Notes from the World Intellectual Property Organization's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR 11) meeting, Geneva, June 7-9, 2004 Over the past three days, the Standing Committee has been meeting to consider a treaty to protect broadcasters' rights. Thanks to Jamie Love, of the Consumer Project...

Notes from the World Intellectual Property Organization's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights meeting, day 2, 8 June 2004. Impressionistic transcript by Cory Doctorow (cory@eff.org), Wendy Seltzer (wendy@eff.org) and David Tannenbaum (davidt@public-domain.org) Public-domain dedication: On June 8, 2004, Cory Doctorow, Wendy Seltzer and David Tannebaum (The Authors) dedicated to...

Eric Grimm has a grim tale indeed over @ Dave Farber's IP list, describing in frightening, first-hand detail the over-reach that the USA PATRIOT Act currently enables. As Grimm points out, the law can serve as the ultimate blank check for the government -- due to "don't ask...

Via Jim Tyre, Brenda Sandburg @ The Recorder, on what may be the stupidest copyright lawsuit ever (subs. req.): How do you stop a charging porn thief? Take away his credit card. That's what a Beverly Hills pornographer is aiming to do in filing a copyright and trademark...

Michael Geist's latest column on copyright law in Canada contains yet another argument for the necessity of Creative Commons licenses: Toronto-area MP Sarmite Bulte is pushing for an interpretation of the law that embraces and codifies permission culture: Although [Bulte's committee] acknowledges that some work on the...

A group of influential Republican senators have introduced a bill to make permanent the civil liberties-corroding provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act that were sold to the public -- and to Congress -- as temporary measures. These provisions are among the most controversial in the Act, and for...