Digital Commons Network^™

Copyright & Modding In The Modern Gamespace, Josephine Railston

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In the modern gamespace, modding has become an excellent opportunity for video game enthusiasts to express their creativity and love for a game; but what happens when that passion is stifled by a major company? My poster presentation will examine the ethics behind modding and ROM hacking, from both the perspectives of major video game corporations as well as their fanbase at large. We will analyze this issue using the case study of Pokémon Prism, a Pokémon Crystal ROM hack, which was canceled days prior to its release following a cease and desist by Nintendo. More specifically, we will investigate …

Downstreaming, Rachel Landy

Articles

Spotify and its competitors all offer the same product at the same price. Why? Scholars have argued that relationships can be designed in a way that naturally promotes innovation. By “braiding” certain formal contracting practices with informal enforcement norms, parties develop a frame-work that supports trust and positive, long-term collaboration. This Article takes on this consensus and shows that not all braiding is good. Using the multibillion-dollar subscription music streaming business as an illustration, it demonstrates just how industry forces can, and do, overcome braiding’s positive slant. In that industry, the major record labels (Universal, Warner, and Sony) weaponize braiding …

A New Update Is Ready To Be Installed: The Ever-Increasing Advancement Of The Video Game Industry., Tristen Schubert, Patrynna Mensah, Colin Lara, Nicholas Wasztyl

ENGL 1102 Showcase

The topics being discussed in this anthology all have a deep connection to video games and talk about the different aspects of the video game industry. This includes the way that video game narratives have changed, how video games use psychology to immerse their players, to how video games are able to be played through new services such as cloud gaming, and even how copyright works when it comes to video games. With all this in mind, this anthology strives to inform our readers about aspects of the video game industry that are crucial to its overall success.

Elaborating A Human Rights Friendly Copyright Framework For Generative Ai, Christophe Geiger

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

This paper analyses the copyright issues related to so-called “generative AI” systems and reviews the arguments currently advanced to change the copyright regime for AI-generated works from a human rights perspective. It argues that because of the applicable human rights framework for copyright but also the anthropocentric approach of human rights the protection of creators and human creativity must be considered the point of reference when assessing future reforms with regard to copyright and generative AI systems. Consequently, the copyrightability of AI-generated outputs should be considered with utmost care and only when AI is used as a technical tool for …

Rethinking Plagiarism In The Era Of Generative Ai, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, such as large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, has precipitated a paradigm shift in the realms of academic writing, plagiarism, and intellectual property. This article explores the evolving landscape of English composition courses, traditionally designed to develop critical thinking through writing. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into the academic sphere, it necessitates a reevaluation of originality in writing, the purpose of learning research and writing, and the frameworks governing intellectual property (IP) and plagiarism. The paper commences with a statistical analysis contrasting the actual use of LLMs in academic dishonesty with educator …

Copyright And Fair Use, Katie L. Coldiron, Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab-Fiu

Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab (WPHL) Digital Archive

This is a guide directed towards partner institutions in the Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab's Mellon-funded project, "Community Data Curation: Preserving, Creating, and Narrating Everyday Stories." Specifically, it is a guide on navigating copyright and fair use for digital collections.

Building A Text And Data Mining Limitation: The Brazilian Case, Luca Schirru, Allan Rocha De Souza, Claudia Chamas

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

In recent years, there has been a growing body of legal regulation of

TDM. Since 2018, Japan, the European Union, Singapore and others have

promoted changes to their copyright law and included specific limitations and

exceptions for TDM. These changes have been slow in the Global South and

the developing world, even though they are urgently needed there. This report

aims to present the Brazilian copyright legal framework and the policy

documents related to Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence and

innovation influencing political and public debate. This set of policies and

legislative texts provides the grounds for the discussion on the …

Briefing Note: 45th Meeting Of The Wipo Standing Committee On Copyright And Related Rights, Sean Flynn

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

This analysis provides a historical and legal overview of the principle agenda items to be discussed at the 45th meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights.

Calculating The Harms Of Political Use Of Popular Music, Jake Linford, Aaron Perzanowski

Articles

When Donald Trump descended the escalator of Trump Tower to announce his 2016 presidential bid, Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” blared from the loudspeakers. Almost immediately, Young’s management made clear that the campaign’s use of the song was unauthorized. Neil Young was not alone. Trump drew similar objections from dozens of artists during his first two presidential bids. But as a matter of copyright law, it is unclear whether artists can prevent their songs from being played at campaign rallies.

Govt Publications Must Give Credit Where Due, Aparajita Lath

Popular Media

Extract:

...[The] concept of moral rights applies not only to highly creative works of art or fiction but also to any original work, including original policy and academic writing, whether legal, economic, political, or any other. This concept of moral rights applies not only to highly creative works of art or fiction but also to any original work, including original policy and academic writing, whether legal, economic, political, or any other. In the recent past, several government bodies have borrowed from research published by individuals in newspapers in their reports and policy decisions.... While the government has benefited from individual …

Copyright And Creative Commons, Jennie Tobler-Gaston

Criss Library Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

This workshop discussed the basics of copyright such as the purpose of copyright, what is and is not copyrightable, how copyright is obtained, the public domain, and the exceptions to copyright - specifically fair use. It also discusses the basics of Creative Commons and the 6 licenses and two tools.

