In spring 2009, Shepard Fairey, Steven Johnson, and Lawrence Lessig sat down at the New York Public Library to discuss balancing artistic freedom and copyright law. Lessig mentions Viacom’s policy toward remixing, noting that the media giant will not remove videos with transformative elements in order to encourage creativity. In light of the recent Viacom [...]

In 2007, Viacom filed a $1 billion lawsuit alleging Google is liable for the intentional infringement of thousands of copyrighted works on YouTube. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court (SDNY) Judge Louis Stanton granted summary judgment in favor of Google. Viacom argued the search company had actual knowledge of infringing activity on YouTube or was generally [...]

YouTube’s head of user experience, Margaret Gould Stewart, talks about how the site manages copyright and contributes to an “ecosystem of culture.” Stewart notes that content owners deliver “assets” into a database. Uploads are compared to reference files in the YouTube database. Interestingly, content owners provide a usage policy on how to handle matches. “Most [...]

NPR recently featured the band Pomplamoose on its weekend edition of All Things Considered. The San Francisco duo, comprised of Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn, has become a YouTube phenomenon for its vibrant cover songs. One such example is the Pomplamoose cover of Lady Gaga’s Telephone: Apart from garnering millions of views since launching PomplamooseMusic, [...]

In an effort to “call attention to particularly bogus takedowns — and showcase the amazing online videos and other creative works that someone doesn’t want you to see,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recently launched the Takedown Hall of Shame. EFF collected some of the most egregious incidents of internet bullying (via DMCA takedown notices) [...]

National Public Radio issued a cease and desist letter to the Yes on One/Stand for Marriage Maine campaign alleging that a 30 second segment used in an anti-gay marriage advertisement was copyright infringement.  Asserting that the complaint was “ridiculous and frivolous,” Scott Fish, spokesman for the campaign to repeal the gay marriage law in Maine, [...]

Stan Lee approves of the recent Disney-Marvel deal as a major coup. From MSNBC. YouTube seeks to license major movies for streaming video rental via internet: From AP. The history of corporate art collections and their role in future exhibitions. From The New York Times.