[rumori] pho: Online search tool finds copyright owners


From: Don Joyce (djATwebbnet.com)
Date: Tue Jun 05 2001 - 16:33:28 PDT


Forwarded by Negativland.

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>Monday June 04 05:00 PM EDT
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>Online search tool finds copyright owners
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>By John Borland CNET News.com
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> The U.S. Copyright Office has launched a Web tool to help identify who
>owns copyrights to movies, books and other works.
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> The massive database serves as a foundation of solid information for an
>issue that has grown to be increasingly controversial online over the last
>year. Napster and other file-swapping services have increased the tension
>over the limits of traditional copyright law online, sparking debates that
>are still playing themselves out in court.
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> As a simpler replacement to an earlier, outdated search tool, the
>Copyright Office's new service won't shift any of the power balances
>between copyright holders and their critics online. But it will serve as a
>faster way to figure out exactly who owns the copyright of any given work
>that somebody might wish to download or trade online.
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> The office has played a quiet role in the debates over online music and
>other works that have punctuated the digital landscape for the last
>several years.
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> It has a central role in determining how much music Webcasters can play
>on their online radio stations, and in how much the companies have to pay
>for the rights. This has been a contentious issue for several years and is
>now in arbitration in front of copyright authorities.
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> The office also submitted a brief in the Napster trial, disagreeing with
>that company's argument that people trading songs online without
>permission weren't violating copyright law.
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> The new copyright-finding tool covers works that have been registered
>since 1978. The office said that more than 13 million search terms are
>included, although this covers considerable duplication of works.
>

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