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MPAA chief: SOPA and Protect IP back from the grave?

The Motion Picture Association of America believes there's still hope for the controversy-plagued Stop Online Piracy Act.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter that was published online today, MPAA chief Christopher Dodd said he was "confident" that President Obama was using his "good relationships in both communities" -- that is, Silicon Valley and Hollywood -- to advance SOPA.

When asked whether there are negotiations going on now, Dodd replied: "I'm confident that's the case, but I'm not going to go into more detail because obviously if I do, it becomes … Read more

Post-SOPA surprise: Common ground for tech, big media

A spirit of cooperation appears to be rising in the technology and entertainment sectors regarding antipiracy efforts.

Three months after the defeat of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), leaders from both sides say they wish to work together to forge a new response to illegal file sharing. No kidding -- there's even talk about trying to once again pass antipiracy legislation.

Though skeptics predict all these kumbaya feelings will quickly turn to bitterness, there's no mistaking that detente is in the air.

On Tuesday, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), one of the lawmakers who helped kill SOPA, said … Read more

The Dark Knight Rises goes Lego

Fans of the modern Batman series are eagerly awaiting the next installment of the Dark Knight franchise, due in theaters this summer. To help them pass the time until the movie's release, Lego aficionado ParanickFilmz created a reimagined trailer, along with help from a few associates who handled the mouth animation and CGI effects. … Read more

White House calls for new law targeting 'offshore' Web sites

Only weeks after protests over two digital copyright bills demonstrated the political muscle of Internet users, the White House is publicly endorsing new copyright legislation that also would target suspected pirate Web sites.

After the unprecedented outcry against the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act -- designed to target offshore copyright-infringing Web sites -- supporters of the bills on Capitol Hill backed down and moved on to other topics.

But the White House today reignited the congressional debate by throwing its weight behind legislation targeting offshore Web sites. "We believe that new legislative and non-legislative tools … Read more

Anti-SOPA Internet Society under fire for hiring MPAA executive

The Internet Society is hardly a fan of the Stop Online Piracy Act or the Protect IP Act. The venerable non-profit, which acts as the umbrella organization for the Internet's key standards bodies, bluntly warns that the pair of copyright laws would end the "viability of the Internet."

Which is why ISOC's decision this month to hire a senior executive from the Motion Picture Association of America -- a lawyer who has championed the wildly controversial legislation that would blacklist Web sites that supposedly violate copyright -- is raising eyebrows.

ISOC announced last week that it had hired Paul Brigner, … Read more

Ten worst Internet laws of 2012?

The latest list of the 10 worst proposed Internet laws is out, and topping it are efforts by state legislators to derail disruptive business models such as Airbnb.com and Uber.com.

NetChoice, a Washington, D.C., coalition that includes Facebook, eBay, VeriSign, and Yahoo as members, today plans to release its updated "iAWFUL" list of misguided, nutty, or simply counterproductive laws. On NetChoice's worst-of-the-worst list:

Uber.com, an online and mobile-device service for finding a car service, has been curbed by city taxi commissions who cite "hack" laws to preserve their monopolies.

Airbnb.com, … Read more

CNET Roadside Assistance 48: Don't get me started on start-stop tech (podcast)

We've seen a lot of start-stop tech showing up hand in hand with turbocharging, direct injection, and partial electrification. What's its role in the foursome and when is it poorly implemented?

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 48 SHOW NOTES

Witness the birth of a Lego Millennium Falcon

Released over the last decade, the Lego Star Wars ultimate collector series contains many elaborate sets, including "the ship that made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs." This "hunk of junk," officially known as set #10179, sold for $500 when it launched in 2007.

Over the course of three years, Francisco Prieto created a 3D stop-motion video of the Lego-ized Falcon being born. … Read more

Will it be game over for game discs within the next decade?

Are you still going to GameStop or Best Buy to pick up the latest video games? At least one developer thinks you better get your fill now because you won't have that opportunity in the coming years.

Speaking this week at the BAFTA Question Time event, the CEO of online-game developer Jagex said that a decade from now, we'll all remember when physical games were sold at retail, but we won't be buying them.

"I think, 10 years out from now, we'll be talking about [physical] retail nostalgically, as a museum piece," Mark Gerhard … Read more

Post SOPA, influential tech investor favors 'blacklisting' pirate sites

Fred Wilson, a well-known venture capitalist from New York, says he's in favor of creating a blacklist for Web sites found to traffic in pirated films, music, and other intellectual property.

The co-founder of Union Square Ventures told a gathering of media executives at the Paley Center for Media yesterday that he believes a good antipiracy measure would be for Google, Twitter, Facebook, and other major sites to issue warnings to people when they try to connect with a known pirate site.

Wilson favors establishing an independent group to create a "black and white list." "The … Read more