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C & D Notices

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Question: What is the Universal Copyright Convention (UCC)? Answer: The Universal Copyright Convention (UCC), adopted at Geneva in 1952, is one of the two principal international conventions protecting copyright; the other is the Berne Convention. The UCC was developed by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as an alternative to the Berne...
Question: How do companies usually react to FanFic? Answer: Different companies have different methods in dealing with FanFic. Some, like Paramount Pictures, see that FanFic could actually help boost their sales and so encourage the writing of FanFic. Other companies are presumably waiting for more business information and legal clarity before making a decis...
Question: How can I tell if a character I have used is copyright protected? Answer: The prevailing rule seems to be that a character is copyrightable separate from the original work if the character is "distinctly delineated." Authors can have a separate copyright protection for the characters in their works only if they have been developed and constitute original expression. Gener...
Question: What are the limitations of the interoperability criteria for the DMCA's reverse engineering exemption? Answer: Section 1201(f) allows software developers to circumvent technological protection measures of a computer program that was lawfully obtained in order to identify the elements necessary to achieve the interoperability of an independently created computer program to achieve program to program inter...
Question: If a hyperlink is just a location pointer, how can it be illegal? Answer: It probably isn't, however, a few courts have now held that a hyperlink violates the law if it points to illegal material with the purpose of disseminating that illegal material : In the DeCSS case, Universal v. Reimerdes , the court barred 2600 Magazine from posting hyperlinks to DeCSS co...
Question: How is the First Amendment affected by the DMCA? Answer: The tension between the DMCA and the First Amendment is at the heart of several ongoing lawsuits. [Felten v. RIAA; Universal v. Corley] The mere posting of a link to a computer program that can be used to circumvent technical protection measures was held to be a violation of the DMCA. [Universal v....
Question: What does it mean to distribute circumvention tools? Answer: Section 1201(a)(2) defines distribution as the "manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic" of circumvention tools. This definition can be interpreted extremely broadly as evident in the court's analysis in the DVD encryption Universal v. Corley case. In its decisi...
Question: What is a famous mark? Answer: A famous mark is a mark that has become so well known, that it has become almost universally recognized. An example of such a mark would be "McDonald's" or "Coca-Cola." Famous marks become important where an owner of a trademark is claiming trademark dilution against a defendant. The Federal Anti-Di...

News

Veoh Survives Universal Music Group Copyright Infringement Suit, Rebecca Schoff, Chilling Effects Clearinghouse, September 17, 2009
Vivendiuniversalsucks.com confuses WIPO panel, WIPO Panel, November 20, 2001

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