CFAA Reform Gets Boost from Schwartz Suicide
An issue that already had momentum in the last Congress, efforts to reform the 1986 the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) has received increased attention in the wake of Aaron Schwartz’ recent suicide. Schwartz was facing charges under the CFAA for unauthorized access to the MIT website, where he downloaded academic articles from its online archive, called JSTOR, and made them publicly available. The CFAA was the subject of several proposed legislative reforms in 2012, and SIIA has been engaged, seeking to preserve the ability of SIIA members to use the CFAA to deter and prevent unauthorized access to or misuse of databases, subscription services and cloud services. While we knew this issue was going to remain ripe for debate again in 2013, Swartz’ recent suicide has likely increased support among policymakers to reform the CFAA sooner, rather than later.

Verizon’s “Six Strikes” Anti-Piracy Measures Unveiled (TorrentFreak)
After more than a year of delays the “six strikes” anti-piracy system will officially roll out in the first weeks of this year. A copy of Verizon’s full policy was leaked and shows how the scheme will work and details of the mitigation measures they intend to put in place.

Judge Rules Twitter Images are Protected by Copyright (Examiner)
In one of the first cases to address intellectual property as it pertains to social media sites, a Manhattan judge ruled that two news organizations infringed on the copyrights of a photographer when they published images he had published on Twitter.

Sony Files Patent to Curb Access to Used Video Games (International Business Times)
Sony has patented new technology to prevent the use of second-hand video game discs on its consoles. The disc-tagging technology could stop games from being played on more than one version of the video game console.

BlackBerry App World Said to Hawk Pirated Android Apps (CNET)
Weeks before the release of Research in Motion’s BlackBerry 10, pirated Android apps are reportedly being found and sold in RIM’s app store.

Keith Kupferschmid is General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement at SIIA.

Google Settles Belgian Papers’ Copyright Dispute (Reuters)
Settling a six-year copyright dispute, Google reached an agreement with a group of Belgian newspaper publishers and authors to help them generate revenues from their online content.

The Right to Resell: A Ticking Time Bomb Over Digital Goods (paidContent)
With a conflict brewing over consumers’ rights to use platforms like ReDigi to resell their books, music and other digital property, libraries and companies are joining together to lobby for Digital First Sale rights.

Alibaba Group’s Taobao Removed From “Notorious Markets” List by U.S. (TechCrunch)
The U.S. government announced that it has removed China’s Taobao Marketplace from its yearly list of the world’s most “notorious markets,” a distinction Taobao earned for being rampant with pirated and counterfeit goods.

Anti-Piracy Chief Patents “Pay Up or Disconnect” Scheme (TorrentFreak)
One of the top executives of the U.S.-based anti-piracy outfit Digital Rights Corp has submitted a patent application for a system that will demand a fee from Internet users caught downloading copyrighted material.

U.S. Report Slams Russia’s VKontakte Over Copyright Infringement (RT)
A USTR report has accused Russia’s largest social network site of copyright infringement, claiming the site allows users to access and share copyright-protected content without right-holders’ permission.

Spain Launches First Legal Online Registry for Content (The Hollywood Reporter)
Spain announced the creation of Registro On Line, a free online copyright registry trumpeted as the first in the world to offer a legally binding guarantee in the United States and Spain.

Hurt Pirates by Targeting Their Ad Money, Says Rock Star (paidContent)
David Lowery, lead singer of the rock band Cracker, says the best way to fight piracy is to hurt the pirates in the pocket book by cutting off their ad money, and specifically by naming and shaming the advertisers who allow the pirates to make money.

Google: Copyright Removal Requests Spike to 2.5 Million Per Week (The Hill)
Google announced that the number of requests it receives each week to remove links to allegedly infringing websites has risen from 250,000 per week to more than 2.5 million per week over the past six months.

Content Delivery Booms: Outbrain Buys Firm that Brings Media to Brands (paidContent)
The way content is being passed around the internet is changing, with companies like Outbrain that are making it possible for businesses to access and host content without engaging in costly licensing negotiations or piracy.

BRICs Score Lowest on IP Protection Index (Reuters)
A new U.S. Chamber of Commerce index intended as a tool for U.S. policymakers to push for tough protections of U.S. intellectual property gave Brazil, Russia, India and China the worst scores for protecting intellectual property.

Publishers Brace for Authors to Reclaim Book Rights in 2013 (paidContent)

A copyright law that lets authors break contracts after 35 years will start taking effect in January. These so-called “termination rights” could provide yet another disruption for traditional publishers who may face the loss of their back lists as authors begin using the Copyright Act to reclaim works they assigned years ago.

BPI Requests UK Pirate Party Shut Down Pirate Bay Proxy (Ars Technica)

The British Phonographic Industry sent a letter demanding the UK Pirate Party shut down their Pirate Bay proxy service that was launched earlier in the year when ISPs began blocking access to the original Pirate Bay site.

“Six Strikes” Copyright Enforcement Postponed Until 2013 (Ars Technica)

The Center for Copyright Information announced that the rollout of the “six strikes” warning system will be delayed until early 2013 due to damage from Hurricane Sandy, which affected their testing schedules.

Google Mobilizes Users in Fight for Robots’ Core Values (paidContent)
Facing challenges to its core values that it is not a publisher and only excerpts parts of articles, Google is asking users in Germany to oppose government-proposed copyright reforms and complain to elected representatives on its behalf.

Facebook Privacy Chain Letter Resurfaces (The Washington Post)
The latest Facebook hoax claims users can change their copyright rights by simply posting a status message. The post illustrates how much users want clear control over content they post to Facebook.

Cable Companies Say They Won’t Disconnect Accused Pirates (CNET)
Verizon and Time Warner Cable said that after they repeatedly inform customers through the forthcoming “six strikes” program that their activities appear to violate copyright law, the companies’ obligation is fulfilled, and no account termination will take place.

UK Student Escapes U.S. Extradition in Copyright Case (Reuters)
Richard O’Dwyer, a British university student who launched a website linking to free films and TV shows, reached an agreement to avoid extradition to the U.S. and possible jail over copyright infringement allegations.

ICANN Issues Early Warnings Over Controversial Top Level Domains (Techworld)
The Government Advisory Committee, a panel representing about 50 of the world’s national governments that provides advice to ICANN on public policy issues, has filed 242 “Early Warnings” on applications that are thought to be controversial or sensitive.