) - Last week’s guilty verdict against the Swedes behind the Pirate Bay filesharing site not only hasn’t shuttered the operation—it’s boosted support for the cause of free information, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The affiliated Pirate Party, which advocates for copyright reform, has doubled its membership just...

Academics Fear Google's 'Orphan Books' Plan

Search king accused of rewriting copyright law to get access to out-of-print works

(Newser) - Google's plan to take millions of "orphan" books under its wing has critics crying foul, the New York Times reports. Google aims to make these out-of-print works—whose rights holders are unknown or cannot be found—part of its mammoth online bookstore and library, a plan some academics say...

Aerosmith to GOP: Hands Off Our Song

House GOP's Back in the Saddle video yanked after copyright claim

(Newser) - Minority Whip Eric Cantor's effort to rally the House GOP with a video using Aerosmith's Back in the Saddle was swiftly bucked by the band, reports TPM. The company holding the song’s copyright requested that the video—which crowed about the House GOP's unified opposition to the stimulus package—...

Farrah Sues Over '70s Poster
 Farrah Sues Over '70s Poster 
Feb 14, 2009 2:00 PM CST

Farrah Sues Over '70s Poster

Says firm 'falsely' claims she lacks rights to photo

(Newser) - Farrah Fawcett is suing for a minimum of $100,000 in a rights dispute over her legendary 1970s swimsuit photo, TMZ reports. The actress says two companies have been using the image—which once adorned bedroom walls the world over—without her permission and asserts that she owns all the...

Photo-Humiliation Site Sparks Facebook Fury

'Paparazzi for the masses' site YoBusted accused of extortion, copyright infringement

(Newser) - Facebook isn't laughing about a site trying to cash in on people's funny photos, reports BusinessWeek. YoBusted features embarrassing photos sent in by users, often lifted from Facebook. Anybody who wants his or her photo removed has to sign up for a $20-a-month membership. Any "friend" who sends in...

Poster Artist Sues AP in Copyright Fight

Fairey says use of agency's photo constitutes fair use

(Newser) - Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the iconic Obama "Hope" poster, filed a lawsuit against the AP yesterday as a preemptive strike in their copyright dispute. The artist has asked a federal judge to rule that his work constitutes fair use of a copyrighted image. Fairey's suit comes after...

Streaming Sites Thwart Studios' Piracy Crackdowns

Industry fears revenue meltdown as watching pirated video online goes mainstream

(Newser) - The rise of video streaming sites has defeated movie studios' toughest anti-piracy efforts, the New York Times reports. Consumers can watch copyrighted material online—often from sites hosted in countries with slack anti-piracy rules—more easily than ever. The industry estimates "digital theft" now accounts for 40% of...

Citigroup Sues Pawnshop Over Similar Name, Logo

Struggling bank seeks all profits made by Brooklyn's All Citi Pawn

(Newser) - Citigroup is suing a Brooklyn pawnshop for copyright infringement, the New York Post reports. The logo for All Citi Pawn sports the distinctive “i” and a similar red mark over the “t.” Citigroup’s suit demands the pawnshop fork over all profits made since it adopted the...

Web Copyright Lawsuit Could Cripple the Freedom to Link

Community outlet says big papers siphon off page views with mere snippets of info

(Newser) - A local newspaper chain is suing the New York Times Company for pilfering its online content, and the case could dramatically change how news sites link, Danny Sanchez writes on Journalistopia. GateHouse Media says readers can glean enough information from the snippets linked by the Boston Globe and therefore don’...

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