Digital Libraries
Don’t Shoot The Messenger - Authors Guild v. Google, Inc.
Jim Bouton, one of the designated hitters represented by the Authors Guild took another swing at Google Books services program in the United States Court of Appeal (2nd Circuit) (“the Court”). The Court rejected the copyright challenge brought forward by the Authors Guild and concluded that Google’s activities were transformative in nature and thus fell […]
Few People Download Illegally, But Those That Do, Do It A Lot
The few, the mighty. That's one way to describe illegal downloading habits.
Royal(ty) Pains: The Expansion Woes of Online Music Streaming Services
Online music streaming services have had a difficult year despite their increasing popularity. The problems services are experiencing south of the border may have an effect on how and when these services enter the Canadian market.
IP Osgoode Speaker Series: Douglas Pepper Video
IP Osgoode would like to thank Douglas Pepper for taking part in our speaker series. His presentation provided an enlightening look at the publishing industry. For those who were unable to attend the event in person, coverage of the event by one of our editors is available here, and a video of the entire presentation […]
IP Osgoode Speaker Series: Douglas Pepper On Book Publishing in a Digital Age
On February 13, 2013, enthusiasts of the written word were treated to a lunchtime talk by Mr. Douglas Pepper, a long-time veteran of the North American publishing industry and the current President of Random House/McClelland Stewart; additionally, Mr. Pepper has also recently co-founded a non-fiction imprint, Signal. The event, which took place as part of […]
Pride and Property: IP Law, Traditional Knowledge, and Cultural Heritage
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single culture in possession of good traditional knowledge must be in want of intellectual property rights.”
Google’s digital library wins fair use against Canadian writers
Won’t somebody think of the children!? A New York federal court judge will. A copyright infringement lawsuit by multiple authors’ groups – including two Canadian ones – against Google and several universities for their HathiTrust Digital Library book scanning and digital distribution has been dismissed.
EU Adopts Public-Use Policy for Orphan Works
On Thursday, September 13, 2012, the European Parliament adopted a new directive stating that cinematographic and audiovisual works as well as phonograms that are protected by copyright but whose rights holders cannot be found could be made available to the public across the EU.
Google Plays Nice with French Publishers, Trial Scheduled in the U.S.
In June, Google, Inc. received some welcome news in France after the lawsuits instigated by the French Publishers Association (Syndicat national de l’édition) and the French Author’s Association (Société des gens de lettres) were withdrawn following a successfully agreed upon “framework” settlement. Google wrote on its European Public Policy blog that the new arrangement gives […]