Google is being sued by the Christian Institute in the UK for denying the group’s advertisement. The group wanted to place an ad on the keyword “abortion”, but apparently Google’s current policy “does not permit the advertisement of websites that contain ‘abortion and religion-related content’.” The Christian Institute is claiming […]
Law
65 posts
I’m pretty sure this isn’t an April Fool’s joke, because I’ve found it here, here and here (dated in March) and its even mentioned on PointDev’s website. Sony BMG has been accused of violating PointDev’s software copyright by installing unauthorized versions of its Windows administration tools on its computer systems […]
I’ve written about the SAC‘s proposal to legalize music file sharing several times in the past, giving it mixed reviews. It’s not a new idea, but it’s one of the first times an organization of artists has proposed it, and some record companies are entertaining the idea as well. I’ve […]
The other day, I wrote a (ridiculously long) post announcing my commitment to free culture, and more specifically, to free music. I didn’t expect anyone to read the entire thing, but my friend, John, not only read it but also responded to it on Facebook. I’m not sure what his […]
Over the past few months, I have been researching and reflecting on free culture and what it means for my music. Free culture is about freedom, not price. Today, the vast majority of music (and other art) is not free due to a combination of technology, law and economics. The […]
Language is important. It shapes our view, our thinking. It’s necessary for our expression and understanding. It’s important to pay attention to the terms we choose. The commonly used phrase “intellectual property rights” is loaded and problematic. Intellectual property rights: Ambiguous; it lumps copyright, patent and trademark law all under […]
The latest Nine Inch Nails album has been released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license (via Lessig). While the license isn’t quite free as in freedom, it’s a huge step forward; it allows sharing (copying, distribution, performance) and remixing, though only for non-commercial purposes. Reznor, now label-free, released the album […]
Boycott? I’m down. The proprietary software company Trend Micro has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Barracuda Systems. They claim that Barracuda is violating their patent by distributing the free software antivirus program ClamAV. Pamela Jones of Groklaw writes: I think it’s another attempt to attack the FOSS development model […]
Sen. Arlen Specter has proposed copyright leglislation in the United States in an attempt to provide an exemption for places of worship to broadcast NFL games. Bars and restaurants currently have this exemption, but the NFL has been busy sending nastygrams to churches using big screen televisions. Patry thinks the […]