Dive into the archives.
- CopyNight & Copy/Right(?)
Two fun copyright geekery events this week. First, CopyNight returns, hosted by me and Fred Benenson at Swift Bar 34 E 4th St (between Bowery and Lafayette), tomorrow, Tuesday 4/27 at 7PMish. This is a social night which is open to anyone who likes talking IP and drinking beverages, possibly in that order.
On Saturday, Pratt hosts Copy/Right(?) a symposium about copyright, creative commons, fair use and library science. Good Times!… [more]
- The Cobbler- A new model for entertainment artists
Have an article up at QuestionCopyright.org about a new approach for filmmakers and other entertainment artists in the reproductive economy. Sample:
For the first time, it is possible for a filmmaker to make a film on a very small budget, use promotion and distribution methods that are low-cost or free, and find enough revenue to break even and possibly to support themselves in a basic fashion. It means you probably won’t become a millionaire, but in return your chances of being able to support yourself through your work go up, and they go up more the… [more]
- Digital Watermarks: Can they save copyright?
Everyone knows that illegal downloads can’t be stopped (except, maybe the MPAA, but they’ve been deluded for a while about speech issues). That could seem kind of depressing if you are a filmmaker who’s just maxxed out a few credit cards and hit up every friend you have making a movie with no obvious hope of recouping. Some people have said that we should just dump copyright altogether since it’s unenforceable. But copyright was created to protect artists who put their original ideas and execution into a work so that they could control how money… [more]
- RiP: A Remix Manifesto in the tradition of mainfestos past
I recently got a chance to check out RiP: A REMIX MANIFESTO, the Canadian documentary that takes a look at copyright (and the mashup artist Girl Talk) in a kind of method way- the producers, EYESTEELFILM, and director, Brett Gaylor decided that since the costs of licensing all the expensive music in the film would be prohibitive, and since the film was about these costs, it would essentially be fair use to go ahead and use whatever they wanted (including network footage, usually very expensive) and just see what happens.
It’s a pretty interesting concept, and though the film… [more]
- Patently True
Geeked out today in the Patent and Trademark Office. Along with the exciting new iPhone developments (which did not tell me whether my new mobile device will have the black plastic or aluminum back, anticlimactically), I fooled around looking at new concepts for media delivery on various platforms and DRM solutions for their “protection.” One patent of interest was awarded on 5/6/06 for “method and apparatus for delivery of targeted video programming” to track audience viewing habits and deliver media based on individual patterns and preferences.There is more and more content available and people seem to be at… [more]
