CopyCat Dos and Donts

You may not want to read this article on copying music. You may find that some things you assumed are legal, like copying your personal CD collection to your iPod, may not be as legal as you think. I find it fascinating what the Recording Industry Institute of America is willing to look the other way on and what they aren't when it comes to copyright. Just shows that adults and kids alike are at risk of not doing the right thing when it comes to copyright even when they are trying hard to be good. There is a parenting lesson in that.

Microsoft Surveys Teens on Intellectual Property

Microsoft Corp. announced recently the results of a new survey that found teenagers in grades seven to ten are less likely to illegally download content from the Internet when they know the laws for downloading and sharing content online. About half of those teens, however, said they were not familiar with these laws, and only 11 percent of them clearly understood the current rules for downloading images, literature, music, movies and software. Teens who were familiar with downloading rules credited their parents, TV or stories in magazines and newspapers, and Web sites - more so than their schools - as resources for information about illegal downloading.

Microsoft is also launching the pilot of a broad-based curriculum for middle school and high school educators titled "Intellectual Property Rights Education." The curriculum is focused on preparing students for the digital age, helping them understand, in a meaningful way, how intellectual property rights affect their lives and sparking discussion to clarify the "gray areas" in protected and shared content. To complement the curriculum and enhance the learning experience, Microsoft is also launching an interactive Web site, http://www.mybytes.com, where kids can develop their own intellectual property and assign usage rights by mixing music online to create a custom riff that they can download as a ringtone. (Kids may find it a bit lame if they are already familiar with programs like Apple's GarageBand.)

While I applaud Microsoft's efforts, there has been so much written lately about how teachers are not using digital materials in the classroom because they are anxious about copyright issues, I would urge Microsoft to also do something about educating educators!

Europe May Take DeFacto Control of How the World Uses the Internet

While the United States will still own much of the hardware that the Internet runs on, Europeans are taking a serious look at how we use it by harmonizing the copyright laws of its member countries related to creative content online. While some of what is being negotiated is legalese, for parents and kids there may be important changes in the wind. Here's short list and what it may mean:

1. Copyright owners are going to be encouraged to make content available online with the confidence that piracy will not cannibalize the economic value of the underlying works.
    
2. Procedures will be created to make clearing content easier and less expensive, including the ability of third parties to use works for whom the owner of the rights cannot be located (so-called orphan works).
    
3. A standard of conduct will be formalized between access/service providers, rights holders, and consumers to encourage legal use and access of creative content and to discourage unauthorized file sharing.

As the Europeans create a common copyright policy for its member countries, the European Union will have to tackle issues that are hampering the activities of entrepreneurs, creators, and consumers. The solutions the European Union creates will serve as a guide to other countries, and perhaps the de facto legal framework for the Internet as the digital frontier continues to develop. Should be an interesting ride...

Will Prince Sue Fans?

In a rather curious way to stir up fans for a set of concerts he is doing in Great Britain, Prince is threatening legal action against fan sites that display pictures of him, reports the BBC. But Web Sheriff, the group he has hired to enforce the ban says that it is "not an attack on fans." In September, Prince took action against video sharing website YouTube to remove clips of his London concerts. Wonder if this going to start a trend? An interesting discussion starter with your kids - do they think stars have a right to protect their image in this way?

Just Who Are You Trying To Take Down?

Recently we told you about the efforts of Google to use a new system called Video Identification on YouTube to initiate efforts to take down videos that may infringe on copyrights. Well as the takedown notices have gone out, the backlash of users is beginning to rise. Take the case of Stephanie Lenz. who decided to show her family and friends what her bouncing baby boy could do. She plopped 13-month-old Holden, then learning to walk, on the floor, cranked up Prince's song "Let's Go Crazy" and whipped out her digital camera. In the 29-second YouTube video that resulted, Holden smiles and bobs up and down to the music. According to Universal Music Publishing Group, Holden also unwittingly helped his mom commit a federal crime: copyright infringement.

In June, Universal, which owns the rights to Prince's song, sent a notice to YouTube requesting the video be taken down but did not take action against Lenz. On the contrary, Lenz sued Universal for abusing copyright law.

"The idea that putting a little video of your kid up on YouTube can mean you have to go to court, and maybe declare bankruptcy and lose your house, is just wrong," Lenz said. "I don't like being made to feel afraid, and I don't like being bullied."

And neither does it seem do lots of other folks who are not just taking down their movies just because the big companies say they must.

The Forming of the Pirate Party

Ok, even I was a little blown away by this one. Apparently in Sweden a new political party has been formed called the Pirate Party with the sole purpose of thwarting the enforcement of US copyright laws in Sweden. Their goal is to take their argument-that sharing movies, music and other information should not be a crime-directly to voters. And listen up U.S. music and movie moguls, a similar group has asked to become a political party with the same name in Utah. While the Pirate Party in Sweden has not yet got much political clout, it does make one wonder what they want to substitute for copyright laws. If everything is free, are we all destined to watch YouTube-handheld camera clips as our sole entertainment or will advertising play even a bigger part in entertainment production? I'm sick of pop-up ads already, what about you? Anybody out their got any sage advice or a new financial model to replace copyright and royalties?