By Abby St. Hilaire
Every week millions of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices are sent over allegedly infringing works. Recently, the zealous search for infringement led to the rather amusing result of Microsoft filing DMCA takedown notices against… Microsoft. Well, more accurately, a company hired by Microsoft filed the takedown notices. As amusing as Microsoft’s mistake may be, the company isn’t alone in filing erroneous charges of copyright infringement.
By Shira Zucker
This August, Judge Amos Mazzant of the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Texas ruled in SEC v. Shavers that Bitcoins are a currency, and as such, they are subject to federal regulation.
Bitcoin, an algorithm-based electronic currency not backed by any real asset, can be bought and sold, and is often traded as an investment. Bitcoin can also be obtained by “mining” or performing complex mathematical equations to crack its code. For Bitcoin users and enthusiasts, the virtual currency has long been—at least functionally—real. Nonetheless, Judge Mazzant’s ruling may have far-reaching legal ramifications for Bitcoin users and businesses, from tax planning and securities regulation to intellectual property litigation.
How your consumer data might one day make you a mint – so long as you’re willing to share.
By Annie Allison
Privacy is the topic du-jour this summer. Ever since Edward Snowden’s revelations that the NSA has been prying into our private lives, the nation has been on heightened alert for data-snatchers. Adding insult to injury, data-snooping isn’t just a game for big government. Some, if not most, of our favorite brands, icons and industries are grabbing our data unbeknownst to us – and turning that data into profit.
Photo Credit: bit-tech.net
By Peter Dang
With over 45 million Americans sporting a tattoo, this form of artistic expression has become part of mainstream culture in the United States, particularly among younger generations. Studies have shown that roughly one-third of individuals ages 18 to 25 have a tattoo and about 40% of people between the ages of 26 and 40 sport some ink. The tattoo industry is a multi-billion dollar business in the United States, but recent cases have raised the question: who really owns the art on your body?
By Evan Brown
In recent years, mashups have gained quiet prominence in the hip-hop and dance music scenes. As sample-based music has proliferated, many producers have done what artists and students in many media have done—tried their hand at reimagining influential and interesting works by other artists. This sometimes takes the form of combining—“mashing up”—the songs of different artists in musically pleasing ways. This was a logical extension of both sampling and a tradition among DJs of mixing a capella tracks with instrumental tracks. But in decades past most of these attempts were either ephemeral performances or never distributed beyond the producer’s own social circle. But online distribution via personal websites, YouTube, and newer platforms like Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and DatPiff has made it easier than ever to get mashups to the masses—and to copyright holders.
