Can a fashion retailer take a photograph of a celebrity, print it on a t-shirt and sell it without the celebrity’s approval? Yes, but sometimes no – not when the retailer has previously gone out of its way to draw a connection between its products and that celebrity, in this case Robyn Fenty, aka Rihanna. How did this begin?
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In the second of Oxford’s new series of Law Vox podcasts, Jeremy Phillips, editor of Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, describes how the field of intellectual property law looked when he started his illustrious intellectual property law career. Jeremy’s conversation with Law Vox also addresses how intellectual property evolved and grew to encompass many different features. He uses the analogy of Tracey Emin’s bed to explain how intellectual property touches many aspects of our lives without us consciously realising it.
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What are the most common myths surrounding the laws of the European Union? We asked two experts, Phil Syrpis and Catherine Seville, to describe and combat some misconceptions. From the Maastricht Treaty to intellectual property law, here are some of the topics they addressed.
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As the native city of composer Ludwig van Beethoven, Bonn seems to be an appropriate location for a meeting of the International Literary and Artistic Association (ALAI); a society dedicated to protecting the interests of creative individuals. ALAI has roots in the 19th century, when in 1878 the French writer Victor Hugo founded the society in order to promote recognition of the legal protection of authors for their intellectual work.
The post Celebrating 50 years of the German Copyright Act at ALAI appeared first on OUPblog.
The infrequency of two high-profile songsters or their representatives going all the way to trial over claims of copyright infringement means that such a case usually receives heightened public scrutiny. This is especially so when mere sampling of the plaintiff's song is not at issue. In recent years, few cases have drawn more public attention than the dispute between the Marvin Gaye estate and singer/songwriter Robin Thicke and song producer Pharrell Williams, over whether the song "Blurred Lines" infringed Marvin Gaye's 1977 hit, "Got to Give It Up."
The post The “Blurred Lines” of music and copyright: Part two appeared first on OUPblog.
A peppy beat and bassline. Cowbell. An ecstatic whoop in the background. Make a note, because all these elements now belong to family of Marvin Gaye. Or do they? The recent verdict against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams in the 'Blurred Lines' case has perplexed followers of the music industry. One might think the ruling was a vindication of the rights of artists, but composers like Bonnie McKee see it differently.
The post The “Blurred Lines” of music and copyright: Part one appeared first on OUPblog.
In 2010, Aaron Swartz, a 26-year-old computer programmer and founder of Reddit, downloaded thousands of scholarly articles from the online journal archive JSTOR. He had legal access to the database through his research fellowship at Harvard University; he also, however, had a history of dramatic activism against pay-for-content online services, having previously downloaded and released roughly 100,000,000 documents from the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) database, which charges eight cents per page to access public files. Given his status as a prominent “hacktivist” and the sheer quantity of files involved, law enforcement agents concluded that Swartz planned to distribute the cache of articles and indicted him on multiple felony counts carrying a possible sentence of $1 million in fines and 35 years in prison.
Swartz was slated to go to trial this year but committed suicide in early January, prompting a public outcry against the prosecution in his case. Swartz was a prominent voice in the heated debate surrounding modern copyright law and public access and use (see his 2008 “Guerrilla Open Access Manifesto”). New York’s current issue contains a great feature from Wesley Yang discussing Swartz’s activism, his life, and the controversy in which he was embroiled.
In the ongoing debate over Swartz’s prosecution, we’ve pulled together a brief reading list on the issues surrounding American copyright in the digital age from OUP’s stable:
Copyright’s Paradox by Neil Weinstock Netanel
Netanel weighs current IP law against the basic right of freedom of speech. Like Swartz, he finds it unacceptably constricting.
The Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law: Intellectual Property by Dan Hunter
A concise overview of the current state and history of IP law in America from a prominent New York University IP expert.
Copyright and Mass Digitization by Maurizio Borghi and Stavroula Karapapa
Two UK scholars discuss “whether mass digitisation is consistent with existing copyright principles.”
How to Fix Copyright by William Patry
A Senior Copyright Counsel at Google takes a look at the changing economic realities of the globalizing, digitizing world and concludes that our government must “remake our copyright laws to fit our times.”
Democracy of Sound by Alex Sayf Cummings
An overview of music piracy stretching back to the advent of recorded sound. The RIAA made headlines throughout the last decade by litigating against users who shared music online, but musicians, record companies, songwriters, and fans were navigating this territory for nearly a century before the Internet became a factor.
