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Monthly Archives: January 2012
A sure sign of increased enforcement efforts to come against alleged copyright infringers, the US Department of Justice took a bold step on January 19 when it shut down Hong Kong-based file-sharing service Megaupload.com. To say that Megaupload was a popular site would be an understatement – the site received four percent of all internet traffic on any given day, with 50 million daily visitors. Visitors to the site will now simply see a “seized” picture with the logos of the Justice Department, FBI and the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center. Megaupload is different from torrent file-sharing services in that Megaupload is more like a drop box for files. Internet users upload their files and then receive a hyperlink that they can share with others. Many internet users and companies used Megaupload’s services legitimately. They could upload files too large for e-mail or large files like software and then…
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2012 may shape up to be the most important year yet in terms of intellectual property law developments during the Internet Age. A month into the new year, we have already seen major developments. On January 18, we had the Wednesday that Wikipedia and other popular websites shut down in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (“SOPA”) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (“PIPA”). The protests from technology companies and users seemed to have worked, as both the Senate and the House Judiciary Committee canceled forthcoming action regarding the bills. This likely means that the bills – at least in their controversial forms – will not be moving forward. This does not mean, however, that copyright laws will stay put. The same day as the protests, January 18, California representative Darrell Issa introduced the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (it goes by “OPEN”). Several Californian members…
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Posted in Copyright, Intellectual Property
Tagged copyright infringement, intellectual property law, open, pipa, sopa
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Since the Atari 2600 became the first widespread successful home video game console in 1977, the video game industry has to come affect most Americans, with almost three-fourths of all households playing video games of some sort. Worldwide, the video game industry generations $25.1 billion in sales and an increasing percentage of sales (about a fourth now) are digital. The video game industry employs tens of thousands of employees (almost half of which are in California), which is unsurprising given that the video game industry involves all aspects of intellectual property law. Copyrights protect the games themselves. When software piracy is discussed, this means copyright infringement, as video games are works of expression that receive copyright protection just as novels and paintings do. Trademarks cover video game companies’ logos and names. Trademarks also come into play with video games that are becoming more and more realistic, since companies often try…
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