Fair Use Gets a Fair Shake in Second Life - (EFF.org)

Fair Use Gets a Fair Shake in Second Life

Commentary by Eva Galperin of EFF.org
 

Kudos to Linden Lab, which has just release an update to the Terms of Service for their virtual world, Second Life, that includes language that will protect fair use of screenshots and machinima. The new Snapshot and Machinima Content License grants Linden Lab and other users of Second Life a license to use “in snapshots and machinima your Content that is displayed in-World in publicly accessible areas of the Service.”

Machinima, which refers works that use real-time 3-D graphics engines to generate computer animation, could have presented a special problem for Second Life, where every individual object in view is potentially a different person’s intellectual property. Getting permission from so many owners of IP in order to create a machinima is potentially nightmarish. Instead of running from the new kinds of fair use enabled by new technologies, Linden Lab has embraced them. The new license allows Second Life users to reserve the rights to their creations by placing them in areas that are not publicly accessible. Second Life makes tools available to users that allow them to restrict access to their Virtual Land and its contents. The rules are simple and intuitive: if you don’t want people taking pictures of your floating city/dancing bear/epic space opera, don’t leave your floating city/dancing bear/epic space opera in a public place.

Linden Lab’s behavior should be an object lesson to movie studios and major record labels, who have alienated their own fans by trying to thwart new fair uses as they come along, whether through DRM or DMCA takedowns. Linden Lab has shown that there are innovative new ways to give the green-light to fair uses while still giving users the freedom to protect their creations. We hope that movie studios and major record labels are taking notes, because Linden Lab is showing them how it’s done.

November 5th: A Reminder to STEP UP! Against Content Theft in Second Life

Step UP! Make your voice heard about Content Theft

For more information on Step UP! SL please visit our blog:
http://stepupsl.wordpress.com/

You are also invited to join our Step UP! Ning Group:
http://step-up-sl.ning.com/

 November 5th – Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night in the UK.

Action:
a) On this day – 
no-one uploads textures to the grid.
This should show the economic power of people acting together, without harming content creators. We want Linden Lab to see the power of the feeling about the problem of content theft – and to discuss urgently strategies for tackling it.
b) As many people as possible wear an orange ribbon as a sign of support for creators. And creators can design these – they can be lapel ribbons, they can be arm bands, they can be tee-shirts … the idea is to make the orange ribbon the theme of the day. And everyone who gets a free orange ribbon gets an information sheet – explaining what content theft is, what they can do about it etc. And they also get an information pack that they can give to their friends (which also contains an orange ribbon for their friends). Why orange? It’s been used before, but has no overwhelming association (unlike pink or red ribbons). It’s a bright, noticeable colour. It suggests explosions and colour …
And it’s an opportunity for stores and content creators to become involved too.

Celebration:
The day ends with parties. Bonfire parties. That means that all around the grid, people have parties. We’re not going to be trying to stage Big Events that maybe only 60 or 70 people can cram into. Instead we encourage every club to hold a Step Up! party. We encourage every musician to play Step UP! events. Everyone on the grid has a part to play. Everyone can take part.

ACTA - The Internet Illuminati Planning a New World Order?!

Via BoingBoing
by Cory Doctorow
Secret copyright treaty leaks. It's bad. Very bad.

The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama's administration refused to disclose due to "national security" concerns, has leaked. It's bad. It says:

• * That ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. This means that it will be impossible to run a service like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger, since hiring enough lawyers to ensure that the mountain of material uploaded every second isn't infringing will exceed any hope of profitability.
  
• * That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. This means that your entire family could be denied to the internet -- and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living -- if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel.
  
• * That the whole world must adopt US-style "notice-and-takedown" rules that require ISPs to remove any material that is accused -- again, without evidence or trial -- of infringing copyright. This has proved a disaster in the US and other countries, where it provides an easy means of censoring material, just by accusing it of infringing copyright.
  