Intellectual Property Rights And Copyright Laws In The Regime Of Artificial Intelligence (Ai) In India, Hemavathy C

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been developing for two decades. The application of AI is budding quickly in business dealings, corporate communication and legal services. AI and Law Forms are increasingly important in the legal arena as they play a significant role in the economy and society. Scientists and policymakers together are facing some of the hardest problems with the advancement of machine learning, cryptology and data protection. This paper is very helpful for policymakers, economists, lawyers and technocrats in the aspect of the ethical use of AI in data protection, privacy, security and social corners turns into very relevant issues …

Law Library Blog (February 2024): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Course Lecture: The Knowledge Economy, Devon Olson

Librarian Publications

The first of a 5-part series of lectures on scholarly communication, this lecture introduces learners to the scholarly communications landscape by exploring its roots in historical and cultural events such as colonization and the growth of the internet. Two activities enable students to explore the legal implications of reusing various materials as well as the speakers and audiences of top journals in occupational therapy.

This lecture was designed for the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program.

This lecture is appropriate for adult and emerging adult learners with very little or basic understandings …

Open Educational Resources: A Guide For Faculty, Mark Hamilton

Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this session, we will discuss the following topics: What are Open Educational Resources (OER)? What can I do with OER? Where can I find OER? How can I create OER? How can I share my OER?

Silencing Jorge Luis Borges The Wrongful Suppression Of The Di Giovanni Translations, Wes Henricksen

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Editing Classic Books: A Threat To The Public Domain?, Cathay Y. N. Smith

Faculty Law Review Articles

Over the past few years, there has been a growing trend in the publishing industry of hiring sensitivity readers to review books for offensive tropes or racial, gender, or sexual stereotypes. In February 2023, for instance, reports that Puffin Books had edited several classics by Roald Dahl—in consultation with sensitivity readers—generated immediate backlash from the public and several renowned authors and politicians. While most of that backlash focused on accusations of “censorship” and “cancel culture,” this Essay examines an actual legal consequence of revising classic books: the creation of copyrightable derivative works in updated editions. Derivative works are new works …

Ai, Artists, And Anti-Moral Rights, Derek E. Bambauer, Robert W. Woods

UF Law Faculty Publications

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly used to imitate the distinctive characteristics of famous artists, such as their voice, likeness, and style. In response, legislators have introduced bills in Congress that would confer moral rights protections, such as control over attribution and integrity, upon artists. This Essay argues such measures are almost certain to fail because of deep-seated, pervasive hostility to moral rights measures in U.S. intellectual property law. It analyses both legislative measures and judicial decisions that roll back moral rights, and explores how copyright’s authorship doctrines manifest a latent hostility to these entitlements. The Essay concludes with …

The Ownership Of Potato Boy: A Discussion On Ai And Copyright, James Thibeault

Library Publications

Surprisingly, the copyright status of generative AI works is pretty straight forward in the US: no one owns the copyright. According to the United States Copyright Office (2023), “copyright can protect only material that is the product of human creativity. Most fundamentally, the term ‘author,’ which is used in both the Constitution and the Copyright Act, excludes non-humans.” This concept is not new as previous court cases had already established this ruling. In the 1884 court case Burrow-Giles Lithographic Company v. Sarony, the defendant made copies of a photograph and claimed the author held no copyright since a machine, a …

Open Source Perfume, Amanda Levendowski

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

ABRIDGED ABSTRACT: Perfume is a powerful art and technology, but its secrets are closely held by a privileged few - by some counts, there are more astronauts than there are perfumers. As critics have noted increasingly since 2020, those select few perfumers often share similar backgrounds. As interviews with American, British, and French perfumemakers reveal, intellectual property (IP) also plays a gatekeeping role in perfumery. Drawing on work by perfumer and educator Saskia Wilson-Brown, this Article suggests that perfumery is overdue for a transformation. One is emerging: open source perfume. For those seeking ways to share scents and signal commitment …

A Matter Of Facts: The Evolution Of Copyright’S Fact-Exclusion And Its Implications For Disinformation And Democracy, Jessica Silbey

Faculty Scholarship

The Article begins with a puzzle: the curious absence of an express fact-exclusion from copyright protection in both the Copyright Act and its legislative history despite it being a well-founded legal principle. It traces arguments in the foundational Supreme Court case (Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service) and in the Copyright Act’s legislative history to discern a basis for the fact-exclusion. That research trail produces a legal genealogy of the fact-exclusion based in early copyright common law anchored by canonical cases, Baker v. Selden, Burrow-Giles v. Sarony, and Wheaton v. Peters. Surprisingly, none of them …

