] Not content with creating a continent-spanning
] lawsuit-sharing network using special P2P (person to
] perpetrator) technology, the record companies'
] consortium, the International Federation of Phonographic
] Industries (IFPI) now wants your ISP to sign up to a new
] "code of conduct" that it has helpfully drafted with the
] help of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). A warning,
] though: you probably won't like it.
]
] Here's a sampler. Under the new code, ISPs would put in
] place filtering technology to block services and/or sites
] that "are substantially dedicated to illegal file sharing
] or download services". They would retain data beyond what
] law enforcement agencies require, with the aim of helping
] track down copyright infringement. They'd hand that data,
] plus your identity, over to the IFPI or MPA if there was
] even a complaint - not a court order - against you for,
] you guessed it, copyright infringement. (And you'd have
] signed or clicked something agreeing to allow that.)

The heat of the Atlantic is starting to rise. Remember the example of the frog in the pot of water. If you toss a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will jump out. If you put the frog in the pot, and then start to raise the heat, it will sit there and cook. Lets hope the ISPs over there realize they are sitting in a pot of water. Don't give the IFPI/MPA an inch, we don't have a mile..

The losers if such agreements are accepted will be new new technologies. VoIP, IM video conferencing, etc..

IFPI drafts 'code of conduct' for ISPs | The Register

Click through for an extremely good breakdown of how CherryOS stole Open Source code for their project.

You can try to steal GPL code, but you will be caught.

RE: Advanced binary analysis of CherryOS: proof of theft

] On balance, not quite as bad a day for Grokster as I
] think a lot of people were expecting. Not a sure (or
] even a probable) victory for them by any means, but the
] Court did seem quite attuned to the effects on innovation
] of whatever liability rule it ultimately adopts.

Lawyer on the Grokster hearing

] "Orphan Works" probably comprise the majority of the
] record of 20th century culture. These works are still
] presumably under copyright (only works published before
] 1923 are conclusively in the public domain), but the
] copyright owner cannot be found. The default response of
] archivists, libraries, film restorers, artists, scholars,
] educators, publishers, and others is to drop copyrighted
] work unless it is clearly in the public domain. As a
] result, orphan works are not used in new creative efforts
] or made available to the public due to uncertainty over
] their copyright status, even when there is no longer
] anyone claiming copyright ownership, or the owner no
] longer has any objection to such use.
]
] The Center has submitted the following two proposals to
] the Copyright Office on Access to Orphan Works and Orphan
] Films.

Linked from Groklaw. It sounds like the copyright office for
once gets it and actually wants to *do* something about it.

Orphan Works

] Why is this search different?
]
] This Yahoo! Search service finds content across the Web
] that has a Creative Commons license. While most stuff you
] find on the web has a full copyright, this search helps
] you find content published by authors that want you to
] share or reuse it, under certain conditions. Learn
] more...

Yahoo! Creative Commons Search

Dogbert: "Excuse me. You've not entitled to your opinion. I copyrighted all of the stupidest opinions in the universe so they can never again be uttered."

Dilbert.com - Dogbert, Copyright Tactics

] This site has been shut down because of numerous patent
] violations in MPlayer. The other free software multimedia
] players are next.
]
] Multimedia is a patent minefield. All important
] techniques and formats are covered by broad and trivial
] patents that are harming progress and alternative
] implementations, such as free software multimedia
] players.

The EU patent situation is hitting the fan.

MPlayer Shutdown

] News agency Agence France Presse has sued Google Inc.,
] alleging the Web search leader includes AFP's photos,
] news headlines and stories on its news site without
] permission.

robots.txt, anyone? AFP is making a legal problem out of a technical issue. If they don't want their content to be included in search engines and aggregators, there is a time tested technical solution to this problem. You say "no", only you do not say "no" with a lawsuit, you say "no" in a text file the machines can understand.

This is bullshit that can only result in bad law.

CNN.com - News agency suing Google - Mar 19, 2005

] A trio of independent programmers has released new
] software that allows people to tap into Apple Computer's
] iTunes music store and purchase songs free of any
] anticopying protections.
]
] Joined by Jon Johansen, the Norwegian programmer
] responsible for distributing DVD-cracking code in late
] 1999, the programmers say their "PyMusique" software is a
] "fair" interface for iTunes, primarily aimed at allowing
] people who use the Linux operating system to purchase
] music from Apple's store.

DVD Jon strikes again.

Hackers build back door into iTunes | CNET News.com

] When Chuck D and the Fine Arts Militia released their
] latest single, "No Meaning No," several months ago, they
] didn't try to stop people from circulating free copies on
] the Internet. They encouraged it.
]
] They posted the entire 3-minute, 12-second song and its
] various vocal, drum and guitar components online and
] invited everyone to view, copy, mix, remix, sample,
] imitate, parody and even criticize it.

Yahoo! (Washington Post) - Creative Commons Is Rewriting Rules of Copyright