• * Mandatory prohibitions on breaking DRM, even if doing so for a lawful purpose (e.g., to make a work available to disabled people; for archival preservation; because you own the copyrighted work that is locked up with DRM)

The ACTA Internet Chapter: Putting the Pieces Together

[FULL ARTICLE HERE]

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via Michael Geist
The ACTA Internet Chapter: Putting the Pieces Together

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement negotations continue in a few hours as Seoul, Korea plays host to the latest round of talks. The governments have posted the meeting agenda, which unsurprisingly focuses on the issue of Internet enforcement. The United States has drafted the chapter under enormous secrecy, with selected groups granted access under strict non-disclosure agreements and other countries (including Canada) given physical, watermarked copies designed to guard against leaks.

[FULL ARTICLE HERE]

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Via EFF.org
Leaked ACTA Internet Provisions: Three Strikes and a Global DMCA
Commentary by Gwen Hinze
 
Negotiations on the highly controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement start in a few hours in Seoul, South Korea. This week’s closed negotiations will focus on “enforcement in the digital environment.” Negotiators will be discussing the Internet provisions drafted by the US government. No text has been officially released but as Professor Michael Geist and IDG are reporting, leaks have surfaced. The leaks confirm everything that we feared about the secret ACTA negotiations. The Internet provisions have nothing to do with addressing counterfeit products, but are all about imposing a set of copyright industry demands on the global Internet, including obligations on ISPs to adopt Three Strikes Internet disconnection policies, and a global expansion of DMCA-style TPM laws.

[FULL ARTICLE HERE]

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Via Huffington Post
Transparency of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

The letter below reports the views of several groups and individuals concerning the lack of transparency of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). This is something that is so obvious, it should not require comment, on a policy that is completely indefensible.

The. U.S. and 39 or more countries are negotiating a new global agreement on the enforcement of intellectual property rights, and everything so far is secret from the general public. The main topics are civil and criminal rules, such as injunctions, damages and third party liability from infringements, searches of Internet transactions, border measures affecting the import or export of various consumer goods from medicines to cell phones, and a host of other issues. All 40+ countries in the negotiation have access to the proposed text. And, there are processes for just about any corporate lobbyist with ties to the Administration to see proposed texts, if they sign tough legally binding non-disclosure agreements. So why is it secret from the public?

[FULL ARTICLE HERE]

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Via GamePolitics
Letter to Obama Seeks ACTA Transparency

As the 6th round of Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations get underway in Seoul, Korea, a dispatch has been sent to President Obama expressing concern over the “lack of transparency and openness” surrounding the initiative.

The letter notes that “Unlike nearly all other multilateral and plurilateral discussions about intellectual property norms, the ACTA negotiations have been held in deep secrecy.”

While a curious mix of entities have been allowed to see ACTA documents, after signing a non-disclosure agreement, the letter states that “there were no opportunities for academic experts or the general public to review the documents,” adding that “very few” public interest or consumer groups were included as well.

[FULL ARTICLE HERE]

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Via Freakbits
Obama Petitioned to Reveal Secret Anti-Piracy Agreement

ACTA is a mysterious thing that no-one is really certain about. That lack of certainty is because of the lack of transparency around the negotiations. KEI wants that changed, and with an open letter-cum-petition, is calling on President Obama to stand up to his election promises, and make ACTA public.

There has been a lot of controversy over the ACTA treaty. Mostly over the the scope of the treaty (which could see iPod searches at borders for illegally downloaded music) but there has also been a fuss over the way the negotiations have been conducted. Negotiations have been conducted in secret over the past two years, and the Executive Office of the President (Office of t he US Trade Representative) has denied Freedom of Information (FOI) requests earlier this year from FEI, citing Executive Order 12958 – referring to Classified National Security Information. In January, just before the Bush Administration left office, they made similar claims to EFF FOI requests.

[FULL ARTICLE HERE]

Step UP! Call for Live Performers

On Thursday November 5th Step UP! SL will have an all day grid wide celebration to show solidarity & support for content creators in Second Life.

