Can copyright piracy ever be eliminated? History teaches that no crime can ever be completely eliminated, but that doesn't mean one shouldn't continue to both police after the fact and prevent beforehand. An interesting article by the AP's Brian Bergstein highlights the hope of anti-copying programs in reducing piracy, featuring Copyright Alliance members Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance.

We all savor professionally produced creative works. A few of those creators become very wealthy. A fair number make little, but it may be enough to supplement another, non-artist income source. Many live in that nether region in between, of being able to support themselves but knowing that income will ebb and flow with each passing year. This portion of the income graph is by far the most important, however, because it is by far the largest motivator to new entrants.

Looking for the most up-to-date code as it pertains to copyright? The U.S. Copyright Office has it all online, updated through October of this year.

Guest blog by Motion Picture Association of America Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dan Glickman:

"This is a
question for Senator Clinton - this is a fun question for you - Do you prefer
Diamonds or Pearls?"

The
presidential campaign season is well underway. During these next several
months we, as the electorate, will have the opportunity to evaluate each
candidate's positions - some of which are more relevant than others.

Guest blog by Recording Industry Association of America Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mitch Bainwol:

… to wait to be able to make money for your creativity in the digital age? Isn't ten years long enough? Computer scientist Jason Lanier thinks it is, and has come to believe that artists are being dissed by Silicon Valley. See his op-ed in The New York Times today.

That's how long it's been since Canada signed two key World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties addressing piracy in a digital age. Why does that matter? Because the Canadian government still hasn't passed enacting laws. The US did so right away with the DMCA.

The relationship between copyrights and universities is very much in the news lately. Just yesterday, a House committee approved a bill addressing P2P piracy on college campuses. That will surely be a topic discussed at the Copyright Alliance's first-ever academic symposium, "Copyright and the University." But we will discuss many other aspects of the larger subject, such as classroom use, licensing difficulties, fair use and attitudes of the typical campus general counsel.

I frequently sing the praises of all of the new business models involving creative works licensed to new digital devices and services, and even held a panel discussion on the topic in the US Capitol in June. So it's always dismaying when I see someone take the easy way out, and seemingly provide a service without any thought to the artist whose work is being exploited.

I'm referring here to a week-old site called SongZa. It's a jukebox site; you type in the artist and name you want to here, and moments later it's playing. Here's what it says on its About page:

Boy, it annoys me when people tell me that book publishers can rest easy in this era of digital piracy. First of all, they've suffered physical piracy for years. Now that it's getting easier to scan books, you'll see more file-sharing of books, particularly pricey ones such as scholarly works priced to reflect the tremendous research involved and the limited market. Here's an example.