Category Archives: Copyright

Rivalrous and Non-Rivalrous ‘things’: Explained through song and illustration

I written multiple times about the difference between rivalrous and non-rivalrous things.  The basic difference is that only one person can ‘possess’ somethiing that is rivalrous; whereas more than one person can possess something non-rivalrous. Madisonian​.net has a post by Jacqui Lipton that links to an illustrated music video that helps explain this concept.  It …

November 17, 2010 – 9:47 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Live broadcasts and performances aren’t per se copyrightable: Revisiting the fixation requirement

A recent Techdirt article discusses the role of broadcast listeners and viewers in preserving sports history.  The article’s main point seems to be an argument that allowing copying helps preserve historical moments.  The historical moment in question was the 1951 “Shot heard ’round the world;” also known as Bobby Thompson’s walk-off home run against the …

November 1, 2010 – 11:57 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Implied licenses: Why copyright and contract prevents North Country Gazette from suing you

The North Country Gazette has threatened to sue folks who read more than one article on their website.  Since the threat was unearthed by BoingBoing and Techdirt, and re-posted on Slashdot, the website has gone down, come back up, and added a username/password authentication requirement. The original threat, detailed by Techdirt, outlines the Gazette’s plans …

October 28, 2010 – 11:08 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Does U.K. Heritage own all Stonehenge images? No.

U.K. Heritage, the folks who maintain Stonehenge, have claimed ownership over Stonehenge images.1  This is especially relevant to me because I visited Stonehenge in Spring 2009 and, yes, took pictures. Does U.K. Heritage own the rights to all images of Stonehenge?  No.  Might they have claims against folks who took pictures of Stonehenge?  Maybe, but …

October 21, 2010 – 9:55 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

DMCA Takedowns versus Free Speech

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, gets a lot of bad press.  Digital rights management software, or DRM, is blamed on the DMCA’s anti-circumvention clause.  The MPAA went so far as to argue that the DMCA’s anti-circumvention clause even prevents fair use defenses.1  But it is not all bad. Wired went so far as …

October 18, 2010 – 9:51 pm | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright, General | Tagged , , , | Comments (4)

Garage Door Openers and the DMCA’s Anti-Circumvention Provision

Ars Technica, a website chock full of useful articles for any tech lover, has an interesting and lengthy examination of how law and technology interact when it comes to garage door openers. People confuse intellectual property fundamentals all the time.  It is not surprising, then, that specific technical aspects to copyright law get confused by …

December 17, 2009 – 10:01 am | By John William Nelson | Posted in Copyright | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)