There will be all sorts of parties across the grid on that day. We think it would be fitting to have Live SL performances featuring performers who sing their own original songs. It will be a great opportunity to make people aware of the wealth of talent and original music in Second Life.

There will also be a party at the Step UP! Headquarters on the Planet Mongo sim fro 2-6pm SLT. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Planet%20Mongo/125/151/30

If you would like to particpate, please contact either myself or Saffia Widdershins.
angie.mornington@gmail.com
saffia.widdershins@gmail.com

*****Please let us know:

1. What time of the day (SL Time) you can perform:

2. What type of music you play:

3: If you can offer your stream of original music that we can give to people who are hosting parties throughout the day:

Thank you so much and we look forward to hearing from you!

For more information on Step UP! SL please visit our blog:
http://stepupsl.wordpress.com/

You are also invited to join our Step UP! Ning Group:
http://step-up-sl.ning.com/

And there is a Step UP! SL inworld group.

angie.mornington@gmail.com
saffia.widdershins@gmail.com

Poll of the Day: If You Suddenly Lost All of your Second Life creations, would you Start Over or Quit?

Lets say you woke up one day, logged into Second Life, and discovered everything you had built and created was suddenly erased... gone... wiped out of existence...  It's a disturbing thought, yet it's happened to quite a few Second Life long time residents.

If all of your creations, your wares, your shop, your inventory was GONE, what would you do?
Would you start from scratch and rebuild or would you throw your hands up in disgust and quit?



Another question I would like to pose is this:   Having all of your original content (intellectual property) copied and stolen; is this the same as completely losing your content entirely?   If you discovered all of your content was ripped off, would you quit Second Life?   Feel free to leave your thoughts and responses in comments.

Is Intel trying to steal Second Life though an expensive advertising campaign?

I don't even know what to make of this; Intel has decided to release a full-on internet advertising campaign sponsoring many websites, which all leads to this video.   To me, and everyone else in Second Life, and everyone else using Open Grids (Open-source OpenSim http://opensimulator.com) , and everyone else in the world that hasn't been living under a rock for the past half-decade... um, Intel, we know you're trying to steal Second Life.   Calling it Intel's "3D Internet", and obviously ripping off Linden Lab's Second Life, how foolish.

UPDATE:  Since this post Intel has conveniently changed the title of the video, changed the description of the video, and has changed all of the information on their Youtube page.

Step UP! Make your voice heard about Content Theft

via:
Step UP!  Make sure to visit and spread this link --  http://stepupsl.wordpress.com/

Make your voice heard about Content Theft

In the wake of the wholesale theft of sims and content over the weekend, like many people we wanted to do something about it --and also about all the other content theft that we have been fighting for so long -- in the Content Creators Association and in magazines and on TV shows. Th Step Up! campaign is centred on a special day of action that everyone can become involved with, and that can empower and inform people.

Step UP! kiosks are now available on XStreet

 kiosks available on XStreet.and you should find them at tinyurl.com/ydlpely, or you can search on Step UP!  They are, of course, free.

Step UP!

Make your voice heard about Content Theft

• About Step UP!

If you want to find out more about Step UP! … CLICK

The start of Step UP!

We are aiming for a day that draws together action, education and celebration. We want a focus that empowers people – and rather than dictates to people, allows them to express their own creativity in a variety of ways. It also draws attention to the strength of feeling that there is here on the grid.
2) We need to make people feel empowered by what they do. And, because we are hardly the most time-free people on the grid – we need something that they can largely organize themselves!
So these are our thoughts: We are nominating a day as Step UP! Day – which will be  
November 5th – Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night in the UK.

Action:
a) On this day – 
no-one uploads textures to the grid.
This should show the economic power of people acting together, without harming content creators. We want Linden Lab to see the power of the feeling about the problem of content theft – and to discuss urgently strategies for tackling it.
b) As many people as possible wear an orange ribbon
as a sign of support for creators. And creators can design these – they can be lapel ribbons, they can be arm bands, they can be tee-shirts … the idea is to make the orange ribbon the theme of the day. And everyone who gets a free orange ribbon gets an information sheet – explaining what content theft is, what they can do about it etc. And they also get an information pack that they can give to their friends (which also contains an orange ribbon for their friends). Why orange? It’s been used before, but has no overwhelming association (unlike pink or red ribbons). It’s a bright, noticeable colour. It suggests explosions and colour …
And it’s an opportunity for stores and content creators to become involved too.

