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For Immediate Release:  July 16, 2010 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should recognize that high-speed Internet access services (broadband) is now part of a national critical infrastructure – something it wasn’t eight years ago – and act to correct the regulatory mistakes of the past, Public Knowledge  (PK) told the Commission in comments filed late today.The text of the filing is here.Failure to take the proper steps now will have important implications, PK said, telling the FCC:  “The legal framework for the Commission’s authority over broadband will provide the foundation for every single decision and policy from affordable access to public safety. The Commission cannot fulfill its obligations to the American people and ensure continued, robust innovation and investment in the face of perpetual uncertainty over its authority to act.”read more

By 11:59 PM tonight, we here at Public Knowledge will have filed comments with the FCC on whether the Commission should reclassify broadband as a common carrier under Title II of the Telecom Act. We argue that such a reclassification is absolutely imperative for the success of any endeavor by the FCC to regulate broadband Internet. Why? Well, right now, broadband is classified under Title I and, as such, the FCC has virtually no authority whatsoever to act on issues of broadband access and fairness. But it should. read more

Did White House business liaison Valerie Jarrett just give the big kiss-off to Verizon Chairman Ivan Seidenberg?  Or did she invite more negotiations on some crucial telecommunications issues?A meeting between the two and the subsequent letters followed up Seidenberg’s blast at the Obama Administration on June 22, in which, speaking as chairman of the Business Roundtable, he said the Administration’s policies, including telecommunications policy, were creating a hostile environment for investment and job creation. read more

The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) describes itself as “a trade association for owners of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets.” As such, it seems like it’s an ostensible beneficiary of the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) being negotiated right now. After all, the stated purpose of the agreement is to facilitate “fighting counterfeiting and piracy, and to negotiate an agreement that enhances international co-operation and contains effective international standards for enforcing intellectual property rights”—in other words, making life easier for intellectual property owners. So why is IPO opposed to ACTA in its current state?read more

There have been laws on the books for many years directing the FCC to bring about better competition in “video devices”—consumer electronics that can display and interact with pay TV content. You’ve never had to rent your computer from your ISP, and—thanks to the FCC—you don’t have to rent your phone from the phone company. Every other market shows that people want a choice among different devices running different software, and every other market shows that progress is driven by third-party innovation.read more

For Immediate Release:  July 13, 2010 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should move quickly to help consumers have more choice in the devices they hook up to their TV sets to watch programming they get from cable or other providers, Public Knowledge and New America Foundation told the FCC in a filing Tuesday.The text of the filing is here.read more

This past Friday, Judge Nancy Gertner of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the jury award of $675,000 in punitive damages in Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum was unconstitutional because it violated due process. Judge Gertner’s decision showed a commendable sense of proportion. Like her fellow federal Judge Michael Davis’s decision to reduce damages in the similar Jammie Thomas-Rasset file-sharing case, Gertner’s decision also suggests that judges might start to curb punitive damages in copyright infringement cases as they’ve done in other types of civil suits. The judge didn’t find Tenenbaum to be the most sympathetic of defendants. Thankfully, that didn’t inspire her to let a disproportionate award stand or treat copyright infringement awards like they’re exempt from due process analysis.  read more

This past Friday, Judge Nancy Gertner of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the jury award of $675,000 in punitive damages in Sony BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum was unconstitutional because it violated due process. Judge Gertner’s decision showed a commendable sense of proportion. Like her fellow federal Judge Michael Davis’s decision to reduce damages in the similar Jammie Thomas-Rasset file-sharing case, Gertner’s decision also suggests that judges might start to curb punitive damages in copyright infringement cases as they’ve done in other types of civil suits. The judge didn’t find Tenenbaum to be the most sympathetic of defendants. Thankfully, that didn’t inspire her to let a disproportionate award stand or treat copyright infringement awards like they’re exempt from due process analysis.  read more

When we buy copyrighted items, like books or DVDs—or products that might have copyrighted logos attached to them, like watches or clothes--we take it for granted that we can dispose of them as we please.  We can sell them on Amazon or eBay. We can lend or give them to friends.  Or we can donate them libraries or charitable causes.   read more

When we buy copyrighted items, like books or DVDs—or products that might have copyrighted logos attached to them, like watches or clothes--we take it for granted that we can dispose of them as we please.  We can sell them on Amazon or eBay. We can lend or give them to friends.  Or we can donate them libraries or charitable causes.   read more

There have been two IP-concerned stories getting a lot of attention on the interwebs the past few days: first, there was the Summit Entertainment-issued DMCA takedown notice for the Twilight parody, choose-your-own-adventure YouTube “game;” then there was the cease-and-desist letter Sharron Angle sent to her incumbent rival Harry Reid regarding his re-posting of parts of her old, significantly more conservative-leaning campaign website from the primaries. In both cases, the content was taken down for a brief period of time and then went back up.   Summit seems to have changed its mind about the infringing nature of the video (although it hasn’t been as friendly with fan-created content) and Reid seems to be disregarding Angle’s legal threats. Let’s take a closer look. read more

