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Music Is Just 4.3% of YouTube Traffic, Research Shows

Music videos and music-related video content account for just 4.3% of overall YouTube traffic, according to data now released by San Francisco-based Pexeso. By stark comparison, gaming-related content accounts for 33.4% of the total, which mirrors the massive draw of channels like Twitch.

Entertainment-focused content also dwarfs music content, according to the data, with an 18.9% chunk.  Random content uploaded by people, bloggers, and YouTube personalities also beat music content, accounting for 14.3% of the pie.  Other categories like Sports and Film & Animation also trump music.

Source: Music Is Just 4.3% of YouTube Traffic, Research Shows

The role of copyright law in the FCC’s set-top box rulemaking

While there seem to be broader problems with the proposed approach to increasing set-top box “competition,” the Copyright Office focused only on those aspects within the scope of its own unique expertise—the serious conflicts between the Proposed Rule and US copyright laws.

The Copyright Office thus explained how those copyright-related conflicts could affect all parties—content creators, MVPDs, third-party software or device developers, and consumers—implicated by the Proposed Rule.

Source: The role of copyright law in the FCC’s set-top box rulemaking

ISPs may face ‘huge liabilities’ for music use after BMG’s $25m payout from Cox 

biz+-+copyrightEastern Virginia District Court dismissed Cox’s appeal of an earlier verdict, which ordered Cox to pay BMG $25m in damages for copyright infringement.

The court decided that Cox did not do enough to stop users pirating music from BMG, and therefore did not qualify for Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) ‘safe harbor’ protections. Crucially, BMG provided evidence that it had identified individual infringers and then alerted Cox to their wrongdoing.

Source: ISPs may face ‘huge liabilities’ for music use after BMG’s $25m payout from Cox – Music Business Worldwide

Blockchain s Automated Contracts Are Dangerously Hard to Verify 

Smart contracts, which automate parts of payment agreements, are the key to using blockchain technology in complex financial transactions. However, there are still open questions and concerns about how smart contracts operate in the real world and whether they can be trusted.

Because smart contracts reduce complexity there are fewer reconciliation issues, which increases efficiency and reduces costs. But how do you see and understand the finer details of a smart contract when the terms of the contract are expressed in code?

Source: Blockchain s Automated Contracts Are Dangerously Hard to Verify | PaymentsSource

Inside YouTube’s War With the Music Industry 

Like any site, YouTube can stream material without artists’ permission thanks to 1998’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The law allows companies to post copyrighted content online if they agree to take it down upon request. But in the YouTube age, this means artists’ representatives need to monitor hundreds of millions of new videos every day.

YouTube says it has addressed the issue, spending $60 million to build a “Content ID” program, which uses digital “fingerprints” to identify pirated material.This system catches 99.5 percent of copyrighted material, says Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s chief business officer. “I challenge somebody to find a better system of copyright management anywhere,” says Kyncl. “It’s been nearly a decade of us investing in the system when no one else does anything.”

Source: Inside YouTube’s War With the Music Industry – Rolling Stone

Juniper Research: Blockchain and bitcoin companies raise $290 in first half of 2016 

bitcoin-code2Startups working with blockchain and bitcoin technology around the world raised close to $300 million (£231.2 million) in funding in the first 6 months of the year, according to Juniper Research.

Over 30 startups raised $290 million (£223.5 million) but over a third went to just three companies in big ticket fundraises: Circle, which raised $60 million (£46.2 million) in June; Blockstream, which bagged $55 million (£42.4 million) in February; and Digital Asset Holdings, which raised $50 million (£38.5 million) in January.

Source: Juniper Research: Blockchain and bitcoin companies raise $290 in first half of 2016 – Business Insider

YouTube strikes deal with Canadian mechanical rights agency CMRRA 

The deal marks the first major agreement for reproduction rights between YouTube and CMRRA in the territory – and comes less than a month after Canadian society SOCAN announced it was moving into mechanical rights with the purchase of Audiam.

CMRRA called the deal “a major step forward for Canada” – and an agreement which “completely changes the landscape for rights administration in this country”.

Source: YouTube strikes deal with Canadian mechanical rights agency CMRRA – Music Business Worldwide

Building a Decentralized Media: Why Cryptorials is Partnering with DECENT 

For democracy to function effectively society needs a free and independent media. More than that, for us to be able to function effectively in our own personal lives we need access to open, fair and honest sources of information. But both government and corporate interests are constantly trying, and often succeeding, to control the media in order to influence people to support their own interests.

The internet made some in-roads into breaking the grip of a mainstream media which has become increasingly controlled by a small group of global corporations. But it can only go so far. Websites can be blocked or taken down by governments or pushed out of business by the total domination of Google over online advertising. We can do better than this, and decentralization is how we do it.

Source: Building a Decentralized Media: Why Cryptorials is Partnering with DECENT | –

Copyright Clearance Center Announces Launch of RightFind Content Decision Support Solution 

copyright-clearance-centerCopyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), a global licensing and content technology company, has announced the launch of its cloud-based RightFind™ Content Decision Support (CDS), an easy-to-use analytics platform that helps information center managers leverage the power of usage data to make smart decisions around content investments.

RightFind CDS combines comprehensive usage and spend data, predictive analytics and data visualizations, and budget forecast and planning tools in a single solution designed to help information managers bring actionable intelligence to their content acquisition strategy.

Source: Copyright Clearance Center Announces Launch of RightFind™ Content Decision Support Solution – Copyright Clearance Center

DOJ and FTC Seek Views on Proposed Update of the Antitrust Guidelines for Licensing of Intellectual Property 

577cc1d010909-imageThe Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission seek public comment on a proposed update of the Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property, also known as the IP Licensing Guidelines.  The IP Licensing Guidelines, which state the agencies’ antitrust enforcement policy with respect to the licensing of intellectual property protected by patent, copyright and trade secret law and of know-how, were issued in 1995 and are now being updated.

“The IP Licensing Guidelines have been invaluable to the department’s investigative and enforcement efforts since they were issued in 1995,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse, in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “They have also guided business planning, and they have been cited by courts, in numerous government briefs, business review letters and policy documents.  Although the guidelines are sound, it is time to modernize them to reflect changes in the law since they were issued.”

Source: DOJ and FTC Seek Views on Proposed Update of the Antitrust Guidelines for Licensing of Intellectual Property | OPA | Department of Justice

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