Well hasnt it been an interesting few weeks in the realm of copyright/internet law! I've been following the fall of SOPA/PIPA in the USA and for those that havent there is a list of articles at the bottom of this post if you want to catch up. Needless to say grassroots protesting has, it seems at least for now, killed off both of these Bills and while they may yet reemerge under a different name for now let me say - A JOB WELL DONE! There were many sites that blacked out in protest, including of course Wikipedia and a massive online movement formed to prepare and sign petitions and contact local Government representatives to express concerns about the proposed laws. I also recommend the TechDirt Archives for those keen to read up on what happened.
Now it seems that global attention has been drawn to these issues - isnt it amazing when something you have followed for so long, seemingly in isolation, becomes a main stream issue! Now many are gearing up to try to stop the EU from signing ACTA. ACTA was drafted many moons ago and is no where near as bad as it first was when the negotiations began, indeed it will mean little changes to the law in both Australia and the United States but there are still some concerning points to it. For those looking to read up on ACTA and why there is now a response developing to it, I recommend this TechDirt article which simplifies some of the issues associated with it.
Disturbing news this week that there is now a move to globalise SOPA/PIPA through a new agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement- STAY TUNED - negotiations have only just begun and already it looks terrible. More as I find out about it.
Further Reading
TechDirt, What Is ACTA And Why Is It A Problem? (24 January 2012) < http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120124/11270917527/what-is-acta-why-is-it-problem.shtml > at 31 January 2012
ArsTechnica, SOPA protest by the numbers: 162M pageviews, 7 million signatures (19 January 2012) < http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/sopa-protest-by-the-numbers-162m-pageviews-7-million-signatures.ars > at 24 January 2012
ArsTechnica, Internet wins: SOPA and PIPA both shelved (20 January 2012) < http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/internet-wins-sopa-and-pipa-both-shelved.ars > at 24 January 2012
TechDirt, Andy Samberg, Neil Gaiman, Trent Reznor, Aziz Ansari, Adam Savage & More Tell Congress: Don't Pass PIPA Or SOPA In Our Names (18 January 2012) < http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120116/20581217426/andy-samberg-neil-gaiman-trent-reznor-aziz-ansari-adam-savage-more-tell-congress-dont-pass-pipa-sopa-our-names.shtml > at 24 January 2012
Digital Music News, Industry | Divided: These High-Profile Artists Are Now Fighting Against SOPA... (19 January 2012) < http://digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120118sopa > at 24 January 2012
Digital Music News, 32 Music Companies Have Publicly Supported SOPA. And 2 Have Opposed It... (17 January 2012) < http://digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/120113sopa > at 24 January 2012
TechDirt, Some Data On How Much The Big Media Firms Are Donating To SOPA/PIPA Sponsors (5 December 2011) < http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111203/00494716961/some-data-how-much-big-media-firms-are-donating-to-sopapipa-sponsors.shtml > at 8 December 2011
TechDirt, The Definitive Post On Why SOPA And Protect IP Are Bad, Bad Ideas (22 November 2011) < http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111122/04254316872/definitive-post-why-sopa-protect-ip-are-bad-bad-ideas.shtml > at 27 November 2011
ArsTechnica, The Stop Online Piracy Act: Big Content's full-on assault against the Safe Harbor (7 November 2011) < http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/11/the-stop-online-piracy-act-big-contents-full-on-assault-against-the-safe-harbor.ars > at 8 November 2011
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Rethink Music 2012
The ReThink Music Conference is making its second appearance - this year it is due to be held in Boston from 23 - 24th April 2012. Registration is now open with early bird rates disappearing on 17th February 2012.
"Rethink Music is a solutions-focused event, with workshops, presentations, and panels designed to foster solutions for tomorrow's music industry. Our goal is to give a voice to industry executives, musicians, and academics and create a real debate about how to move the industry forward."
You can find out more about the conference from the website here and keep up to date with the announcement of new speakers. Confirmed speakers so far include Chris Kaskie - President, Pitchfork, Jim Griffin - Managing Director, OneHouse LLC and Cecily Mak - Vice President and General Counsel, Rhapsody International Inc.
Also, be sure to check out their Genesis Project where you can submit ideas for new business models and win some fantastic prizes - here.
"Rethink Music is a solutions-focused event, with workshops, presentations, and panels designed to foster solutions for tomorrow's music industry. Our goal is to give a voice to industry executives, musicians, and academics and create a real debate about how to move the industry forward."
You can find out more about the conference from the website here and keep up to date with the announcement of new speakers. Confirmed speakers so far include Chris Kaskie - President, Pitchfork, Jim Griffin - Managing Director, OneHouse LLC and Cecily Mak - Vice President and General Counsel, Rhapsody International Inc.
Also, be sure to check out their Genesis Project where you can submit ideas for new business models and win some fantastic prizes - here.
I'm Back!!!
Hi again everyone - sorry I had a hard time getting back to my blog - holidays are so much fun! Hope you saw in the new year in style and that you had a break from work or study too. Not sure how often I am going to be able to write this year - last year I averaged about once a week unless something special came up and I'd imagine it will be much the same this year as I juggle a number of other commitments. Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoy the year in IP/IT/Political Music events...
Sal
Sal
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