In one of the more significant statements against piracy in recent memory, four founders of one of the world’s most notorious “pirate” sites, the Pirate Bay web site created in Sweden, were sentenced on Friday to a year in prison and ordered to pay a $3.6 million fine by a Swedish court.  Sweden had long been considered somewhat of a “safe haven” for Internet pirates to operate in, and is known for a culture (especially among its younger citizens) that not only widely accepted, but promoted, piracy of copyrighted materials.  There is even a political party in Sweden, the “Pirate Party,” whose primary agenda is making copyrighted materials freely available.  Copyright owners in the United States and other countries, along with their governments, had been working with the Swedish government to step up enforcement of copyright laws and change the perception of Sweden as a lawless territory when it comes to intellectual property. [Read more...]

Former Register of Copyrights, Barbara Ringer, passed away on April 9th in Lexington, VA. She was 83 years old. Ringer served as Register of Copyrights from 1973-1980 and as Acting Register from 1993-1994. She is often referred to as the founder of the modern copyright law.  Although I unfortunately never had the opportunity to meet her, I have had the privilege of working with or for many of her disciples and associates. These people – and even those who never had such a close relationship – clearly revered her. They considered her a friend, mentor, leader and an inspiration. The copyright community has suffered a huge loss with Barbara’s passing. A special edition of “Copyright Notices,” (the Copyright Office’s in-house publication) honoring Barbara’s memory can be found on the Copyright Office website.

In a previous blog entry I mentioned the recent letter by Senate Judiciary Committee leadership sent to the White House urging the  prompt appointment of someone to fill the newly create Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (often referred to as the “IP Czar”) position.  While the two most frequently mentioned candidates for the position in the blogosphere are Shira Perlmutter and Victoria Espinel, it has become clear that the list of potential candidates for the IP Czar position contains several more names and may be growing.

While the IP Czar position may be the most talked about IP position to be filled, it is certainly not the only one.  With Gary Locke now confirmed as the new Secretary of Commerce, the Obama Administration is sure to focus on appointing someone to head the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).  Apparently, two of the candidates – Q. Todd Dickinson, who is Executive Director of the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) and also prior head of the agency toward the end of the Clinton Administration, and James Pooley, a prestigious Silicon Valley patent attorney — were both recently interviewed by the Obama Administration.  Whoever is chosen by the Obama Administration to head the PTO, it is likely that that person will have to be at least somewhat supportive of efforts in the Senate to reform the patent system since the new PTO Director must be confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee – the same committee that is pushing the much-needed patent reform legislation. [Read more...]