Desettling Fixation, Emily T. Behzadi Cárdenas

Faculty Scholarship

Scholars have long contemplated how the effects of colonialism have permeated even race “neutral” laws. This Article scrutinizes the ways Eurocentric copyright systems have failed to protect, and have even encouraged, the unauthorized uses of indigenous heritage in derivative subject matter, exposing how settler colonialism in copyright law has entrenched an unequal hierarchy among communities seeking copyright protection. Due to its ephemeral nature, intangible cultural heritage constantly faces the threat of exploitation by dominant cultures. The intangible heritage of indigenous groups has been particularly vulnerable to illicit and uncompensated commodification. Intangible heritage, such as oral histories and traditional dances, is …

Deconstructing The Blueprint For Infringement: Remedying Flawed Interpretations Of The § 120(A) Exception To Architecture Copyrights, Margalit Zimand

Kernochan Center for Law, Media, and the Arts

Drafting the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act of 1990 (“AWCPA”) consisted of a bizarre hodgepodge of considerations. Ostensibly, the goal of the Act was to bring the United States unquestionably into compliance with the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which the United States had just recently joined, with as minimal an impact on U.S. law as possible. In reality, this goal — itself not without built-in tensions — was but one of several competing forces at play in the drafting process. The other forces generally fell into three camps. There were the proponents of preserving …

The Subsistence And Enforcement Of Copyright And Trademark Rights In The Metaverse, Cheng Lim Saw, Zheng Wen Samuel Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The metaverse has been widely hailed as a symbol of technological progress, presenting an immersive virtual realm that has the potential to transform how individuals engage in social and commercial activities. However, this conception of a borderless virtual world - which purportedly transcends the capabilities and reach of Web 2.0 - sits uncomfortably with the territorial nature of intellectual property rights. This chapter examines the complexities surrounding the subsistence and enforcement of intellectual property rights within the metaverse, with a specific focus on copyright and trademarks. Especial attention is paid to issues concerning choice of law and jurisdiction. Finally, the …

Antitrust Regulation Of Copyright Markets, Jacob Noti-Victor, Xiyin Tang

Articles

Late last year, a federal court sided with the Department of Justice and blocked the planned merger of book publishers Simon & Schuster and Penguin Random House. The decision was a rare collision between antitrust law and the deeply consolidated copyright content industries. Over the course of the past decade, acquisitions and mergers in the recording, music publishing, and audiovisual space have left just a handful of juggernaut content producers in their wake. Moreover, new technology companies that have entered the content-creation and distribution markets have begun to leverage their scale to further their own industry consolidation.

This Article examines …

Copyright And Open Licenses: A Unit For Lis Students, Nancy Henke

Open Course Materials

This curriculum, developed as the final project for the Creative Commons for Academic Librarians Certificate course, is designed for students in introductory Library and Information Science courses. The unit offers a broad overview of fundamental concepts in copyright, fair use, and open licensing. The materials include readings, multimedia resources, discussion questions, and practical assignments. The curriculum emphasizes adaptability, catering to diverse audiences and educational settings. The curriculum addresses real-world challenges faced by librarians, explores the nuances of open licenses, and guides students through hands-on activities, fostering a deeper understanding of copyright issues in the digital age.

Up To Code: Lessons Learned In Evaluating And Improving Legacy Irs, Frances Chang Andreu

Articles

Not all repositories are created under ideal circumstances, and inheriting an institutional repository can present challenges distinct from building one from scratch. Changes in institutional vision, policies, and priorities can lead to inconsistent content and limited metadata. Lack of documentation and loss of institutional memory can result in uncertainty about previous decisions. This case study examines the process of auditing a legacy institutional repository in order to ensure the content best reflects the institution’s current goals and policies.

Defragging Feminist Cyberlaw, Amanda Levendowski

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In 1996, Judge Frank Easterbrook famously observed that any effort to create a field called cyberlaw would be “doomed to be shallow and miss unifying principles.” He was wrong, but not for the reason other scholars have stated. Feminism is a unifying principle of cyberlaw, which alternately amplifies and abridges the feminist values of consent, safety, and accessibility. Cyberlaw simply hasn’t been understood that way—until now.

In computer science, “defragging” means bringing together disparate pieces of data so they are easier to access. Inspired by that process, this Article offers a new approach to cyberlaw that illustrates how feminist values …

We Can Work It Out: Forensic Musicology Methods, Joe Bennett

Faculty Works

In this chapter, I will argue that forensic musicology (FM) practice can answer this question by combining comparative musical analysis and repertoire research, contextualised within an understanding of how songwriters and composers create and how listeners hear. In doing so, I shall identify the methodological and phenomenological traps into which courts and juries can fall and suggest ways in which these can be anticipated and circumvented.

Copyright First Responders: Decentralized Expertise, Cultural Institutions, And Risk, Kyle K. Courtney, Emily Kilcer

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Today librarians and other information professionals regularly intersect with intellectual property law. As our work increasingly encompasses copyright-intensive programs and projects (e.g., digitization, scholarly publishing, open access, streaming media, MOOCs, and more), questions about fair use, public domain, and copyright law invariably emerge. Libraries occupy a liminal space, they both serve knowledge creation and information access and enjoy special privileges under copyright law.

Unfortunately, comprehensive copyright training is still not a pillar of LIS programs,1 and while there are seminal resources to look to and professional development opportunities to explore (e.g., MOOCs, copyright bootcamps, or one-offs at conferences), this sort …