Copy Grounds

Paul Goldstein is the Stella W. and Ira S. Lillick Professor of Law at Stanford University. He is a renowned expert on intellectual property law and the author of numerous books on U.S. and international copyright law. This semester we read selections from Professor Goldstein’s book Copyright’s Highway: From Gutenberg to the Celestial Jukebox. Paul was gracious enough to answer some of our students’ questions and we are happy to present his responses here.

Copygrounds: It seems that contemporary services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Gamefly, Pandora, etc. closely resemble your concept of the celestial jukebox. Would that be your assessment as well? Which do you think is the most advantageous payment structure? Advertisement-supported, pay per view, or flat rate pricing?

Paul Goldstein: Although, obviously, I had no specific service in mind when I started writing about the celestial jukebox in the 1980s, the services you identify certainly fit the general outlines that I sketched. I find it interesting that the payment structures you mention all appear to involve streaming, rather than downloading. Although streaming seems to be the currently popular business model, I wouldn’t write off downloads of the iTunes variety, at least in certain sectors. And, as to payment models, my best guess is that we will continue to seea mix of the three you identify, and possibly more. In any event, the market’s wisdom on what is the best payment method for different kinds of uses is a heck of a lot smarter than mine. continue reading…

This semester we read selections from one of my favorite books on the pitfalls of theorizing of intellectual property–James Boyle’s Shamans, Software, & Spleens: Law and the Construction of the Information Society. Drawing on examples from a diverse range of topics including genetics, fiduciary trust, and artificial intelligence, Boyle demonstrates how classical liberal theory attempts to resolve the tensions between public and private spheres through an appeal to romantic notions of authorship. James Boyle is currently the William Neal Reynolds Professor of Law and the co-founder of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke Law School. We were delighted to have him answer a handful of student questions and his responses are featured here.

Copygrounds: Do you think contemporary technological developments and social practices have devalued the notion of individual authorship to a significant degree? That is to say, does the emergence of the Internet, “remix culture”, file-sharing, and other collaborative systems signal a departure from romantic notions of authorship? continue reading…

On October 24 Craig Aaron, president of Free Press, was in Austin to talk about how to create a more democratic media. Free Press is the largest media reform organization in the United States and promotes independent media ownership, pubic media, quality journalism, and universal access to communications. Copygrounds caught up with Craig at 5604 Manor in an event sponsored in part by Third Coast Activist. My thanks to student Kevin Dillon for video-recording this event. We are delighted to present this speech for you here.

Adrian Johns’s Piracy: The intellectual property wars from Gutenberg to Gates goes a long way toward contextualizing contemporary legal battles over copyright in the digital age. His research provides us with a detailed and insightful history of the debates surrounding intellectual property. Adrian’s work has been invaluable to my own understanding of the relationship between technological development and intellectual property law. We were very fortunate this semester to have Adrian answer a handful of student questions after having read a selection from his book.

Copygrounds: Do you feel there is too much emphasis on economic incentive in contemporary U.S. copyright law? When it comes to the topic of how to reform copyright law a major concern among the students in this class (many of whom are aspiring filmmakers, artists, and game designers) is the potential loss of control over their work and their ability to profit from it. Does the expansive scope and duration of existing copyright protection serve the interests of our aspiring content producers?

Adrian Johns: In some ways there is clearly too much emphasis on economic incentive in the current legal structure – although one could also argue, I think convincingly, that the problem is not over-emphasis as simply a mistaken notion of where the incentive lies. The grossest example is the Sonny Bono Act, which extended the term of copyright protection and attracted the unsuccessful challenge of Eldred vs. Ashcroft. continue reading…

This semester we had the privilege of speaking with former Screen Actors Guild President (1995-1999) Richard Masur. Our conversation touched on a wide range of topics including the history of Hollywood unions, working conditions in the motion picture and television industries, intellectual property and digital theft, the erosion of union protections, and the global dimension of labor economics in the entertainment industry. We really enjoyed this discussion and were very pleased to have the opportunity to engage with an institution as distinguished as Screen Actors Guild. Below is a transcript of the proceedings in their entirety. Many thanks to Richard Masur and Nancy Fox of Screen Actors Guild for taking the time to speak with us.

