Legal Issues

Supreme Court to public domain: Let's fence you in

Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" and H.G. Wells' "Things to Come" may have first been published decades ago, and have long been in the public domain, but that doesn't mean they won't soon be under copyright once again.

That could be the result of a Supreme Court ruling today that Congress can re-copyright public domain works, Wired wrote.

With its 6-2 decision in Golan v. Holder (PDF), the top U.S. court held that Congress has the duty to comply with an international treaty known as the Berne Convention, which permits re-copyrighting works--books, musical … Read more

Mark Zuckerberg finally comes out against SOPA

Although Facebook has been public about its opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been personally silent on the matter. Until now.

Today, Zuckerberg came out against SOPA and PIPA with postings on both Facebook and Twitter. In the case of Twitter, it appeared to be Zuckerberg's first tweet in nearly three years.

On Facebook, Zuckerberg was very clear about his position:

The internet is the most powerful tool we have for creating a more open and connected world. We can't let poorly thought out laws get in the … Read more

MPAA blasts 'dangerous' anti-SOPA blackouts as 'stunts'

Anti-SOPA blackouts planned for tomorrow by sites like Wikipedia, Boing Boing, Reddit, and others are "stunts" that are "dangerous and troubling," Hollywood's chief lobbyist said.

In a statement issued today (PDF), MPAA chairman and CEO--and former U.S. Senator--Chris Dodd railed against the blackouts, calling them "an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on [the sites] for information and [who] use their services."

Dodd also said that the blackouts are "an abuse of power given the freedoms these companies enjoy in the marketplace today. It's a dangerous and … Read more

How to access Wikipedia during its SOPA blackout

When Jimmy Wales announced that Wikipedia will go black tomorrow in the United States in solidarity with the anti-SOPA protest movement, it was not a decision taken lightly. It might have even surprised many who thought the popular free encyclopedia Wales founded would be adopting a less stark way of protesting the Draconian copyright act. (See CNET's FAQ on SOPA.)

After all, Wikipedia is one of the most popular Web sites in the world, and a major source of information for millions of people.

But fret not. Thanks to some clever advice from Andrew Lih, the author of The Wikipedia Revolution, … Read more

Get global bragging rights in Getty's mashup contest

Mashup artists love to make and spread videos based on other people's content. But how many of those artists have explicit permission to use source material from archives like the video libraries of Universal Studios and Warner Brothers Film, and the image and music collections of Getty?

From now until February 29, as part of Getty's Mishmash remix competition, anyone can use those content riches to create a mashup and try to win the contest's $5,000 first prize, as well as get the work in front of a group of influential judges.

"Short story, video … Read more

Millions seeing 'Stop SOPA' message on Twitter

It may be a small bit of protest--literally--but thousands of people have been turning to Twitter to urge their followers to help defeat the Stop Online Piracy Act.

All over Twitter these days, you can find people who have plastered a "Stop SOPA" banner across their profile images. As of this writing, more than 14,000 users have added the banner, and according to the #BlackoutSOPA Web site, those users are reaching nearly 24.6 million followers.

To be sure, there's a lot of energy out there on the Internet these days to defeat SOPA. The news … Read more

Wikipedia considering joining SOPA blackout protest

Count Wikipedia among the growing number of sites that are likely to take action against SOPA.

As anger towards the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act grows, more and more people and organizations are joining the fight against the bipartisan Congressional legislation. (See CNET's FAQ on SOPA.)

Earlier this week, the news site Reddit announced it would shut down for 12 hours on January 18 in a bid to make its displeasure known about SOPA and its Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act. And now, there are strong signs that Wikipedia may express its community's protest sentiment, although it'… Read more

Politico to mine Facebook for insight into voter sentiments

You might think that Facebook's millions of U.S. users would be a good resource for anyone who wants to get a sense of what people are thinking about politics in (almost) real time. The news site Politico clearly agrees, as it's just struck a partnership to measure the political sentiments of Facebook users.

Under the terms of the partnership, which was announced today, Politico readers will be given inside looks at the Facebook conversations taking place in advance of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary on January 21. It's not clear if the partnership extends beyond … Read more

Reddit to go silent in SOPA protest

All across Twitter these days, you can find people who are standing up to the bipartisan Congressional coalition behind the Stop Online Piracy Act. But one news site is taking its protest a whole lot further than simply plastering a "STOP SOPA" banner across its Twitter profile picture.

Reddit, a popular news aggregator, said today that it will be "blacking out" its entire site for 12 hours on January 18.

"The freedom, innovation, and economic opportunity that the Internet enables is in jeopardy," Reddit's editors posted this afternoon. "Congress is considering legislation … Read more