EU countries have until June to implement controversial new copyright laws, but some countries have not even started that process. Though Covid-19 has been an impediment, some countries have had reservations about the reforms.
Source: A country by country analysis of EU copyright reform implementation
In a post this week, OverDrive CEO Steve Potash said he was proud of some of the “incremental gains” made in the library e-book market in 2020 but insisted that the work of establishing “fair, flexible, and reasonable terms” for libraries and schools to acquire and lend digital content is far from over.
Source: OverDrive CEO: Publishers, Librarians Still Searching for Fair E-book Lending Models
The Re:Create Coalition has sent a letter to the new US Congress, warning lawmakers that heavy-handed copyright policies can do more harm than good. The group wants to keep current DMCA safe harbors in place but encourages penalties for abusive and fraudulent takedown notices. In addition, copyright law should be amended to prevent Internet disconnections based on one-sided piracy accusations.
Source: ‘US Government Should Protect the Public from Copyright Extremes’ * TorrentFreak
In November, Wixen Music Publishing filed a $50 million copyright infringement lawsuit against short-form video app (and fast-growing TikTok competitor) Triller. Now, a federal judge has dismissed the complaint in part because it’s unclear “whether the 1976 Act or the Copyright Act of 1909 applies” to the allegedly infringed works.
Source: Court Dismisses Wixen Music’s $50 Million Infringement Suit Against Triller
Grumpy Cat is no longer with us. Tardar Sauce passed away in 2019 but the humans she shared a house with are keeping her memory alive. They do this in the form of merchandise, but also in court where they have filed over a dozen lawsuits against sellers of counterfeit and copyright-infringing products.
Source: “Grumpy Cat” is Long Gone But Her Copyright Lives On in Court * TorrentFreak
Once seen as a marginal forum for comedy, tech talk and public radio programming, podcasting is one of the hottest corners in media. Yet its formats and business practices are still developing, leading producers, executives and talent to view the medium as akin to television circa 1949: lucrative and uncharted territory with plenty of room for experimentation and flag-planting.
Source: Podcasting Is Booming. Will Hollywood Help or Hurt Its Future?
The upper house of Australia’s Parliament passed legislation effectively requiring Facebook and Google to pay news outlets for content, moving the media code a big step closer to becoming law. The amendments announced Tuesday include requiring an additional round of negotiation before binding arbitration kicks in, as well as more acknowledgment of any deals Facebook reaches with publishers on its own.
Source: Bill to Make Facebook, Google Pay for News Clears Last Major Hurdle in Australia
Source: Alphabet in talks with Spanish publishers to bring Google News back, sources say
Facebook said on Monday that it would restore the sharing and viewing of news links in Australia after gaining more time to negotiate over a proposed law that would require it to pay for news content that appears on its site. The agreement means users and publishers in Australia can once again share links to news articles, after Facebook had blocked the practice last week.
Source: Facebook Strikes Deal to Restore News Sharing in Australia
In a letter from the CreativeFuture coalition, stakeholders from the film, television, music, photography and publishing industries said the coronavirus pandemic has led to a significant increase in digital piracy with many Americans spending more time at home during lockdowns.
Source: Creative industries coalition urges Biden to strengthen copyright