Archive
Category: Weblog
Random assortments, selected for semantic content.
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Dell Website Blunder Results in Bargains for All
According to an article in The Age, ‘[a] website blunder by Dell Australia has allowed hundreds of customers to order 250GB hard drives for AUD$8.80, almost [$200] less than the actual price. According to posts on the Whirlpool and Overclockers Australia online forums, customers successfully ordered the hard drives online from 8.00am on Monday until… Read more →
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The Difference Between Software and Drug Patents
Brookings Institute Scholar Ben Klemens has a nice little OpEd over on BI’s site about patent reform and why there is an important difference between software patents and other kinds of patents: However, the key distinction between a drug and a method for using a computer is that few of us own the equipment or… Read more →
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The Myopia of Classical Labels
As the BBC prepares to announce the tremendous success of its free Beethoven downloads, the Independent reports that classical labels are less than rhapsodic: This week the BBC will announce there have been more than a million downloads of the symphonies during the month-long scheme. But the initiative has infuriated the bosses of leading classical… Read more →
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Perzanowski Comments On Grokster
Since the recent judgment in Grokster, there has been a flurry of activity analysing whether the Court impliedly altered or repealed the Sony v Betamax standard of secondary liability under US copyright law. On an initial read through, it looks as if Grokster offers little substantive clarification of the liability standard. The Court framed its… Read more →
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MGM v Grokster Handed Down
Predictable result, interesting ratio. Originally by Wendy at Wendy’s Blog: Legal Tags, 12:24 PM Read more Read more →
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An Economic Analysis of Copyright Term Extensions
The Financial Times is running an interesting editorial about the state of American (and, with the enactment of the United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act 2004 (Cth), Australian) copyright law. Professor Boyle argues (rightly, I think) that current intellectual property protections go beyond what is necessary to promote innovation: Thomas Macaulay told us copyright… Read more →
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Patent System Flawed, Says IBM
Jim Stallings, vice-president of International Business Machines’ intellectual property and standards group, last week attacked the patent system as rewarding ‘bad behaviour’. He said it encourages the stockpiling and oppressive use of patents: ‘There has been a dramatic increase in the number of filings of patents recently, around the world, but particularly in the United… Read more →
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Grokster Appeal News Roundup
Yesterday, oral arguments were presented to the Supreme Court of the United States by the parties in MGM Studios v Grokster. There has been extensive news coverage of the appeal, which is important for a number of reasons — both legal and social. As the analysis begins to trickle in, I’ll post relevant links here:… Read more →
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Closing Arguments Delivered in Universal Music v Sharman License Holdings
With Universal Music due to conclude its case against Sharman Networks next week, users and copyright pundits will soon find out whether this peer-to-peer (‘P2P’) file-sharing application is permissible in the Australian jurisdiction. Concluding arguments were last week submitted to Wilcox J of the Federal Court of Australia, marking the end to another chapter in… Read more →
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MGM v Grokster Ltd Amici Curiae Briefs Filed
Inter alios, 17 professors of computer science have made amici submissions to the United States Supreme Court concerning MGM’s forthcoming appeal. The brief likens peer-to-peer network topologies to those underpinning the Internet, and in its technical precision (and, for the large part, apoliticism) brings much needed clarity to a debate frequently clouded by self-interest and… Read more →