There have been two IP-concerned stories getting a lot of attention on the interwebs the past few days: first, there was the Summit Entertainment-issued DMCA takedown notice for the Twilight parody, choose-your-own-adventure YouTube “game;” then there was the cease-and-desist letter Sharron Angle sent to her incumbent rival Harry Reid regarding his re-posting of parts of her old, significantly more conservative-leaning campaign website from the primaries. In both cases, the content was taken down for a brief period of time and then went back up.   Summit seems to have changed its mind about the infringing nature of the video (although it hasn’t been as friendly with fan-created content) and Reid seems to be disregarding Angle’s legal threats. Let’s take a closer look. read more

For Immediate Release:  July 9, 2010 This week, Public Knowledge asked the Supreme Court to reverse a decision that Costco was infringing copyright merely by selling genuine Omega watches without the watchmaker’s permission.   The brief, which was joined by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Free Trade Association, the American Association of Law Libraries, the Medical Library Association, and the Special Libraries Association, can be found here.   read more

For Immediate Release:  July 9, 2010 This week, Public Knowledge asked the Supreme Court to reverse a decision that Costco was infringing copyright merely by selling genuine Omega watches without the watchmaker’s permission.   The brief, which was joined by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Free Trade Association, the American Association of Law Libraries, the Medical Library Association, and the Special Libraries Association, can be found here.   read more

Every year, researchers and specialists at federal agencies produce a wealth of scholarly work on every topic imaginable – from the environment to healthcare to military strategy and more.  The best part about all of this work is that it immediately flows into the public domain.  Rep. Todd Platts, however, would like to see that change. Platts introduced a bill last week, H.R. 5704, that would extend copyright protection to certain scholarly works of faculty members of the Department of Defense’s service academies and professional military schools – the Naval Academy, West Point, and the National Defense University, for example.  The title of the bill reads: read more

Every year, researchers and specialists at federal agencies produce a wealth of scholarly work on every topic imaginable – from the environment to healthcare to military strategy and more.  The best part about all of this work is that it immediately flows into the public domain.  Rep. Todd Platts, however, would like to see that change. Platts introduced a bill last week, H.R. 5704, that would extend copyright protection to certain scholarly works of faculty members of the Department of Defense’s service academies and professional military schools – the Naval Academy, West Point, and the National Defense University, for example.  The title of the bill reads: read more

For Immediate Release:  July 6, 2010 Today, the FCC announced that Bruce Gottleib, Chief of Staff and Senior Legal Advisor to Chairman Genachowski, will leave the FCC at the end of July. He will be replaced by Rick Kaplan, the Chief of Staff for Commissioner Clyburn. A copy of the FCC's statement is available here. The following statement may be attributed to Harold Feld, Legal Director, Public Knowledge: “We at Public Knowledge are tremendously sorry to see the announcement of Bruce Gottleib’s departure. Throughout his tenure at the FCC, Bruce has worked tirelessly to see the public interest reflected in the FCC’s decision making process. His expertise in wireless issues will be particularly missed as the FCC moves ahead with implementation of the National Broadband Plan."  read more

For Immediate Release:  July 6, 2010 Today, the FCC announced that Bruce Gottleib, Chief of Staff and Senior Legal Advisor to Chairman Genachowski, will leave the FCC at the end of July. He will be replaced by Rick Kaplan, the Chief of Staff for Commissioner Clyburn. A copy of the FCC's statement is available here. The following statement may be attributed to Harold Feld, Legal Director, Public Knowledge: “We at Public Knowledge are tremendously sorry to see the announcement of Bruce Gottleib’s departure. Throughout his tenure at the FCC, Bruce has worked tirelessly to see the public interest reflected in the FCC’s decision making process. His expertise in wireless issues will be particularly missed as the FCC moves ahead with implementation of the National Broadband Plan."  read more

On July 1, the US Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force organized a day-long symposium titled “Copyright Policy, Creativity, and Innovation in the Information Economy.” The event, which featured speakers and panelists representing various government agencies, industry associations, media companies, tech companies, and civil-society groups, was designed to spark discussion on copyright and Internet policy, with an eye towards statutory reform.read more

On July 1, the US Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force organized a day-long symposium titled “Copyright Policy, Creativity, and Innovation in the Information Economy.” The event, which featured speakers and panelists representing various government agencies, industry associations, media companies, tech companies, and civil-society groups, was designed to spark discussion on copyright and Internet policy, with an eye towards statutory reform.read more