Screenwriters denied the big budgets and formidable resources of the major film studios may soon have another option, thanks to a new algorithm that can generate a video simply by consuming a (very short) script.
Source: New algorithm can create movies from just a few snippets of text
U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, plans to introduce an umbrella music licensing bill in March, a clear indication that long-sought federal copyright reform could be enacted in 2018.
Source: Goodlatte to unveil sweeping music copyright reform package next month
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) order repealing net neutrality was published in the Federal Register Thursday morning, opening the door for supporters of the Obama-era rules to launch legislative and legal challenges.
Source: FCC’s net neutrality repeal published, opening door to opposition efforts
The ‘Bulgarian scam’ on Spotify allegedly involved an entity uploading a collection of sub one-minute tracks to Spotify; then arranging them into a few playlists. MMF boss Annabella Coldrick has suggested in a blog post that user-centric licensing would “prevent scams such as ‘the great Spotify swindle’, as you could never get back more than you put in”.
Source: Spotify Bulgarian scam fuels call from MMF for user-centric licensing debate
A judge rejects the MOVA Contour inventor’s unusual copyright claim, but tells Disney, Fox, and Paramount that claims for inducing patent infringement and violating trademarks will move forward.
Source: Studios Must Face Trimmed Lawsuit Over CG Characters in Blockbuster Movies
Collectrium was touted as way for clients to securely store and manage detailed information about their art collection in a single virtual space. Now, the database is defunct, Collectrium’s founder and CEO has left, and Christie’s has scaled back sharply on the initiative.
Rightscorp announced today the formation of Jingle Blockchain Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rightscorp, Inc. dedicated to developing blockchain-based solutions for the entertainment industry.
Source: Rightscorp Forms Subsidiary for Blockchain-Based Solutions for the Entertainment Industry
The move toward “open access” to research and scholarship, far from being a modern digital-age creation, has roots in the West that date back to medieval times, writes a Stanford education scholar. John Willinsky’s new book explains how learning has long benefited from efforts to increase its circulation.
Source: Stanford scholar celebrates Western culture’s open-access tradition | Stanford News
The multi-territory partnership is the social media giant’s first with an online music licensing hub and provides licensing for over 290,000 rights holders, across 160 territories. Platforms covered by the deal include Facebook, Instagram, Oculus and instant messaging service, Messenger.
Source: Facebook’s Latest Music Licensing Deal Is With Pan-European Rights Hub ICE
On Tuesday, a California federal judge denied Disney’s motion for a preliminary injunction that would have enjoined Redbox from selling movie download codes separately. Even worse for Disney is the fact that the judge in rejecting the injunction bid comes to the conclusion that Disney has committed copyright misuse.
Source: Disney Misused ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Frozen’ Copyrights, Says Judge