Unfair to Genius: The Strange and Litigious Career of Ira B. Arnstein by Gary Rosen
The story of one early 20th century musician who spent decades conducting high-profile lawsuits against the leading pop icons of the day. Though he never won a single case, Ira Arnstein managed to have a significant impact on the shape of music copyright through the decisions in his numerous cases.
Without Copyrights: Piracy, Publishing, and the Public Domain by Robert Spoo
Spoo homes in on the contested publication of Ulysses to reveal the impact on copyright of literary modernism (and vice versa). Characters such as Ezra Pound, the infamous publisher Samuel Roth, and of course James Joyce flesh out a revealing story about artists grappling with free speech and authorship.
Oxford University Press is committed to developing outstanding resources to support students, scholars, and practitioners in all areas of the law. Our practitioner programme continues to grow, with key texts in commercial law, arbitration and private international law, plus the innovative new ebook version of Blackstone’s Criminal Practice. We are also delighted to announce the new edition of the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, one of the most trusted reference resources in international law. In addition to the books you can find on this page, OUP publishes a wide range of law journals and online products.
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“It was brand new, it was relatively unregulated, and it posed a mortal threat to the music business as it existed at that time, because it was making the product available for free to the public.” That sounds like a discussion of digital music, but it’s a comment on the introduction of radio in the early 20th century.
In this video, Gary A. Rosen, an intellectual property lawyer, explains that the radio industry made the same arguments as digital music providers in their similar battles with the music industry, nearly 100 years apart. The long and tortured career of Ira B. Arnstein, “the unrivaled king of copyright infringement plaintiffs,” opens a curious window into the evolution of copyright law in the United States and the balance of power in Tin Pan Alley. Although Arnstein never won a case, author Gary A. Rosen shows that the decisions rendered ultimately defined some of the basic parameters of copyright law. Arnstein’s most consequential case, against a dumbfounded Cole Porter, established precedents that have provided the foundation for successful suits against George Harrison, Michael Bolton, and many others.
The music industry, radio in the 1920s, and the Internet today
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Ira Arnstein and the origin of “Unfair to Genius”
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Gary A. Rosen is the author of Unfair to Genius: The Strange and Litigious Career of Ira B. Arnstein. He has practiced intellectual property law for more than 25 years. Before entering private practice, he served as a law clerk to federal appellate judge and award-winning legal historian A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.
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The post The music industry, change, and copyright appeared first on OUPblog.
A stray Google search brought me to Cartoon Stock, a stock art service. I admit I'm not fan of stock art agencies, but I was puzzled by this "vintage" cartoon, for which Cartoon Stock claims to own the reproduction rights. Below the cartoon is the statement, "Copyright in this image is owned by the original artist." The cartoonist is John Leech, and he died in 1864. This can't possibly be correct
Cintiq 21UX
I did it.
I said I didn't see the use -- I already feel 100% natural on the regular
Wacom tablet, but watching the demo videos and realizing I could pivot the
Cintiq around like an animation board was something I hadn't thought about. I've got a new picture book in the works with old NYC in perspective and I don't use straight edges so I've got to be able to tilt the tablet to draw accurate lines.
Here's how I'm set up, L-shaped desks (actually cheap
Ikea dining tables) and my chair with arms removed and set at maximum height. I have a stool under my desk for my feet. I had thought to put the
Cintiq straddling both desks (diagonally) and keep the keyboard on the left for typing software shortcuts in Painter/
Photoshop -- but decided to go cold turkey and get used to using the
Cintiq tabs for the shortcuts I use most often.
My other two concerns in investing in the
Cintiq were messing up the screen with my palm (I'm the type to yell "DON'T TOUCH THE SCREEN" if anyone so much as points in the direction of one of my monitors) and secondly, it seems to me that perching bent-necked over a table again is a step backwards in terms of ergonomics. Time will tell. Stay tuned.
I just hope you love yours as much as I love mine!
Congrats on the new picture book! Your artwork is wonderful. I hope the new Cintiq works well for you.
just found your blog thru Jacketflap. I'm enjoying looking around in it. You mentioned that you updated your website recently. I can't find a link on your blog to your website... where are you hiding it?
oh... nice work!
SHERRY: It is a beautiful machine. First thing I thought was -- YAY --it looks just like a monster version of my Intuos 3! Then I turned it on. Definitely the nicest "monitor" I own.
KRISTI: Thank you! First proofs are back from the printer and KITCHEN DANCE is almost a real book!
DOUG: Wow, can't believe I didn't have a link to my site. Now I do -- thanks for letting me know!
thanks, I found the link to you website.
You have some great looking work there!