Digital Discourse / Archives for anti-piracy

Judiciary Presses Forward with SOPA; White House Unveils IT Reforms

December 13, 2011 By

December continues to be anything but a slow month in Washington. Yesterday, House Judiciary Cmte. Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) confirmed his plans to markup the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA, H.R. 3261). In addition to scheduling the markup, Smith released a revised version of the bill that reflects weeks of working closely with stakeholders and other members “to strengthen the bill and address legitimate concerns from groups who are interested in working with Congress to combat foreign rogue websites.” Changes to the revised bill as highlighted by Committee staff include: elimination of the redirection clause for infringing websites, orders for an interagency report on the domain name system, addition of a new clause to relieve Web firms of monitoring sites, and clarification of the definitions re: which sites and companies are covered.

Last week, Federal CIO Steve VanRoekel made several important announcements regarding ongoing efforts to reform federal IT and embrace cloud computing. In what he characterized as a “year of change in Federal IT,” VanRoekel declared that “cloud computing has become an integral part of the government’s IT DNA,” and made the following announcements:

1. Released a memo to formally establish FedRAMP (the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program), a long-anticipated program intended to reduce the duplicative efforts, inconsistencies and cost inefficiencies when assessing and authorizing cloud systems.
2. Released the Shared Strategy Memo to provide the roadmap for agencies to increase use of shared solutions through leveraging tools to do more with less, in accordance with the cloud-first policy and cloud migrations under the IT Reform plan.
3. Released the TechStat Report highlighting tools and practices for agencies to turn around or terminate failing projects at the agency-level.

And tomorrow, the House Energy and Commerce Sbcmte. on Communications and Technology has scheduled a hearing to air concerns by the growing list of U.S. lawmakers regarding the pending roll-out of ICANN’s Top-Level Domain Name Program. This hearing follows a similar one by the Senate Commerce Committee last week where Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and other Cmte. members warned ICANN officials to proceed with caution and head their voices of concern.

David LeDuc is Senior Director, Public Policy at SIIA. He focuses on e-commerce, privacy, cyber security, cloud computing, open standards, e-government and information policy.

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Filed Under: Anti-Piracy, Cloud Computing, Digital Policy Roundup, Policy Tagged With: , ,

This Week’s Top IP Enforcement Headlines

December 2, 2011 By

White House Unveils New Piracy Awareness Campaign (Reuters)
Attorney General Eric Holder announced a new campaign to raise public awareness about the damaging consequences of intellectual property theft. The campaign will consist of TV public service announcements and print ads and will target everything from illegal music and movie downloads to counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

Grooveshark Responds to Universal’s Copyright Lawsuit (CNET)
Following a lawsuit filed by Universal, in which Universal claims Grooveshark execs led an effort to post more than 100,000 pirated songs onto the music service (previously reported here), Grooveshark responded, stating the lawsuit is based on a “gross mischaracterization of information.”

Judge Orders Google, Facebook to Remove Fake Sites (BBC)
In a case brought by luxury goods maker Chanel against 600 websites, a Nevada judge ordered Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter and others to delist domain names linked to websites selling counterfeit goods.

John Wiley Expands Lawsuit Against File-Sharing ‘Dummies’ (paidContent)
John Wiley filed a new lawsuit against 46 more John Does who were allegedly participating in unauthorized file-sharing of the “For Dummies” series online.

Authorities Seize 131 Domains Associated With Piracy and Counterfeiting (VentureBeat)
Leading up to Cyber Monday, the U.S. government seized 131 domains allegedly associated with counterfeiting and piracy-related websites, signaling authorities have resumed “Operation in Our Sites.”

Hartford Courant Settles Copyright and Hot News Claims (paidContent)
The Hartford Courant quietly settled with the small newspaper that sued it over its news aggregation editor, which means media outlets will not get a further chance to test-drive the controversial “hot news” doctrine in court.

