[solaris]

How many copyright violations does an average user commit in a single day? John Tehranian, a law professor at the University of Utah, calculates in a new paper that he rings up $12.45 million in liability over the course of an average day. The gap between what the law allows and what social norms permit is so great now that "we are, technically speaking, a nation of infringers."

Singing "Happy Birthday" at a restaurant (unauthorized public performance) and capturing the event on a video camera (unauthorized reproduction) could increase his liability, and that's to say nothing of the copyrighted artwork hanging on the wall behind the dinner table (also captured without authorization by the camera). Tehranian calculates his yearly liability at $4.5 billion.

Full article here: Overly-broad copyright law has made USA a "nation of infringers"

[vikulenka]

Originally Posted by solaris

Full article here: Overly-broad copyright law has made USA a "nation of infringers"

Good thing I retired Betty Boop!!

[solaris]

Originally Posted by vikulenka

Good thing I retired Betty Boop!!

Yeah, but I might be in trouble with my Solaris avatar

[TEPLimey]

The author of that article (not the law review article) seems to know very little about the actual ins and outs of American copyright law.

[squash54]

Originally Posted by solaris

Full article here: Overly-broad copyright law has made USA a "nation of infringers"

Another interesting aspect of the professor's paper is his reference to s.203 of the US Copyright Act. I wasn't aware that this gives the original owner of the copyright work (and their heirs) the right to terminate any assigment or licence granted after 1978, after 35 years. That is, the estate of Elvis, for example, can say to Sony (if that's who holds the rights) from 2013 'your sacked, we don't need you'.

On the other hand, the author points out that the RIAA could start turning a dollar out of infringement litigation, particularly as the ISP's data logs make detection and proof much easier than has previously been the case.

As the saying goes - 'It's an ill wind.....'

[Dave C]

Originally Posted by vikulenka

Good thing I retired Betty Boop!!

You think you've got problems, I've got Hanna-Barbera kicking in my door,
Cheers,
Dave C©

[vikulenka]

Originally Posted by Dave C

You think you've got problems, I've got Hanna-Barbera kicking in my door,
Cheers,
Dave C©

Who's Hanna-Barbera? The only Hanna I'm aware of i Hanna-Montana

[solaris]

Originally Posted by vikulenka

Who's Hanna-Barbera? The only Hanna I'm aware of i Hanna-Montana

I'm sure that you're only joking, sweet princess - but just in case you're not: It's the creators of The Flintstones

[vikulenka]

Originally Posted by solaris

I'm sure that you're only joking, sweet princess - but just in case you're not: It's the creators of The Flintstones

I did not know that.

I did, however, overhear on CNN (!!!) this morning that Hanna Montana is bigger than the Beatles!

[solaris]

Originally Posted by vikulenka

I did not know that.

I did, however, overhear on CNN (!!!) this morning that Hanna Montana is bigger than the Beatles!

Hannah Montana I know... but who's The Beatles