December, 2017

Copyright law has been a source of legal conflict since well before the rise of the internet, but the relatively new presence of blockchain tech on the scene could potentially help cut the number of copyright conflicts the industry sees on a now almost constant basis.

Source: Battling Copyright Woes With Blockchain Protocols

Many of the early players in the digital currencies and blockchain space adhere to an open-source philosophy, and there are a number of companies that have been trying to put together an open-source blockchain infrastructure. But Mark Lemley, director of the Stanford Law School program in Law, Science and Technology, said, “Patent trolls follow the money.”

Source: The price of the bitcoin bubble: Patent trolls are digging into the blockchain

SongCatcher is powered by ACRCloud, and has previously been available in BETA to a subsection of Deezer’s user base. The function will be rolled out over the coming months and will be open to Premium+ subscribers.

Source: Deezer plants flag in music identification space with SongCatcher

Despite the continuing rows over the ‘value gap’ and safe harbour, YouTube has struck its second licensing deal of 2017 with a major label: Universal Music. The new global, multi-year agreement follows a similar deal with Warner Music Group in May, although both parties are keeping the details private beyond official statements.

Source: YouTube, Universal Music sign new multi-year licensing deal

The company is also announcing that its ERC20-compliant tokens are launching this month on the Sliver.tv platform, which owns Theta Labs. Sliver.tv attracted more than 2.7 million visits in November from esports viewers. The idea is a simple one and fits the blockchain economy mould perfectly.

Source: Theta presale hits $12 million as it brings blockchain to video and esports

The UK’s close ties with Europe meant British publishers enjoyed a huge financial benefit from exploiting the exclusive English-language rights to books sold across the continent. However, US publishing companies such as Simon & Schuster believe Brexit will open the door to competition and break the cosy historical deals enjoyed by British publishers.

Source: Brexit will usher in a dark chapter for new British authors, warns publisher

There are valid questions around the continued viability of the use of many proprietary data sets for licensing and royalty distribution purposes. Not all data sets are created equal, particularly those that are accumulated via a long chain of transactions, which take the data further and further away from the source of the information – that is, the rights-owner.

Source: PRS for Music CEO: How to unlock rightsholders’ money around the world.

Before Christmas, Collins plans to introduce the Music Modernization Act, which will change the way on-demand streaming services like Spotify pay mechanical royalties. The bill alters the standard that the Copyright Royalty Board uses to set mechanical royalties for streaming, and mandates the creation of an organization to collect and distribute them.

Source: How a Conservative From Rural Georgia Became Capitol Hill’s Top…

This past April, engineer Alex Reben developed and posted to YouTube, “Deeply Artificial Trees”, an art piece powered by machine learning, that leveraged old Joy of Painting videos. It generate gibberish audio in the speaking style and tone of Bob Ross, the show’s host. Bob Ross’ estate was not amused.

Source: Modern copyright law can’t keep pace with thinking machines

While songwriters and artists have increasingly sold their royalties in recent years, new companies are springing up to create a new music copyright marketplace.

Source: Investors betting big on music