Google Adds More Words to List of Piracy Related Terms (Ubergizmo)
Google has added more words and websites to its list of piracy-related terms, including uTorrent, Bitorrent, and combinations of the word torrent.

Apple Wins Control Over ‘iPhone’ Porn Domain Names (CNET)
Apple has won its dispute with a domain name squatter and dropped the case after the domain name owner agreed to turn over the seven iPhone porn domain names.

Porn Company Sues ICANN Over .xxx Domain (The Wall Street Journal)
Manwin Licensing International, one of the largest purveyors of pornography on the web, filed suit against ICANN to block the new dot-xxx suffix on web addresses, alleging “monopolistic conduct, price gouging, and anticompetitive and unfair practices.”

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Filed Under: Anti-Piracy, Policy - Intellectual Property Tagged With: , ,

The Stop Online Piracy Act Arrives

November 2, 2011 By

Last week, the long-awaited rogue website bill, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA, H.R. 3261) was introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI), IP Subcommittee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), and a long, bipartisan list of additional cosponsors. In introducing the bill, Chairman Smith also announced that they will hold a hearing on the issue on Nov. 16th.

Similar to the PROTECT IP Act , S. 968, passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year, SOPA calls upon internet intermediaries (such as ISPs, search engines, payment processors and ad networks) to assist copyright owners and brand owners with the enforcement of their rights against rogue websites. Both bills would oblige these intermediaries to take steps to either block access to or terminate a financial affiliation with the rogue site if certain conditions are met. While the underlying approaches are somewhat similar, the bills are quite different in scope. In several respects SOPA is much broader in scope and application than the PROTECT IP Act. SIIA is still reviewing the legislation. Read more at The National Journal, PC Magazine, and The Hill.

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

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Today’s Top IP Enforcement Headlines

October 12, 2011 By

Intellectual Ventures Files Patent Suit Against Motorola Mobility
Intellectual Ventures filed suit against Motorola Mobility, alleging infringement of six patents related to transferring files among computers and technology used in an “entertainment device.” The lawsuit creates a potentially awkward scenario since Google is an investor in Intellectual Ventures, and also is in the process of acquiring Motorola Mobility. Read more at: The Wall Street Journal or The San Francisco Chronicle

Steve Jobs and the Patents that Changed Our Lives (Washington Post)
Steve Jobs is listed by the U.S. Patent Office as having more than 300 patents, many of which are basic concepts that have changed the way we listen to, watch, read and share content.

Couple Accused of Reselling Counterfeit Software, Other Items Through Internet (Delaware Online)
A Wilmington couple was charged with copyright infringement, trafficking counterfeit goods and conspiracy after a search of their home uncovered a widespread operation in which authorities believe the defendants purchase counterfeit goods from Chinese websites and resell them on Craigslist.

New Players Join Battle Over Scanning Orphan Books (paidContent)
Writers’ groups from UK, Canada and Sweden as well as more individual authors are joining the fight against universities over the scanning of orphan works.

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Filed Under: Anti-Piracy, Patent, Policy - Intellectual Property Tagged With: , ,

Great week for IP protection and software antipiracy, Hill resumes privacy, cybersecurity focus

October 4, 2011 By

With two very positive developments, this is a great week for intellectual property protection and efforts to fight software piracy. First, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was ratified this weekend when it was signed by the U.S. and seven other countries. The treaty represents a major advancement in international cooperation around enforcement of intellectual property laws, as it will encourage and empower nations to work together to stop those who use the Internet to profit from counterfeiting of software. The agreement will also extend SIIA’s reach and ability to thwart counterfeiting – especially operations taking place on foreign websites.

