Federal court broadens DMCA safe harbors

via CNET News.com: In a 56-page order handed down June 22, U.S. District Court Judge Lourdes Baird muddied the already troubled waters of determining what Internet businesses qualify for the "safe harbor" provisions of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Best of the Web

Forbes.com Best of the Web

Linux Scare Tactics

via Forbes.com: "It used to be that enemies of Linux were the ones spreading 'fear, uncertainty and doubt' about the free operating system. Now the F.U.D. comes from Linux zealots themselves, who believe they have found a way to make money on it. "

Summer Reading for Smart Leaders

via Fast Company: "Skip the business books when you head for the beach, and try novels that teach leadership, purpose, and ambition."

John Kerry's real tech agenda

via CNET News.com: A careful review of Kerry's history in the Senate shows that his record on technology is mixed.

LinuxWorld's San Francisco shindig

via CNET News.com. As the LinuxWorld show kicks off in San Francisco, everyone wants a piece of the open-source action.

Life 2.0

via Forbes.com: "In Life 2.0 you'll meet real folks who are living larger lives in smaller places right now--people who have found a fulfilling Second Act for their lives. I met them during personal visits over past two years, when I set out in a small airplane to fly around the country and have a look at how Americans were coping with major structural changes in the economy. During this journey I met countless ordinary folks doing stunning, creative things with their work and lives in places you'd least expect. "

No Matter What You Call It, the Inducing Infringement of Copyright Act Spells Trouble

Fred Wilhelms Commentary via Streamingmedia.com: What the bill boils down to is giving copyright holders a virtual veto power over any technological development that could possibly be used to distribute copyrighted material. It gives them this power by establishing contributory liability under copyright law for anyone who creates, develops, implements, or distributes technology (hardware or software) that is capable of disseminating copyrighted material without compensation to the copyright holders.

German Court OKs Use of GPL

via GROKLAW: "[A] court in Germany has just confirmed the earlier preliminary injunction in the netfilter/iptables case -- the GPL is valid in Germany. "

Senator wants to ban P2P networks

via CNET News.com: "Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he intended to move ahead with the highly controversial Induce Act despite objections from dozens of Internet providers and Silicon Valley manufacturers. The Induce Act says 'whoever intentionally induces any violation' of copyright law would be legally liable for those violations. "

Antipiracy bill gains new ally

via CNET News.com: "In a move that's alarming technology firms, the U.S. Copyright Office is about to endorse new legislation that would outlaw peer-to-peer networks and possibly some consumer electronics devices that could be used for copyright piracy. "

The Parody Not in the Logo

via Tech Law Advisor: "Hit & Run and BoingBoing are abusing Miller Brewing for protecting its copyright and trademark in the Miller logo from an L.A. based manufacturer of 'It's Mullet Time' t-shirts. Granted the t-shirts (posted on BoingBoing) are cool, but I believe this example is similar to the OJ/Cat in the Hat parody and not one worth fighting over."

Obcenity and Community Standards Lawsuit

via Infothought: "EFF Deep Links has an article 'Will Obscenity Ruling Break Online Anonymity?' about the Nitke vs. Ashcroft case regarding obscenity law, and 'community standards' applied to the Internet."

Playmakers LLC v. ESPN

via The Trademark Blog: "Ninth Circuit affirms denial of preliminary injunction sought by sports agency with registration for PLAYMAKERS, against ESPN's use of PLAYMAKERS for dramatic series on sports. Court relied on weakness of mark, differences in services, differences in channels of trade and sophistication of clients selecting sports agency services."

TiVo's plans lead to copyright fight

via MSNBC: "Hollywood studios and the National Football League are seeking to block the maker of the popular TiVo television recorder from expanding its service so that users could watch copies of shows and movies on devices outside their homes."
The slashdot  discussion on this.

Open Arms for Open-Source News

via Wired News:: "Following in the footsteps of past community journalism projects that sought to give individuals a voice in local news, as well as the growing trend in news-like blogs, The Northwest Voice is giving residents of Bakersfield's northwest neighborhoods near-total control of content. An editor is on hand largely to ensure that articles, letters and photographs submitted through the publication's Web-based content-management system adhere to a minimal set of standards, and to choose the best submissions for inclusion in the print edition. "

Copyright Bill to Kill Tech?

via Wired News:: "The Senate Judiciary Committee will consider a bill Thursday that would hold technology companies liable for any product they make that encourages people to steal copyright materials."

Not Closing GPL 'Loopholes'

via LawMeme: "Clever ways to skirt the GPL have become a hot topic. The community is discussing whether a developer can revoke a customer's support subscription when the customer redistributes GPLed software. I have little to add to that debate, but I've drafted a paper suggesting one way the GPL could be modified to close this kind of loophole. The paper is entitled Collateral Restrictions and the GPL."

SCO DaimlerChrysler Unix Lawsuit Dismissal

via CNET News.com: "SCO had alleged DaimlerChrysler violated the Unix software agreement by refusing to certify it was in compliance with the contract. DaimlerChrysler was required to certify it was using the Unix software only on specific computer processors, according to the contract.
When SCO sued, DaimlerChrysler hadn't certified that it was in compliance with the agreement, but it had done so by the time it responded in April--saying it had completely stopped using the Unix software years earlier. "

HP feared MS open source patent offensive

via The Register: "A senior executive at Hewlett Packard two years ago expressed fears that Microsoft would use its patent portfolio to close down the company's open source efforts. The concerns were expressed in a June 2002 memo by Gary Campbell, and HP confirmed their authenticity to Newsforge's Joe Barr."