Judge blocks publication of proposed reference book, awards $6,750 in damages.
By Shawn Adler
Five months after author J.K. Rowling was nearly brought to tears while testifying in front of a New York courtroom, the woman behind “Harry Potter” had reason to smile Monday (September 
with news that a judge had ruled in her favor in a copyright-infringement lawsuit against RDR Books, publishers of “The Harry Potter Lexicon.”
In addition to blocking publication of the reference tome, Judge Robert P. Patterson awarded Rowling and co-plaintiff Warner Bros. Entertainment $6,750 in statutory damages, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“I took no pleasure at all in bringing legal action and am delighted that this issue has been resolved favourably,” Rowling wrote in a statement. “I went to court to uphold the right of authors everywhere to protect their own original work. The court has upheld that right.” At issue in the case was the U.S. legal doctrine of fair use, a complicated, ambiguous law that seeks to protect copyright holders from unsanctioned use of their work. Rowling claimed in April, and again in a recent statement, that the proposed Potter reference guide stepped over the line from acceptable usage into “wholesale theft….”
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Interesting.
– Cathy
weavercat@gmail.com
Jackson Browne sues John McCain | Entertainment | Reuters
LOS ANGELES Reuters – Rock star Jackson Browne has sued U.S. presidential candidate John McCain for copyright infringement, accusing the presumptive Republican nominee of using the singer’s 1977 hit “Running on Empty” in a campaign ad without permission.
The suit, filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, also names the Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party as defendants. It seeks a permanent injunction against further use of Browne’s music and at least $75,000 in damages.
Court: violating copyleft = copyright infringement
A federal appeals court has overruled a lower court ruling that, if sustained, would have severely hampered the enforceability of free software licenses. The lower court had found that redistributing software in violation of the terms of a free software license could constitute a breach of contract, but was not copyright infringement. The difference matters because copyright law affords much stronger remedies against infringement than does contract law. If allowed to stand, the decision could have neutered popular copyleft licenses such as the GPL and Creative Commons licenses. The district court decision was overturned on Wednesday by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The copyright holder in the case is Robert Jacobsen, the lead developer of the Java Model Railroad Interface, a software package used by model railroad enthusiasts. A firm called Kamind Associates downloaded parts of Jacobsen’s project, stripped out the copyright notice and other identifying information, and began redistributing the modified version without Jacobsen’s approval.
JMRI was released under version 1.0 of the Artistic License, which is also widely used in the Perl community. While not not technically a copyleft license, it gives users broad freedom to use, modify, and redistribute the JMRI software provided that certain conditions are met. Jacobsen argued that Kamind’s failure to comply with the terms of the license deprived it of any permission to redistribute the software and made it guilty of copyright infringement. The District Court for the Northern District of California disagreed, holding that the Artistic License granted an “intentionally broad” license to the JMRI software, and that violations of the license terms should be viewed as mere breaches of contract rather than copyright infringement.
Court Clears eBay in Suit Over Sale of Counterfeit Goods – NYTimes.com
EBay scored an important victory in an American court on Monday on how much vetting it is required to do of its auction listings, but the decision was in contrast to recent European court rulings.
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In a decision in a four-year-old trademark lawsuit against eBay brought by the jeweler Tiffany & Company, Judge Richard J. Sullivan of the Federal District Court in Manhattan ruled that the online retailer does not have a legal responsibility to prevent its users from selling counterfeit items on its online marketplace.
The verdict reaffirms that Internet companies do not have to actively filter their sites for trademarked material. Rather, they can rely on intellectual property holders to monitor their sites, as long as they promptly remove material when rights holders complain.
Belgian Newspapers Sue Google For Copyright Damages — Google — InformationWeek
Newspapers in Belgium want Google NSDQ: GOOG to pay for copyright infringements since a Belgian court ruled that the search engine violated copyrights by reprinting headlines and sentences on Google News.
Members of the Belgian press are seeking about $77 million in damages for use of the material. Google launched its news page service in Belgium in 2006. Soon after, papers there sued the company to stop it from linking to their articles.
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Interesting view about copyright issues!
What do you think?
– Cathy
weavercat@gmail.com
Harry Potter case illustrates blurry line in copyright law — Newsday.com
NEW YORK – For a time, Harry Potter superfan Steven Vander Ark seemed to be living a geeky dream.
His Web site _ an obsessive catalog of spells, characters and creatures in J.K. Rowlings novels _ was a hit among fellow fanatics. He spoke at conventions. Journalists sought him out for interviews. He was a guest on NBCs “Today Show.”
Better still, Rowling knew who he was. She gave his site, “The Harry Potter Lexicon,” an award and confessed that she occasionally used its online encyclopedia as a reference. Warner Bros. invited him onto the set of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” He even made it on to the DVD, appearing in a TV-documentary included as a special feature.
But all that changed after a little-known publishing company, RDR Books, announced it would release a print version of the lexicon. The author and Warner Bros. sued, asking a judge to block publication on the grounds that it violated copyright law, and the case went to trial this week.
The dispute has thrust Vander Ark into the middle of a closely watched case that illustrates the muddled state of copyright law enforcement when it comes to the Web.
Harry Potter Lexicon trial gets testier
Author J.K. Rowling Wednesday trashed the geeky librarian whos trying to publish a Harry Potter encyclopedia as a literary thief who ripped off her novels.
Rowlings tart assessment of Steven Vander Arks “Harry Potter Lexicon” Web site came after Manhattan Federal Judge Robert Patterson wondered if she could imagine anyone reading it for its entertainment value.
America’s Historical Documents
America’s Historical Documents
The National Archives preserves and provides access to the records of the Federal Government. Here is a sample of these records, from our most celebrated milestones to little-known surprises.
House Passes Bill to Curb Suits by Patent Owners – New York Times
House Passes Bill to Curb Suits by Patent Owners
By BLOOMBERG NEWS
Published: September 8, 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (Bloomberg News) — The House approved the most sweeping changes to United States patent law in more than half a century on Friday in a victory for computer companies like Microsoft and finance companies like Goldman Sachs.
The legislation, approved 220 to 175, would make patents harder to obtain and easier to challenge and is intended to curtail litigation by limiting where patent owners can file suit and how much they can collect in damages.
Indian writer apologises for plagiarism
Indian writer apologises for plagiarism
TIME Europe Magazine: Five Easy Steps To A Best Seller — Mar. 27, 2006
Five Easy Steps To A Best Seller
By JESSICA CARSEN
Sunday, Mar. 19, 2006
London’s Da Vinci Code copyright trial — a suspenseful thriller itself — continues to pack in the crowds. Last week, Dan Brown was in the dock to defend what he calls the “completely fanciful” case brought by Holy Blood, Holy Grail authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, who claim he lifted the “whole architecture” of his massive best seller from their 1982 nonfiction book. His 69-page witness statement is littered with tips on how to write a blockbuster.
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– Cathy
weavercat@gmail.com
Da Vinci Author Claims Many Sources – CBS News
Da Vinci Author Claims Many Sources
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You cannot copyright history…
– Cathy
weavercat@gmail.com
Canadian record label taking on the RIAA over lawsuits
Canadian record label taking on the RIAA over lawsuits
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“Since 2003 the RIAA has continually misused the court and legal system, engaging in misguided litigation tactics for the purpose of extorting settlement amounts from everyday people — parents, students, doctors, and general consumers of music.(…)”
– Cathy
weavercat@gmail.com
