Copyright

Battle looms between artists and labels over song rights

Arts, Culture & Media

Copyright law stipulates artists can regain ownership of their work after 35 years have passed — record companies prepare for financial blow as deadline nears.

One of the photos of a crested black macaque monkey that David Slater says belongs to him. Wikipedia claims that, because the monkey pressed the shutter, the photo is a public domain image whose copyright belongs to no one.

The Internet goes ape over a monkey selfie and the copyright battle it sparked

Media
One of the photos of a crested black macaque monkey that David Slater says belongs to him. Wikipedia claims that, because the monkey pressed the shutter, the photo is a public domain image whose copyright belongs to no one.

The Internet goes ape over a monkey selfie and the copyright battle it sparked

Media
Frank and Miriam Kuseni are gospel artists based in Lilongwe, Malawi. They were forced to stop selling their CDs on the street.

Malawi’s campaign against music piracy is trapping its own musicians

Arts, Culture & Media

New Digital Public Library of America seeks to increase accessibility to treasured works

Environment

Two court cases take diverging path when it comes to digital rights

Global Politics

The U.S. federal courts are being forced to apply 1976 law to modern digital innovations. With respect to two new digital services, judges took two different paths, ruling one was compliant with federal copyright law, while another was not.

Death of internet activist and innovator creates call for updated copyright law

Environment

The death of Aaron Swartz has added a new data point to the discussion of mental health services available in the United States. That’s certainly the case. But for some people, his death is also an issue in an ongoing battle over copyright law.

Big shift in copyright law effective in new year changes rights for artists

Arts, Culture & Media

Way back in 1976, Congress changed the way copyright law works, but delayed the practical implementation until 2013. With 2013 just around the corner, artists are preparing to reclaim the rights to popular works that they created from 1978.

In Spain, legislation to crack down on online piracy draws protests

Arts, Culture & Media

As American grapple with SOPA and PIPA, and Wikipedia and Reddit use a blackout to educate their users about their views on the legislation, Spain is also trying to get a handle on online piracy. The new conservative government has vowed to swiftly enact a bill artists say they need, but critics say is worthless — and dangerous.

Online, considerable anger over Stop Online Piracy Act

Global Politics

A growing chorus of tech companies and online engineers are criticizing two laws winding through Congress, SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act ,and the PROTECT IP Act, which they say will stifle free speech and undermine the Internet in general.