On January 18th, the Internet went black to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).  On the same day, the Supreme Court released its decision in Golan v. Holder.  __ U.S. __,  131 S. Ct. 1600 (2012) Many people did not notice that a decision was handed down by the Court related to copyright on [...]

The White House navigated into the choppy waters of the international online piracy debate over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), which both seek to regulate online piracy by foreign companies that violate U.S. copyright law. In an official statement the Administration responded to two online petitions, which [...]

Well, we were hoping to have a normal Internet day tomorrow. But it seems like the Internet is going to be unavailable because it is going on strike.  Well, not all of the Internet but some very big players are voluntarily “going dark” to protest the SOPA bill.  On January 24th, Congress will vote to [...]

The Obama administration announced that it was opposed to parts of two bills endorsed by Congress to enforce copyright protection on the Internet. The White House said, “Let us be clear, online piracy is a real problem that harms the American economy, threatens jobs for significant numbers of middle class workers and hurts some of [...]

Yep, tons of information about these controversial bills… in a single post!

On Thursday, December 15, Congress introduced a bill that would require large art auction houses, like Christie’s and Sotheby’s, to pay a 7% royalty on artwork sales over $10,000.  The new bill would only affect artwork by living artists and dead ones whose work is not yet part of the public domain (this takes 70 [...]

S.968 is a proposed bill intending to require service providers to block access to certain sites, simply based on the accusation that the sites may promote copyright infringement. The Senate first introduced PROTECT IP Act to target sites that were “dedicated to infringing activities” but once the bill got into the House and was given [...]

Will the Internet, as many of us know and love it, be forced to change its ways? It very well may be. A bill introduced in the House last week, entitled the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), would allow copyright holders to order ISPs to shut down any website that “engages in, enables, or facilitates” [...]

By selling clothing and accessories labeled “Navajo,” Urban Outfitters may be offending more than just Native Americans– it could face trouble under the Federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 which makes it illegal to falsely claim, or even imply, that a product is Native American-made when it is not. Read more here, here, [...]

The Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act (the “IDPPPA” or “Fake Fashion Bill”) is a bill introduced by New York Senator Chuck Schumer intended to provide long-awaited copyright protection to original fashion designs, including apparel, handbags, and accessories.  The bill, brought in August 2010, is a compromise to its problematic predecessor, the Design Piracy [...]