The Copykat

This CopyKat by Tibbie McIntyre

The WS Society – Intellectual Property Conference – xx April

You are warmly invited to attend the upcoming Intellectual Property Conference hosted past times the WS Society. The lawsuit volition lead maintain house on Th xx Apr 2017, 9:00am – 1:00pm, at The Signet Library inwards Edinburgh.

The lawsuit promises to furnish a wealth of information in addition to intelligence for IP practitioners, amongst panels covering;

-          The United Kingdom of Great Britain in addition to Northern Ireland IP organisation post Brexit

-          Recent developments inwards IP contracts in addition to licensing agreements

-          Brexit, PGIs in addition to merchandise marks

-          IP inwards the Scottish FinTech sector – a illustration study

-          Panel session: the experiences of in-house counsel – what’s on their agenda?

-          Case police update – touching on in addition to implications

Speakers at the conference offering a broad arrive at of expertise, including Stephen Rowan of the IPO, Ross Nicol of Maclay Murray & Spens, Mark Cruickshank of RBS and Anoop Joshi of Brodies. Gill Grassie will chair the conference.

The 24-hour interval should furnish a valuable forum for IP practitioners to run into in addition to verbalize over the impending impacts of Brexit on IP. For farther information, delight consider the information page.

Seizure of over 10,000 pirated textbooks inwards Kenya

Pirated textbooks worth roughly Sh5.5 1000000 were seized Digital Economy Bill (“the Bill”) is currently making its agency through the United Kingdom of Great Britain in addition to Northern Ireland Parliament. The Bill deals amongst a diverseness of issues, including ticket touting, broadband provision in addition to digital copyright. The digital copyright provisions are peculiarly controversial because a copyright infringer that causes any loss of coin to a copyright holder will autumn nether the criminal liability provisions. Opponents of the electrical flow draft debate that the broad definitions inwards the criminal liability provision puts casual file-sharers at peril of prison-time. Additionally, the maximum prison theatre term for copyright infringement is to last increased five-fold from 2 to x years. TorrentFreak posits a nightmarish scenario for a missy who downloads a unmarried celluloid afterwards the passing of the Bill.

A grouping of experts sent a letter to the United Kingdom of Great Britain in addition to Northern Ireland Government final calendar week tilt that the criminal liability at Clause 35 of the Bill is besides wide. (*N.B. the alphabetic quality refers to clause 28 because it was published earlier the latest amendment of the Bill.) The alphabetic quality argues that clause 35 is non compatible amongst the foreseeability in addition to proportionality principles constitute inwards European Union police in addition to the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”).

The foreseeability test

Per the alphabetic quality sent to the government, the foreseeability test

“requires that the police needs to last sufficiently clear in addition to precise inwards its price to afford individuals an adequate indication of the circumstances where, in addition to the weather condition upon which, online copyright infringement may attach criminal liability i.e. specifically inwards peculiarly serious or commercial-scale online copyright infringement cases.”

The electrical flow drafting of the provision is broad plenty to envision that an private could potentially pass x years inwards prison theatre for sharing i file. The writers of the alphabetic quality debate that “the Bill should explicitly nation that criminal liability may attach alone to commercial-scale or peculiarly serious copyright infringers.”

The proportionality test

It is argued inwards the alphabetic quality that clause 35 does non adhere to the proportionality attempt constitute inside European Union police in addition to the ECHR. Proportionality every bit it is applied to network usage monitoring inwards investigating suspected infringers is used to bolster the declaration that the provision inwards clause 35 is besides broad to last proportionate. In the illustration of proportionality of network usage monitoring, 2 factors are of importance;

1.       The depth in addition to scale of the network usage monitoring

2.       The scale of the infringement against which the monitoring is beingness carried out (commercial-scale would last justified, whereas it is to a greater extent than hard to justify network usage monitoring inwards small-scale infringement)

The number amongst the electrical flow drafting inwards price of adherence to the proportionality regulation is that in that place is no differentiation betwixt commercial-scale in addition to small-scale infringement.

