It's just another sign that the line between the "real" and virtual worlds is blurring. Author and Stanford law professor Larry Lessig gave a book talk in the virtual world, Second Life to promote his book Free Culture and talk about the government's approach to copyrights, CNET reports." He took the form of an avatar that looked like him, and he told CNET that, as far as book talks go, it was a … [Read more...] about Virtual book talk
Copyright
Protections for file-sharers
Not in the US, but lawmakers and courts in two countries – France and South Korea – are making clear distinctions between file-sharing for personal use and doing so for money. The former activity is now seeing some legal protection in those countries. In Korea, personal file-sharers "will not be accused" under guidelines issued by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the Korea Times … [Read more...] about Protections for file-sharers
More ‘everywhere TV’
The trend snowballs (already). We're barely into the "Everywhere TV" era, and already there are tools for putting TV on the video iPod and Playstation Portable, The Register reports. First it cites TiVoToGo and blinkx.tv To Go, adding that "four other US companies, Hauppauge Computer Works, InterVideo, Proxure and Bling Software have launched products this week that do something similar, mostly … [Read more...] about More ‘everywhere TV’
Lawsuits not ‘helping’
At least not in the UK. I'm referring to lawsuits by the music industry against file-sharers and a just-released study about it cited in The Guardian. The survey, conducted by market research firm Mori for AOL UK, found that "51% of those who currently download tracks do so illegally." It also indicated "a large degree of confusion among consumers about whether or not they were breaking copyright … [Read more...] about Lawsuits not ‘helping’
File-sharer loses case
The operative word in that headline is "loses." This is one of the rare cases in which the defendant didn't settle with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). But it's interesting that the defendant was mainly identified as a mother in the coverage: Nearly all of the 100+ news sites and papers around the world that picked up the story have "mom" in their headlines. In this case, … [Read more...] about File-sharer loses case