Google settles with Authors Guild, et al

The scanning of books by Google was the subject of a number of lawsuits, including the AAP, the Author's Guild, and a number of publishers directly. I don't know how I missed it, but it looks like they settled recently.

More from PW here.

National Center for State Courts decide to let the RIAA drive for awhile

David Kravets with some righteous anger at the National Center for State Courts, for a pamphlet full of factual errors intended, it seems, to scare people into the RIAA position on file sharing.

He wasn't tough enough, IMO, on the NCSC for putting out a pamphlet with errors, since they are a body intended to help State courts (though why a state court would be the setting for a copyright violation I don't know).

SCOTUS declines to take on MLB stats case

Their action leaves stand the rights of the public to use statistics without the need to obtain permission. In particular, fantasy game producers need not pay fees to MBL or the MLBPA to use baseball statistics in their games.

Finally a victory for the public in a copyright case.

Clip licensing clearinghouse?

This would be a very cool thing for those of us in the clearance business.

The SAG comments seems to be mere posturing by me (worried about "overexposure" indeed!). But posturing over small things led to the writers' strike in the first place.

Did the music industry take a sane pill? Or just run out of people to sue?

Music industry embraces peer-to-peer sharing.

About fricking time.

Most translated works

Way to go Iceland.

fedexfurniture.com

Fedexfurniture.com is a site by a guy who has made functional furniture (chairs, beds, etc) completely out of Fed-Ex packaging. Its actually kinda funny--take a look.

Of course, Fed-Ex couldn't resist sending him a letter about it, and (typical for in-house corporate counsel, who send out overreaching letters all the time to justify their salary) they completely mangle the law. The Stanford letter is a nice recap and bitchslap. Check out both, under "Legal Issues" on their site.

Recording Industry now attacks personal use

You copy your own CDs onto your own computer?

Pretty soon they will sue everyone for even listening to a song, since it is clear that you are both hearing the broadcast and reproducing that broadcast in your head.