Mar
25
2011
In the rush to take advantage of the boom in the apps market, developers may have–consciously or not–overlooked the fact that some of the software building blocks they were using to create apps were governed by their own license restrictions, which may have been violated by the developers. A recent report published by OpenLogic found that 7 out of 10 apps that contained open source software were in severe breach of the open source license requirements. Continue Reading »
Email the author
Sep
22
2010
As we recently reported here, a new Internet-connected software application, called “ivi tv”, was just released that allows pc, mac and linux end users to stream live feeds from over-the-air television stations to their computers anywhere in the world. Unlike other online content distributors, however, the start-up recently confirmed that it has elected not to negotiate with the copyright holders for the license of its programming, and has instead elected to wager its future on a seemingly liberal interpretation of certain provisions of the Copyright Act (the “Act”), which permit qualifying “cable systems” to rebroadcast over-the-air television signals upon the payment of certain statutorily mandated revenues (see Section 111).
As we suspected, the response from the entertainment community has been swift, and the company has since received a barrage of cease and desist letters from television networks, movie studios, sports leagues, broadcasters, syndicators and others in the entertainment industry alleging that the operation of the service as currently conducted amounts to copyright infringement. In response, the company has now filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in Seattle district court alleging that by complying with the Act’s compulsory licensing scheme in Section 111 “it has not infringed any of the copyrights owned by the any of the Defendants.”
We will obviously keep an eye on future developments as this complaint now moves its way through the court system and the entertainment industry’s forthcoming response.
Email the author
Apr
21
2010
Earlier this month, the DC Court of Appeals dealt a blow to the FCC’s “net neutrality” initiatives when it held that the Commission did not have the authority to sanction Comcast for employing network management practices that targeted users of P2P applications. However, by basing its reasoning on a straightforward (and not surprising) interpretation of the Communications Act of 1934, the Court’s decision cannot be called a knock-out and it is likely that we will see a tactical shift in the FCC’s efforts to implement net neutrality regulations. Continue Reading »
Email the author
Nov
08
2009
We had recently written about how a dispute over the ownership of certain IP threatened to derail eBay’s proposed sale of Skype. Reports last week have revealed that Skype and parent eBay Inc. have reached a definitive settlement agreement with Skype’s founders that resolves litigation over the critical GI technology necessary to run Skype and removes the major obstacle that threatened the $1.9 billion cash deal for Skype. Under the terms of the settlement, Zennstrom and Friis will join the investor group and in exchange for contributing Joltid’s GI technology, they will receive a 14 percent stake in Skype, effectively regaining part ownership of their creation. The other investors will hold 56 percent of Skype with eBay to retain the remaining 30 percent. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Email the author
for Playlist
