| New Documents |
RIAA: Petition
to LOC for rule making and arbitration re copyright royalties for
music that is streamed or downloaded on the Internet, 11/29 (HTML,
TLJ).
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| New and Updated Sections |
Calendar
(updated daily).
News
from Around the Web (updated daily).
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| Quote of the Day |
"RIAA believes that it should be possible to launch services
that make On-Demand Streams and Limited Downloads under the existing
statutory framework while respecting the copyright protection that
ensures the continuation of the creative process. However, record
companies take very seriously their obligations under copyright law,
and it is simply not clear what licenses are required to operate
these services."
RIAA, from its Petition
to the Copyright Office, Nov. 29. |
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| News Briefs |
11/29. Lernout &
Hauspie filed a Chapter 11 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court (DDel). It
makes speech recognition and language translation software products,
including Voice Xpress. The filing was made by Lernout & Hauspie
Speech Products NV, Dictaphone Corporation, and L&H Holdings
USA, Inc. In Belgium, a concordaat reorganization filing will be
made by Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV. See, LH
release.
11/29. The NTIA
and the U.S. Copyright
Office held a joint hearing on the DMCA and copyright law.
The hearing focused on the effects of Title 1 of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the development of electronic
commerce on the operation of §§ 109 and 117 of Title 17 of the
U.S. Code.
11/29. The Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA) filed a petition
with the U.S. Copyright
Office requesting that it conduce a formal rulemaking
proceeding, and if necessary, convene the Copyright Arbitration
Royalty Panel, to establish the royalty obligations of companies
offering online on demand streaming of music, and downloads of
music. See, RIAA
release.
11/29. European
Patent Organisation (EPO) concluded a nine day meeting on
revising the 1973
European Patent Convention. Roland Grossenbacher, Chairman of
the Administrative Council of the EPO, stated that "the
Conference agreed not to delete computer programs from the list of
non-patentable inventions. For the meantime, the existing legal
position therefore remains unchanged. The Conference's decision took
account of the process of consultation on the future of legal
protection in this field, and in no way challenges the existing
practice of the Office and its boards of appeal, or that of national
patent authorities and courts. As before, computer-implemented
inventions can be patented if they involve a new and inventive
technical contribution to the state of the art. Technical solutions
for use in data processing or for carrying out methods of doing
business therefore remain patentable." See, statement
of Grossenbacher.
11/29. The Competitive
Telecommunications Association (CompTel) announced that it has
hired Dittus Communications to
lobby against passage of HR 2420. This bill, which is supported by
the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs), would exempt
interLATA data traffic from the requirements of Section
271. It is sponsored by half the membership of the House, and
will likely be reintroduced in the 107th Congress. See, CompTel release.
11/29. The USTR published a notice
in the Federal Register that it seeks public comments on the
proposed U.S. Singapore Free Trade Agreement. This notice
includes a request for comments on "Relevant trade-related intellectual
property rights issues that should be addressed in the
negotiations." The deadline for comments is Dec. 19. Fed. Reg.,
Nov. 29, 2000, Vol. 65, No. 230, Pages 71197 - 71198.
11/29. President Clinton announced that the U.S. and Chile have
agreed to start negotiations on a comprehensive bilateral Free Trade
Agreement (FTA). He further stated that this "agreement will
include labor and environmental provisions". See, Clinton
statement. The negotiations over the U.S. Singapore FTA also
include these non trade related social issues. President Elect Bush
will likely restrict FTA negotiations to trade related issues.
11/29. The U.S. Department of State's U.S. International
Telecommunication Advisory Committee's Telecommunication
Standardization National Committee's Study Group A held a public
meeting.
Editor's Note: This column includes all News Briefs added to
Tech Law Journal since the last Daily E-Mail Alert. The dates
indicate when the event occurred, not the date of posting to Tech
Law Journal. |
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Friday, Dec. 1
9:00 AM. The NTIA
will hold its second government industry meeting on Third
Generation wireless. This event is intended to provide
technical experts an opportunity to review and discuss the
Interim Report of the NTIA and the Interim Report of the FCC
released on November 15. Location: Herbert Hoover Building,
1401 Constitution Ave. NW, Room 4830, Washington DC, 20230.
See, NTIA's notice
and agenda and 3G
web page.
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