I always love talking about free markets, and miss daily hallway conversations on that subject from my think tank days. So I was delighted to come across a new publication (PDF) by the Washington Legal Foundation in which the Honorable Dick Thornburgh, now with K & L Gates, discusses the state of intellectual property in [...]

In the only truly excellent Star Trek movie, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Spock saves the USS Enterprise but in the process exposes himself to a lethal dose of radiation. He tells his friend and captain, James T. Kirk, that “logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of [...]

Remember that web site that actively encouraged visitors to upload entire contents of magazines? It was obviously a blatant violator of copyright law, but it was an offshore operation with false Whois information and thus considered outside the reach of the law. But leading magazine publishers and the Magazine Publishers of America traced the site [...]

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office held a public meeting on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement today, a process we have encouraged. The meeting was yet another example of the transparency they’ve demonstrated throughout this process. USTR has from the beginning informed everyone — and I mean everyone, since they post on their web site — [...]

It is in my humble opinion a no-brainer that everybody wins when copyright laws are better enforced. Creators see their rights upheld. Both creators and their partners in distribution earn more due to a decrease in lost sales. Federal, state and local governments see tax revenue increases as goods that are taxed (legitimate creative works) [...]

It’s been almost ten years since the original Napster garnered the world’s attention, and lovers of music but not of musicians continue to download and share unauthorized songs, an illegal activity that now includes movies, e-books and other digital media. We heard calls from people as prominent as members of Congress calling for new business [...]

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 [...]

We talk about a digital divide in this country, but there is a very real one in the Arab world, with only an estimated 5 million Arabs online. So how do you reach 300 million Arabs across 22 countries? With a satellite channel, as Wagdy Sawahel reports in IP Watch.
A new satellite channel based in [...]

In a potentially ground-breaking move, the six largest Internet service providers in the United Kingdom have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with hundreds of UK record companies via the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and with the Motion Picture Association with the intent of reducing infringing traffic of creative works online.
The MoU grew out of [...]