Groundhog Day The RIAA on its Music Notes Blog yesterday pointed out that predictions of dire consequences to investment during 2005’s MGM v. Grokster Supreme Court case have a strikingly similar tone to those recently issued in opposition to PROTECT-IP. The outcome after the Court ruled in favor of enforcing copyrights online? Licensed music services [...]

Last week the Copyright Alliance was privileged to host three renowned photographers for a discussion on Capitol Hill about the work that happens behind the scenes to create memorable images. Inherent to their stories is the role copyright plays in helping photographers make a living, and promote various social aims by licensing images. Each artist [...]

A Harvard Crimson editorial published today addressing unauthorized file-sharing on university networks is tagged “A Sensible Compromise.” The compromise itself? The university working with copyright owners and their agents such as the MPAA in reducing infringement on university networks. What else is “sensible” is the entire editorial, which gives lie to the notion that everyone [...]

Consumers want to “consume” creative works in all sorts of fun ways. Increasingly they are able to do that, legally, often without additional cost. At our EXPOnential panel discussion on consumer-friendly innovation recently, HBO Executive Vice President, Technology and Chief Technology Officer Bob Zitter demonstrated HBOGo and CinemaxGo, services that allow subscribers to stream HBO [...]

Whither the independent film industry? It’s an important question for me, as my taste leans toward films that aren’t designed to be blockbusters but are highly creative, well-written, well-acted and filmed and edited with great professionalism and care. Some find significant theatrical distribution with international companies, like Fox Searchlight-distributed Slumdog Millionaire, (500) Days of Summer, [...]

If you ever have the opportunity to listen in on a conversation between a group of visual artists – such as painters and sculptures – you’ll hear them debate the differences between fine art, craft, and commercial art. The conversation will eventually drift into a much heated discussion about “selling out” and the merits of [...]

Independent filmmaker Ellen Seidler of Fast Girl Films used loans and credit cards to finance a $250,000 motion picture, And Then Came Lola. But as she explains on the film’s web site, her film has appeared all over the Internet on pirate sites profiting from her film through the use of online advertising: It seems [...]

Welcome back to my conversation with William Aicher, author of “Starving the Artist.” In yesterday’s post, Mr. Aicher shared his thoughts on how his work in the online music business led him to feel artists were not getting sufficient respect online. He also spoke about how copyright serves as an incentive to create, and that [...]

Astor Morgan is a busy guy. Along with photographing celebrities and doing other shoots such as CD covers and advertising work, Astor serves as chairman of the LA Chapter of the Advertising Photographers of America, curates shows such as “I Spy With My Plastic Eye,” and is organizing a photo workshop tour of Sicily after [...]

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about Shepard Fairey, the breaks-the-rules-and-boasts-of-it visual artist who is locked in a legal battle with the Associated Press over whether his use of an AP photo of Barack Obama to create the iconic red-and-blue image of the then-presidential candidate was copyright infringement. Well, the judge in the case has [...]