Interview with Richard Masur

Interviewer:       Brett Caraway

Interviewee:      Richard Masur

Date:                  April 20, 2011

Brett: Today we are really excited about having Richard Masur join us. He has been an actor in television and motion pictures all the way back to the 1970s, a very prolific television and motion picture actor. I have a long list of things to say about your performances. You’ve been featured in All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, Hawaii Five-O, Happy Days, One Day at a Time…

Richard: Brett you don’t have to do this for me and I’m sure every single one of them can access IMDB and they can do it for themselves.

Brett: The one thing I do have to pay some homage to is that he was in The Thing, which as I’ve told you all is one of my favorite movies of all time.

Richard: Well I’m glad you enjoyed it. (laughter) continue reading…

Hi everyone!

Below are Q&As from Professor Nesson and me from summer 2010. Please note that I am no longer officially affiliated with the case.

DBR

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Q&A with Professor Nesson

What or who decides the fine amount, and why are the amounts so varied from person to person?

Jessica Litman’s book, Digital Copyright, was among the first books I read on the subject of intellectual property. Her book provides a fascinating history and critique of the process of drafting copyright legislation in the United States. I consider it a must-read for anyone seeking to familiarize themselves with U.S. copyright law and the challenges presented by recent technological developments. So I was very pleased when Professor Litman agreed to answer some of our questions. This semester we are reading her article entitled Creative Reading. Professor Litman is currently  the John F. Nickoll Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School. She is an expert on copyright and we are privileged to have her join our discussion.

Copygrounds: What is the road to copyright reform? In other words, is a statutory reversal of either the expanded duration or scope of copyright even possible? Or conversely, would it be possible to expand fair use provisions through an amendment to the Copyright Act?

Jessica Litman: I think the most plausible road to copyright reform is that the current beneficiaries will seek reform of provisions they are finding unworkable, and proponents of countervailing reforms will take the opportunity to attach their proposals to the legislation.  Thus, Congress enacted the provision allowing bars and restaurants to play radio and television without licenses from ASCAP and continue reading…

Copygrounds partnered with Third Coast Activist recently to bring you this amazing speech by Robert McChesney recorded on February 6, 2011 here in Austin, Texas. Robert is one of the leading scholars of mass media and an ardent critic of the commercial media system.

a Last Sunday special event presents Robert McChesney from Copygrounds on Vimeo.

We were fortunate to get a chance to speak with New York attorney Ray Beckerman recently on the topic of P2P litigation. Mr. Beckerman is well known for his analysis and commentary on the RIAA litigation campaign and was nice enough to answer some of our questions.

Copygrounds: In both the Tenenbaum and Thomas-Rasset cases the statutory damages have been lowered—though for different reasons. Why did the judges employ different legal reasoning to arrive at similar results? What are the differences in the cases? And does this prevent the cases from being joined and sent to the Supreme Court?

Ray Beckerman: Neither judge provided satisfactory reasoning consistent with the law. Neither thought it through correctly. Judge Davis declined to decide the constitutional issue at all, for reasons continue reading…

Copygrounds: What do you think would happen if the right to active participation was extended to areas of cultural or informational production outside of copyright law? In other words, should people be allowed to actively participate to some extent in areas of production normally covered by trademark or patent law? Is it desirable to allow people to remix brands, reverse engineer and re-distribute software, etc?

Henry Jenkins: Not only is it reasonable, but it may also be desirable from the point of view of the rights holders. Eric Von Hipple in the Sloan School of Business at MIT has explored what he calls “lead users.” Lead users are early adopters of new products but also because they are on the cutting edge, they are also often adapters of those products. They adjust them to better serve their own needs which are sometimes generalizable to other users and sometimes highly specialized. Von Hipple advises companies to allow certain space of consumer experimentation and adjustments so that companies can monitor what they do with their products, identifying unexpected uses and unidentified bugs in their production. Some companies have institutionalized such practices, working with their most dedicated consumers to generate ideas that ultimately get translated into new products. Lego is a company very famous for such practices. Brands are discovering that allowing more free play with their once sacred icons is in fact generating greater public interest and also inspiring new continue reading…