The solution

The solution, every bit proposed, would last to draft the provision in addition to thus that ‘commercial-scale loss’ of income past times copyright holders attracts criminal liability, rather than any loss. Additionally, ‘risk of loss’ should non attract criminal liability inwards infringement circumstances, in addition to alone ‘serious peril of causing commercial scale loss’ should attract criminal liability. This small-scale amendment would elevator the threshold for criminal liability to apply to those seeking to generate income from copyright infringement, rather than to embrace individuals engaging inwards non-commercial infringement.

The Bill is due to lead maintain its 3^rd reading inwards the House of Lords this Wednesday, 5^th April 2017. We aspect amongst anticipation every bit to whether this amendment volition last made.

US Supreme Court NOT to listen illustration on whether rubber harbour applies to pre-1972 music recordings

The U.S. of America Supreme courtroom has refused to listen the appeal filed past times Capitol records relating to pre-1972 vocal recordings. The judgement handed downwardly past times the 2^nd Circuit on xvi June 2016 stands.

Background – rubber harbour

Safe harbour is the qualified limitation of liability for hosting providers which host 3rd political party content, where users lead maintain uploaded copyrighted content (the police tin last found here). Both the DMCA in addition to the 1976 Copyright Act (which the DMCA amended) are federal laws because they emanate from Congress – the rubber harbour regulation is a creation of federal law. The 1971 Sound Recordings Amendment Act - an Act designed to protect against unauthorised duplication and piracy of audio recordings - is also a creation of federal law. The 1971 Sound Recordings Amendment Act came inwards to forcefulness inwards 1972.

At stake inwards this illustration was whether pre-1972 audio recordings are covered nether the rubber harbour rule, since pre-1972 audio recordings are protected nether nation law rather than federal law.

Capitol Records et al. argued that the rubber harbour dominion should non apply to pre-1972 vocal recordings, thereby inducing liability for Vimeo for the uploading of pre-1972 vocal recordings onto its platform.

The 2^nd circuit courtroom constitute for Vimeo, stating that “we notice no ground to dubiousness that § 512(c) [the rubber harbour provision] … protects service providers from all liability for infringement of copyright, in addition to non only from liability nether the federal statute.” This determination stands, in addition to all infringement of copyright on Vimeo et al. past times 3^rd party users is withal covered past times the rubber harbour principle.

UK’s PRS for Music launches novel online tool for alive music performances

PRS for Music late launched a new online tool designed to assist rights holders deal royalty income from alive performances.

The online tool allows users to upload laid upwards lists or programmes from performances whilst on the motility amongst a telephone or tablet. Over 1,000 laid upwards lists in addition to programmes were reported to PRS inwards the outset 24 hours of the launch, roofing performances across 23 countries. The relaxation in addition to convenience of the novel tool is an essential constituent inwards helping rights holders gain income from their copyrighted works. Members tin study all alive performances – including a small-scale gig at a pub, DJing at a club, a classical concert or a sold-out stadium show.

PRS for Music members should log on to their online describe of piece of employment organisation human relationship in addition to click ‘report your performance’ to access the novel tool.                                                     

Reintroduction of Fair Play, Fair Pay Act inwards the US

A grouping of bipartisan legislators inwards the U.S. of America have reintroduced a nib which is designed to set AM/FM radio into the same province of affairs every bit webcasters – such every bit Pandora in addition to iHeartRadio.  AM/FM radio stations pay nada to perform music yet webcasters are required to pay statutory royalties for playing music on their online radio platforms.

A articulation declaration from the bipartisan grouping stated that "Our electrical flow music licensing laws are antiquated in addition to unfair, which is why nosotros necessitate a organisation that ensures all radio services play past times the same rules in addition to all artists are fairly compensated."

A declaration past times Content Creators Coalition asserted that "for decades, artists lead maintain been forced to allow their music generate billions of dollars of advertising turn a profit to the corporate investors of radio companies spell non beingness paid i cent for their art. It is past times fourth dimension for Congress to correct this wrong."