Celebration:
The day ends with parties. Bonfire parties. That means that all around the grid, people have parties. We’re not going to be trying to stage Big Events that maybe only 60 or 70 people can cram into. Instead we encourage every club to hold a Step Up! party. We encourage every musician to play Step UP! events. Everyone on the grid has a part to play. Everyone can take part.

Education:
This is going to come in several forms.
1) Info pack
These will be given out with orange ribbons in stores and at parties.
2) Media
Audio and Visual service ads. The Press. The Blogsphere – everyone can play there part in getting out the message that we have had enoufgh, and we have chosen to Step UP! against content theft.
3) Video
Short informational films – tutorials about content theft.
On the Designing Worlds shows we’ve talked again and again about the need for a social shift – so that people see content theft as socially and morally unacceptable. So … let’s go for it!
Watch this space for more details on how you can become involved, and how you can share with us your plans for Step UP! Day.
The concept originates with a small group – Angie Mornington, Gabrielle Riel, Gwen Carillon and Saffia Widdershins. But more and more people are now becoming involved. And you can too.

by primperfect

• Related:
  
  
  
  
  • If you want to find out more about Step UP! …
  • Step UP! kiosks are now available on XStreet
  • Join the new Step UP! inworld group!
  • Step UP ribbons, information packs and kiosks now available!
  • The start of Step UP!
  • Getting Step UP! stuff
  • Step Up! Campaign
  • Step Up! Day
  
  
• Content Creators Association
  
  

Q and A: The Poor Man's Copyright

Poor Man's Copyright

Q: My friend and I have a bet. I say mailing myself a copy of my songs is a valid copyright. He says it's not. Who's right?

A: Start writing the check; your friend is right, and mailing yourself a copy of your songs is not valid legal protection against copyright infringement.

Although technically a "copyright" takes place the moment the songs are created, mailing your songs to yourself unopened--sometimes called a "poor man's copyright"--provides absolutely no protection in the event of a lawsuit. In fact, according to several entertainment attorneys we spoke with, if you have not registered your copyright with the US Copyright Office, no court will hear your case. So, in order to protect and enforce your copyright if someone tries to steal your songs or sue you for infringement, you must register your songs. In the Court's eyes, if you haven't bothered to register the copyright with the US Copyright Office it's just not worth their time.

Forms and information are available at the Copyright Office. (We especially like Circulars 50 and 56.)

read more | digg story

Top Artists Strike Back at Greedy Music Labels

Top Artists Strike Back at Greedy Music Labels

Written by Ernesto on March 11, 2009

For years music industry lobbyists, headed by the RIAA, have gone after illegal file-sharers - supposedly in the best interests of the artists. Unexpectedly, a group of top musicians has started its very own lobby group to avoid being exploited by these very same record labels, who tend to abuse copyrights for their own sake.

The music industry and its lobbyists often claim they protect the right of artists with their copyright extension plans and anti-piracy efforts. In reality, however, they tend to ignore the people who actually create the music, while making sure that a steady flow of cash goes into the pockets of the label’s bosses.

In an attempt to have their voices heard, a group of leading musicians have started their own lobby group, the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC). The group includes members such as Robbie Williams, Radiohead and Travis and aims to end the extortion-like practices of the record labels and allow artist to gain more control over their own work.

Last year, Travis experienced the aggressiveness of the labels first hand. When the band encouraged fans to share one of their songs with friends, IFPI went after a fan who posted the song on his website. The IFPI realized that it made a mistake and backed off, but it clearly shows that the labels are out of touch with reality.