Second, on Monday the U.S. Supreme Court handed a monumental victory on Monday in refusing to hear the Vernor v. Autodesk case. In declining to review the case, the High Court upheld 9th Circuit ruling that the first sale doctrine should not apply to Autodesk’s software because it was licensed — thus Vernor is not permitted to sell “used” copies on eBay. In January 2010, SIIA filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit that advocated for this outcome, and it is now officially confirmed that a one-time payment and/or ability to keep possession of the disk (media) do not transform a software transaction into a “sale.” The copyright owner’s reservation of title and imposing restrictions inconsistent with ownership confirm that it is a license, not a sale.

In other news, Congress’ return means more focus on privacy and cybersecurity on the Hill. Most notably, the House E&C Subcommittee on Commerce and Trade will hold a hearing on Wednesday on the FTC’s proposed revisions to COPPA, and then another hearing on privacy next week focused on consumer expectations. On Thursday the House Homeland Security Committee will Hold a Thursday hearing on cloud computing, with an emphasis in evaluating the security for Federal use of cloud computing.

Finally, the U.S. Senate HELP (i.e., education) committee has announced its plans to mark-up legislation October 18 to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act following several years of hearings and internal discussions. The base-bill is expected to be only a basic package of those issues where there is bipartisan agreement, with other issues and programs left to an extensive amendment process. SIIA expects an amendment to be offered to authorize the Achievement through Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) Act (S.1178), legislation long-championed by SIIA. Despite the bipartisan support for the legislation, the outlook is still murky, especially now that the Obama Administration’s waivers have relieved some of the pressure.

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Filed Under: Anti-Piracy, Digital Policy Roundup, Education Policy, Policy Tagged With: , ,

Protect IP Legislation Introduced Against Rogue Sites

May 18, 2011 By

Last week, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Leahy, ranking member Grassley, and Senator Hatch introduced S. 968, “The Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act” (The PROTECT IP Act).

Similar to last year’s COICA bill, the PROTECT IP Act applies to Internet sites that are “dedicated to infringing activities,” (aka “rogue websites”). The bill allows the Department of Justice (DOJ) or an IP owner to sue the rogue sites. A court order will issue, if the Internet site is found to be “dedicated to infringement,” directed at U.S. consumers and harms U.S. IP owners.

If the action is brought by DOJ, the court order may (with court authority) then be served on ISPs, financial transaction providers, online advertising services, and search engines. In response to the order, ISPs and search engines would be required to take steps to prevent access to the site and financial transaction providers and online advertising services would be required to cease doing business with the site.

An action brought by the IP owner would operate similarly except that the order may only be served on financial transaction providers and advertising services (not to ISPs or search engines). The bill is included on the agenda to be marked up at the Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting this Thursday.

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Top 11 SIIA Moments of 2010

December 29, 2010 By

SIIA branched out in 2010. We met dozens of new members, spearheaded new events and initiatives, and contributed new research to the industries we serve. Looking back on 2010, it’s exciting to see how much SIIA — and the entire digital landscape — grew and evolved in one year.

Here are our favorite SIIA moments from 2010:

  • The intellectual property team filed an amicus brief in a U.S. Supreme Court case that led to one of the most important IP decisions of the decade. Bilski v. Kappos addressed the question of which things and activities are eligible for patents. SIIA’s brief argued that software should remain eligible for patent protection–and due to the decision, it will continue to be.
  • The education and policy teams launched a new initiative based on the Personalized Learning movement, which advocates a flexible, project-based educational system. SIIA hosted a symposium on the model in August, and used the findings to create a groundbreaking report in partnership with the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the Council of Chief State School Officers.
  • The Software Division spearheaded a report which revealed some welcome news: small and midsize software companies are emerging from the recession stronger than ever. Revenues grew about 15 percent from 2008 to 2009, with even higher growth coming from small SaaS firms, says the report, developed in partnership with OPEXEngine.
  • The globetrotting Financial Information Services Division (FISD) held meetings on five continents last Spring. For the first time, they hosted events in Dubai and Brazil. Both meetings attracted over 100 financial industry players, who hashed out the challenges and opportunities facing global financial markets. [Read more...]
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