There are some out there who like to say something like this: “Digital technology enables anyone and everyone to be an artist and an innovator - to produce music, to create cutting edge films and videos, and to reach new audiences.” That is in a literal sense a true statement. It is also true that [...]

The mainstream media has focused on the substantive foreign policy credentials of Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), recently chosen by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama to be his vice presidential candidate. This is appropriate, as it clearly is a major factor in Obama’s decision.
I view all things through a very parochial lens, however, copyright. And [...]

I’m enjoying seeing Olympians compete in Beijing. I’m not happy with the way the Chinese government has been conducting itself during the Games, particularly when it promised upon receiving the 2008 Games to adhere to international standards on human rights.
In short — as the Olympics progress, crackdowns on dissidents in China appear to actually be [...]

I’ve written before about how it’s not just music and movies that suffer piracy online; anything that can be digitized is vulnerable, and any creative work can be digitized. The latest, as many reports have indicated, is the magazine industry.
Piracy isn’t new to the magazine world; there’s a reason why the Magazine Publishers of America [...]

Last week the presidential campaign for Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released a long-awaited technology position paper, which followed one from the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) issued late last year. So how do the two candidates square off on copyright?
Here’s an excerpt from McCain’s position paper:
The entertainment industry is both a vital sector [...]

I’ve written before about my fears that Google searches, RSS feeds and other tools that, wonderfully, bring us more information than ever before ALSO enable theft of expression like never before.
In the “analog” era, plagiarism was hard work. You had to hand-write or type the prose in front of you, a tedious exercise that generally [...]

Today’s guest blog is written by Dan Glickman, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
Consider the following questions:
1. Does your home computer contain information that you feel strongly about protecting, such as your social security number, financial information, tax records?
2. [...]

Yes, I know peer-to-peer technology allows remarkable things. I spoke in favor of legal use of the technology at CES in January. But how many times do we have to hear about people having their identities compromised because of the sharing features of infringing P2P networks?
Accomplished WashingtonPost.com reporter Brian Krebs made the front page of [...]

You know the cliche in movies and TV shows where one character distracts another by looking aside and saying “What’s that?” only to punch the other character while he’s distracted? I see that a lot in the comments sections of news columns and blogs dealing with copyright.
In this BBC News column, for example, Darren Waters [...]

All the right things were said at this morning's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on copyright protection. (Find witness testimony and the opening statement of Chairman Patrick Leahy [D-VT] here.) The focus of this hearing was the health risks of copyright, including unsafe electronics with fake UL approval labels, counterfeit pharmaceuticals, and knockoff automobile parts such as brake pads or timing belts. The witnesses mentioned the growing role the Internet plays in facilitating this counterfeiting. The hearing served three important purposes: 1) It emphasized that IP enforcement enjoys strong bipartisan support. 2) It showed that there are real dangers associated with counterfeiting.