Category Archives: law

Guardian: Independent writer’s admission highlights news copyright issues

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David Banks: "[When] interviewing someone, a journalist uses skill and labour in recording quotes accurately and selecting those most appropriate for publication. So the quotes in an interview are protected by copyright. If any are to be used by another publication then the fair dealing defence would have to be used and the copyright owner, possibly a competitor, would have to be credited."

Monday Note: Flipboard: Threat and Opportunity

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Frédéric Filloux: "Every media company should be afraid of Flipboard. The Palo Alto startup epitomizes the best and the worst of the internet. The best is for the user. The worst is for the content providers that feed its stunning expansion without getting a dime in return. ... For the reader, Flipboard provides the ultimate comfort: no ads. ... No media outlet should be allowed to complain about Flipboard. First, there is a now well-established pattern in the increasing fight between old-fashioned publishers and 'inexperienced' Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurs. The latter always invent things that the former should have been first to come up with."

Ordnance Survey Blog: Changes to the OS OpenData licence

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"From today, anyone who visits the OS OpenData site, where they can download a wide range of Ordnance Survey mapping for free, will notice something a little different. That’s because we’ve incorporated the Open Government Licence, the new government wide licence, developed by The National Archives, which enables easy access to public sector information."

HMG Your Freedom: Abolish the ban on recording court proceedings

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Alistair Kelman: "Currently under Section 9 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 it is illegal to tape record court proceedings. This topic was addressed by Ms Heather Brooke in a feature article in today's Times newspaper where she makes out the case very eloquently. As a barrister and expert witness I too have encountered similar problems in the UK courts and believe that no is the time for this Government to abolish the ban."

paidContent: World Press’ Collective Delusion Boils Over: Respect Us, Dammit

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Great comment on PaidContent: "many in the [newspaper] industry seem to be tripping over the fallacy that if something is expensive to produce, there must be a profit-making market for that product. If that were true, there would be a vibrant market for diamond-encrusted buggy whips."