copyright

Internet Society Joins Opposition to Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)

Posted on by joly

Policies mandating DNS filtering undermine the open architecture of the Internet and raise human rights and freedom of expression concerns

[Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland – 12 December 2011] – The Internet Society Board of Trustees has expressed concern with a number of U.S. legislative proposals that would mandate DNS blocking and filtering by ISPs to protect the interests of copyright holders. While the Internet Society agrees that combating illicit online activity is an important public policy objective, these critical issues must be addressed in ways that do not undermine the viability of the Internet as a platform for innovation across all industries by compromising its global architecture. The Internet Society Board of Trustees does not believe that the Protect-IP Act (PIPA) and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) are consistent with these basic principles.
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ISOC-NY Film Night – Mar 5: Copyright Criminals

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What: ISOC-NY Movie Night : Copyright Criminals
Where: Rm. 109, Warren Weaver Hall NYU, 250 Mercer St NYC
When: Friday Mar 5, 7:00pm,
Who: Public Welcome. Admission Free.
Sponsors: ISOC-NY, FreeCulture NYU, NYU ACM, Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy Clinic, tech@nyu

Join producer Kembrew McLeod and legendary remixer Steve Steinski Stein, the inspiration for many recent artists including Girl Talk, for a Q&A session after the screening.

We are thankful that Kembrew (yes, the same prankster professor who trademarked “Freedom Of Expression” and went after AT&T for using the term in an ad) is giving ISOC-NY the opportunity to screen this film so shortly after its successful run at the Film Forum.

Trailer below
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Webcast: Google Book Settlement Workshop – 1/20/2010

Posted on by joly

On Jan 20, the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) , the National Writers Union (NWU), and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) and the Internet Society’s New York Chapter (ISOC-NY) jointly sponsored a workshop to discuss the implications for writers of the proposed Google Books Settlement (GBS), which is the result of a class action brought by the Authors Guild. There is some urgency, as writers only have until Jan 28 2010 to opt out or object. The three sponsoring writers organizations above all oppose the settlement. A fairness hearing has been set for 18 February.

With NWU President Larry Goldbetter moderating, the panel was

with additional input from:

Audio is here. Video is below.
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William Patry – Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars (video)

Posted on by joly

patry_bookThe Intellectual Property Law Society at Cardozo School of Law kicked off its annual program by inviting former faculty member William F. Patry, now Senior Copyright Counsel at Google, to give a lunchtime talk based on his new book – ‘Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars’ (Oxford University Press). Patry is one of the most prolific writers around on the copyright topic having authored the 7-volume “Patry on Copyright” – a definitive work. In the new book he argues that copyright is a utilitarian government program – not a property or moral right. As a government program, copyright must be regulated and held accountable to ensure it is effectively serving its public purpose. The talk was descriptive rather than prescriptive but served to delineate anomalous areas deserving of fixes. Patry also professed a fondness for the simpler schemas of the 1909 act.  Video/audio is available below.

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Video/Audio of Stallman @ Cardozo

Posted on by joly

Audio and video of Richard Stallman’s recent speech Community vs. Copyright at NYC’s Cardozo School of Law can be found here. Stallman argued that the current copyright regime is incongruous in the digital age, and no longer serves the public interest. He suggested solutions that included new classifications of works and massively reducing the protection period.
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Lawrence Lessig – “Remix” @NYU Sunday

Posted on by joly

ISOC-NY is a co-sponsor of Evan Korth’s Computers & Society speaker series at NYU this fall. The next talk is this Sunday. It will feature Professor Lawrence Lessig of Stanford University. His topic is “Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy.”

The content industry has convinced industry in general that extremism in copyright regulation is good for business and economic growth. In this talk, Professor Lessig describes the creative and profitable future that culture and industry could realize, if only we gave up IP extremism.

Date: Sun November 9 2008
Time: 6pm – 7pm
Location:
Warren Weaver Hall NYU
251 Mercer Street
Rm 109 New York, NY 10012

Members and public welcome. Enter via W. 4th St. Photo ID required.

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