In the Know — October 9th, 2008

Most recent activity:

November, 13, 2008

Issues: 
Copyright
Network Neutrality
Orphan Works

Whats New:

Orphan Works: Wait Until Next Year!

As you’ll recall, “orphan works” are copyrighted
works—books, music, records, films, etc.—whose copyright
owner cannot be located. Due to the threat of massive infringement
penalties, many filmmakers, visual artists, libraries and educational
institutions are unable to use or display such orphan works, even after
conducting a search for the copyright owner. The Shawn Bentley Orphan
Works Act of 2008, which the Senate passed on September 26th, would have
gone a long way toward solving this problem, by allowing artists and
institutions to use such works after conducting a diligent, fruitless
search for the copyright owner. Unfortunately, despite the hard work of
PK and its allies in the user community, an agreement on the language in
the House version of the bill could not be reached with House staffers
before Congress adjourned for the year. Nonetheless, we here at Public
Knowledge remain optimistic that we’ll have another opportunity to
work toward a compromise in the bill’s language next year.

For more on the Orphan Works Act of 2008 see this blog post from
Public Knowledge President and Co-Founder Gigi Sohn.

Related issues: Orphan
Works

Public Knowledge to Senate: DPI Raises
Grave Privacy Concerns

On September 25th, Public Knowledge President and Co-Founder Gigi Sohn
testified in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and
Transportation, warning the Committee’s members that “DPI
(Deep Packet Inspection) technology raises grave privacy concerns.”
The hearing, which was entitled “Broadband Providers and Consumer
Privacy,” also featured testimony from representatives for
AT&T, Time Warner Cable and Verizon. Gigi spent the majority of her
time focusing on Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), a technology
that—as you may
know—is receiving a great deal of Congressional scrutiny as of
late. “Simply put, Deep Packet Inspection is the Internet
equivalent of the postal service reading your mail,” Gigi said.
“They might be reading your mail for any number of reasons, but the
fact remains that your mail is being read by the very people whose job it
is to deliver it.”

For more on the hearing: click here to read
Gigi’s testimony and watch an archived webcast of the hearing.

Related issues: Network
Neutrality | Comcast

Action Alert: Thank You For Saying
‘No’ to PRO-IP

On September 27th, Congress approved an amended version of the
Intellectual Property (IP) enforcement bill, now called the PRO-IP bill.
As you’ll recall, we at Public Knowledge have voiced our opposition
to this bill numerous times in the past and have even called upon you to
make your voice heard, through an Action Alert.
Thankfully, the bill, as amended, did not contain some of the most
troubling provisions seen in previous versions, including one that would
grant the Attorney General the power to bring civil lawsuits against
alleged infringers on behalf of copyright holders. However, PRO-IP still
increases forfeiture penalties for copyright infringement and media
bootlegging, meaning that any number of multipurpose devices—even
those not owned by the infringer and those not directly tied to the
offense—could get caught up in the net of forfeiture penalties. We
may not have been able to stop the PRO-IP bill from passing but with the
help of our friends, we were able to shore up the support of 41
Representatives who voted “no” on the bill. Now, it’s
time to thank those brave 41 Representatives, for standing up to the
entertainment industry in an election year and fighting the good fight.

For more on the PRO-IP bill: see this blog post and
help us thank the 41 representatives using this Action Alert.

Related issues: Copyright

Public Knowledge, EFF and Congress Turn
up the Heat on ACTA

In our last issue of “In the Know,” we briefly discussed a
secretive, international trade agreement called ACTA (the
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). Unfortunately, in the weeks since,
the treaty’s negotiators have failed to provide the public with any
drafts of this mysterious agreement. This summer, Public Knowledge and
the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) requested documents pertaining
to ongoing ACTA negotiations from the United States Trade Representative
(USTR), under the Freedom of Information Act. After the USTR failed to
turn over the documents in question, Public Knowledge and EFF filed a
suit against the USTR. Meanwhile, tech companies submitted a letter in
August requesting more openness in the ACTA negotiations process while PK
and over 100 other groups did the same the following month. Last week,
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and the
panel’s senior Republican, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, sent a
letter of their own to the USTR, criticizing the veil of secrecy
surrounding ACTA. It’s clear that pressure is mounting for the USTR
to open up the negotiations process and with any luck, it won’t be
long before ACTA is forced to show its face to the public.

For more on ACTA see
this blog post.

Related issues: ACTA | Copyright

NYMusicCopyright.org Helps Musicians
Navigate Copyright Law

Should aspiring musicians sign contracts with major recording labels? Is
it legal to use a sample from an existing work in a song? What methods of
alternative distribution exist and how can one take advantage of them? In
an attempt to answer these and the many other questions that face
professional musicians today, Public Knowledge and the New York State
Music Fund have created a website that offers musicians a crash course in
copyright law. NYMusicCopyright.org features detailed information on
everything from DRM to the ins and outs of music licensing and breaks
down complex issues using easy-to-understand, non-legal language.

For more on NYMusicCopyright.org: check out the website.

Related issues: Copyright