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Lawsuit Seeks to Put Sherlock Holmes in the Public Domain
Author and scholar Leslie Klinger has filed suit in federal court last week against the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate, asking the court to declare that the famous characters of Sherlock Holmes and John H. Watson are no longer protected by federal copyright laws.
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Publishers Blast New Open Access Bill, FASTR
Once again, Congress has introduced a bill that would mandate public access to publicly-funded federal research, ramping up the the tension between publishers and the research community. The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR) was introduced in Congress yesterday, February 14, on a bi-partisan basis. The bill would require that federal agencies with annual extramural research budgets of $100 million provide the public with online access to research manuscripts stemming from publicly-funded research no later than six months after publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
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U.S. Attorneys May Weigh in On GSU E-Reserves Case
In a brief filed last week in the Georgia State e-reserves case, U.S. attorneys asked for a 21-day extension "in which to file any amicus brief in support of appellants, or in support of neither party."
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Information Activist Aaron Swartz Dead at 26
Aaraon Swartz, the brilliant but troubled young activist and programmer, has died, in an apparent suicide. While details were still emerging, the Internet this morning was abuzz with news of his tragic passing. He was just 26 years old. "There is no way to express the sadness of this day," blogged Lawrence Lessig.
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‘At the Crossroads of Legal Code, Computer code, and the Codex’: In Re Books Presentations Now Online
On October 26 and 27—yes, just before Hurricane Sandy slammed the Northeast—New York Law School held In re Books, a “conference on law and the future of books.” Couldn’t make it to the conference? No problem—the full video of the conference is now available online, with downloadable versions ready soon. And check out Grimmelmann’s personal reflections on the program at the PWxyz blog.
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Appeal Filings Outline Authors Guild’s Objections to HathiTrust Opinion
With a new round of filings hitting the docket last week, the Authors Guild appeal of Judge Harold Baer’s landmark copyright decision is underway. The broad appeal raises a handful of key questions on which the AG is seeking review by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, including whether the district court erred in finding the scan plan to be fair use.
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Change You Can Believe In: ALA Preview 2013
Since the release of the Republican Study Committee’s copyright reform report several weeks ago, a discussion has ignited among various interest groups about whether a fundamental revision of copyright law is needed.
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Overruled: PW Talks to ARL’s Brandon Butler: ALA Preview 2013
Sure, for the general observer, 2012 might well be remembered as a year of frustration for libraries, dominated by the lingering impasse over e-book lending.
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Authors Guild Appeals Loss in Book Scanning Case
The Authors Guild has notified the court that it will appeal Judge Harold Baer’s landmark October 10 ruling in the Authors Guild vs. HathiTrust case.
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Publishers Ordered to Pay $3 Million in GSU Copyright Case
Not only did publishers not get the injunctive relief they sought in a closely watched case over e-reserves, last week they paid the tab.
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Supreme Court Probes ‘Parade of Horribles’ in Wiley Case
At the forefront: whether a ruling for Wiley might harm secondary markets and incentivize manufacturers, including publishers, to move their operations overseas in a bid to further control downstream distribution.
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As Wiley Case Heads to the Supreme Court, Libraries Join “Owners Rights” Coalition
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on October 29 that could decide whether long-held “first sale” rights under the Copyright Act extend to goods manufactured overseas. But a newly formed coalition of business and libraries is already anticipating the next front in the battle: Congress.
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Unintended Consequences In the HathiTrust Case
Digitization proponents and library advocates hailed the October 10 decision in the Authors Guild v. HathiTrust case as an unequivocal, emphatic victory for fair use.
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Authors Guild Pondering Next Steps in HathiTrust Lawsuit
The Authors Guild had no immediate comment on Wednesday’s court decision in the HathiTrust case, but in a post on its Web site this morning the Guild said it “disagree[s] with nearly every aspect of the court’s ruling.”
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Google Scanning Is Fair Use Says Judge
In a major ruling, Federal judge Harold Baer this week tossed the Authors Guild case against the HathiTrust. In granting the HathiTrust’s motion for summary judgment, Baer ruled that that the scan program was a clear fair use under the the copyright law.
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Publishers Settle Google Books Lawsuit
The Association of American Publishers and Google’s agreement last week to settle the publishers’ long-running litigation over Google’s library scanning program put an end to the lengthy and expensive suit, but without resolving any of the underlying copyright and fair use issues. The main component of the deal: copyright owners with books scanned by Google under its library program can choose to “opt out” of the program and have their books removed. Of course, that settlement condition is something Google has offered copyright owners with books in the program all along.
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Google, Publishers Settle Lawsuit over Book Scanning
It’s over—at least for publishers. The Association of American Publishers and Google today announced they have settled their long-running litigation over Google’s library book scanning.
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Going Public
Talks between librarians and publishers are set to continue this week on the long-simmering e-book issue, including an AAP-sponsored discussion featuring ALA president Maureen Sullivan on September 27. Frustrated by a lack of progress, however, and in some cases regression, on the e-book issue, ALA officials are taking their case beyond the boardrooms, directly to their patrons and supporters. In an open letter obtained by PW, ALA president Maureen Sullivan raises the stakes in the e-book debate, asking readers: “which side will you be on.”
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Appeals Court Grants Stay of Google Proceedings
In an order filed Monday morning, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay, with the consent of the parties, in the Authors Guild vs. Google case until after it issues its decision on Judge Denny Chin’s May 31 ruling granting the case class action status.
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Publishers Appeal 'Flawed' Decision in GSU E-Reserves Case
The three publisher plaintiffs in the Georgia State University e-reserve case yesterday lodged an appeal with the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking to overturn one of the most significant fair use rulings in decades.
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