[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #290: Copyright limitations and exceptions

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #290: Copyright limitations and exceptions
July 11th, 2012

Last week, while many of us were enjoying fireworks in the sky, there 
were some equally stunning fireworks in international copyright law. 
Much of the buzz was about the United States' new stance toward 
international "limitations and exceptions" - examples being First Sale 
and Fair Use, two limitations and exceptions in domestic copyright law 
that allow American libraries to operate, but which the U.S. until now 
has refused to include in international treaties. The fireworks started 
on July 3 during negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) 
trade agreement, and continued on Independence Day when the European 
Parliament rejected the U.S.-backed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 
(ACTA).

  * How getting Internet provisions right in TPP trade talks could boost
    economy for all
    <http://www.forbes.com/sites/edblack/2012/07/06/how-getting-internet-provisions-right-in-tpp-trade-talks-could-boost-economy-for-all/>
    (Forbes/Ed Black) "The U.S. government is under pressure by some,
    including many in Hollywood, not to support language that's good for
    the Internet. But early this week USTR [United States Trade
    Representative] proposed
    <http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/blog/2012/july/ustr-introduces-new-copyright-exceptions-limitations-provision>
    some key copyright language
    <http://www.ccianet.org/index.asp?sid=5&artid=308&evtflg=False> that
    emphasizes the importance of limitations and exceptions (such as
    'fair use' in the U.S.) that industries, which represent one-sixth
    of the U.S. GDP, depend on. Previous trade deals like the flawed
    Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement would have exported the
    intellectual property enforcement provisions of the U.S. Digital
    Millennium Copyright Act minus the kind of limitations and
    exceptions that have allowed US companies to flourish."
  * ACTA rejected by Europe, leaving copyright treaty near dead
    <http://www.zdnet.com/acta-rejected-by-europe-leaving-copyright-treaty-near-dead-7000000255/>
    (ZDNet/David Meyer) "ACTA demanded the criminalisation of
    'commercial-scale' copyright infringement, but its definition of
    commercial scale was broad enough to turn bloggers putting
    copyrighted images on their blogs into criminals. The treaty also
    criminalised the circumvention of digital rights management (DRM)
    and introduced a US-style approach to the calculation of damages.
    This latter measure would have allowed the equation of unlawful
    downloads with lost sales - a questionable method, as many people
    download something only to go on and buy it."
  * Op-ed: MPAA/RIAA lose big as US backs copyright "limitations"
    <http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/07/op-ed-eus-rejection-of-acta-subtly-changed-trade-law-landscape/>
    (Ars Technica/Harold Feld) "...many US industries outside of
    Hollywood and the recording industry wanted ACTA to actually fight
    real counterfeiting. So not only did everyone end up wasting time on
    a treaty no one wants to sign anymore, businesses hoping to use the
    agreement to fight the folks making warehouses full of fake Rolex
    watches and such are totally out of luck. And why? Because the
    MPAA/RIAA [Motion Picture Association of America / Recording
    Industry Association of America] insisted ACTA needed lots of crazy
    stuff on intellectual property, and no one wanted to say no to the
    MPAA/RIAA."
  * With ACTA dead, TPP shapes up to avoid the same fate
    <http://www.webpronews.com/with-acta-dead-tpp-shapes-up-to-avoid-the-same-fate-2012-07>
    (WebProNews/Zach Walton) "So why is this such a big deal? The
    introduction of the Berne three-step test to TPP makes the copyright
    section at least appear desirable. The three-step test allows people
    to use copyrighted works in cases of criticism, parody, education,
    etc all under the banner of fair use. So is TPP fine after this? Not
    by a long shot, but it proves that the USTR is at least attentive to
    recent happenings around the world."

*/TPP fact:/*

The Trans-Pacific Partnership started (under another name) as a 2005 
trade agreement between Chile, Singapore, New Zealand, and Brunei. 
Negotiations to expand the agreement to eight other countries, including 
the United States, have been in process since 2007.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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