Unfortunately, the example above is just the tip of the iceberg. In Europe, music industry lobbyists have managed to strike deals with Internet service providers to go after those people who download music illegally. The artists were never involved in these negotiations though, and many of them oppose the aggressive stance of the labels which turns fans into criminals.

“The digital landscape is changing fast and new deals are being struck all the time, but all too often without reference to the people who actually make the music. Just look at the recent MoU on file-sharing between labels, government and the ISPs. Artists were not involved,” Brian Message, co-manager of Radiohead said.

Similarly, Europe is currently planning to extend copyright on audio recordings from 50 to 95 years, gently pushed by music industry lobbyists of course. Again, the musicians prefer a lowering of the current copyright term to 35 years instead.

The artists feel that the record labels are using copyright on the artists’ work to their advantage, restricting free access. “It’s like taking out a mortgage on a house, paying off the mortgage and you still don’t end up owning the house,” Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien said.

Another worry for the artist is the revenue on digital sales. Quite often, the deals record labels make for selling music online are vague and the artists don’t get paid at all. Last year we already reported on one such artist who found his music on iTunes, but never received a penny. Frustrated, he decided to upload his music onto BitTorrent sites so people could download it for free.

According to Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, who’s also a member of the newly formed lobby group, this is not an isolated incident. “The music companies did a deal with Nokia recently, so they could launch phones with access to all sorts of music. We think they all received advances from Nokia, but nobody is saying who got what - and we think some of that money should go to the artists,” he said.

The newly formed lobby of top musicians hopes to set the record straight, and is demanding fair compensation for all artists. They believe musicians should have control over their own work instead of being the puppets of record label bosses. We can’t say that we blame them.

read more | digg story

Important Virtual World Articles - March 2009

I wanted to bring attention to several important links relating to the current times and virtual worlds. I am not a journalist, so I don't go into details, but below is important virtual world news. Be sure to look for other SL journalists and bloggers to follow these stories more in depth.

Business Insider | Worlds.com CEO: We're 'Absolutely' Going To Sue Second Life And World Of Warcraft (ATVI)
Eric Krangel|Mar. 11, 2009

Kotaku | Worlds.com Targets World of Warcraft, Second Life For Patent Suit
By Michael McWhertor, 5:20 PM on Wed Mar 11 2009

Escapist Magazine | Patent Troll Ready to Sue World of Warcraft, Second Life

Andy Chalk posted on 11 Mar 2009

AvatarPlanet | History of Virtual Worlds Timeline (Under construction)

Clever Zebra | 5 Open Source Virtual Worlds Set to Duke it Out in 2009
Submitted by Nick Wilson on Wed, 03/11/2009

Tampa bay Examiner | The Hugh Hefner of the digital millennium
Erik Gordon Bainbridge | Second Life Examiner

John McCain Disregards Intellectual Property Rights of Musicians - Jackson Browne Fights Back

John McCain just takes what he wants, without any regard to laws, permissions, and legalities. In fact, I bet McCain doesn't even know what he did wrong:



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Jackson Browne DID NOT want McCain to use his song, and decides to sue him (RIGHT ON!)



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Awesome new track by Jackson Browne

"Conference Report: California Bar IP Section “Entertainment & Media” (and Stan Lee!)"

Conference Report: California Bar IP Section “Entertainment & Media” (and Stan Lee!)
July 16th, 2008 by Thayer Preece
Via www.VirtuallyBlind.com

"Last month, attorneys from across the state of California gathered in the posh Beverly Hills Hotel, vacation home of the stars, for the Intellectual Property Section of the California State Bar’s conference on Entertainment & Media. (With special guest appearance by Stan Lee!) The panels included one on the law and virtual worlds. (That wasn’t the one with Stan Lee.) The virtual worlds panel consisted of in-house attorneys from Fox, Disney, and Sony, and was moderated by James Nguyen, an attorney who represented Marvel in their lawsuit against NCsoft, makers of the game City of Heroes. (But did I mention… Stan Lee?)"

READ THE FULL STORY HERE