I just stumbled upon this video and needed to share it. Regardless of SOPA(Stop Online Piracy Act) being squashed, our Internet freedoms and online culture continue to be threatened… globally.

ACTA has been secretly in the works for quite some time now, behind closed doors. Watch this for more info:



Info from the video description:
ACTA is one more offensive against the sharing of culture on the Internet. ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) is an agreement secretly negotiated by a small "club" of like-minded countries (39 countries, including the 27 of the European Union, the United States, Japan, etc). Negotiated instead of being democratically debated, ACTA bypasses parliaments and international organizations to dictate a repressive logic dictated by the entertainment industries.

ACTA would impose new criminal sanctions forcing Internet actors to monitor and censor online communications. It is thus a major threat to freedom of expression online and creates legal uncertainty for Internet companies. In the name of trademarks and patents, it would also hamper access to generic medicines in poor countries.
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Tags: ACTA | Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement | Video | Copyright | Copyright Reform | Censorship | Censor The Internet

Before The Movie Begins
stolen from The New Yorker. don't sue me bro.

Please note that the use of any recording equipment to capture this film is strictly forbidden, including: camcorders, cameras, cell phones, charcoal, ink, paint (oil or water-based), and the human brain. On leaving the theatre, you will be assaulted by baseball-bat-wielding ushers, who will pummel your skull until you forget what you have seen.
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Tags: ACTA | SOPA | PIPA | Copyright | Copyright Reform | Copyright Infringement | New York Times | Censor The Internet | Censorship

The Internet as we know it is under serious threat. What's being sold to Congress and the American public as a piece of legislation that will "put an end to piracy", is in actuality Government sponsored censorship (not unlike Internet in China).

To be clear… unauthorized sharing (copying) of content found online could not only have your website taken down without due process, but it could also land you in jail.

For example, if you were to post a version of you performing a Michael Jackson song on YouTube, you could not only have your account removed but you could also face up to five years in prison. That's one more year than the man who killed the man Michael Jackson himself. For singing a song without first acquiring a license to do so.

That Tumblr or Pinterest page of yours where you repost someone else's photo or cartoon or image?
SOPA would kill that.

That song you downloaded and posted on your blog to share with friends and readers?
SOPA would kill that.

But beyond trying to kill the culture of sharing (which is something humans have always done), it will also kill the creation of new art altogether. Any piece of music or art that uses a mashup or a collaboration of existing pieces, without proper consent from the original creators, would be illegal and punishable.

The Stop Online Piracy Act is a misguided solutions to a misunderstood problem. For more information on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), click here.

To give you a taste of the types of beautiful music that would cease to exist if SOPA were passed… I present to you the following mashup videos created by Pogomix (illegally of course).

This Is The Type Of Art SOPA Would Kill:

Upular (Pixar Remix)

Info:
Video for the track 'Upular', composed using chords, bass notes and vocal samples from the Disney Pixar film 'Up'.

*see more examples by clicking Read More below*Click To Read More...

Tags: SOPA | PIPA | Copyright

This is a special guest post from Martin Frascogna, Entertainment Attorney (www.frascognalaw.com).

Thanks for the amazing insight Martin!

Concert posters have long been the standard when promoting gigs. It’s simple, efficient, and people generally love seeing these unique pieces of art. In today’s DIY market coupled with fading music sales, artists are beginning to rely heavily upon poster design as an additional merchandise revenue stream but few realize concert posters/design pack a hefty legal punch. In short: Who owns the concert poster? The band that’s performing? The designers who designed the poster? Perhaps the venue that booked the artist? If you don’t think these issues are important, think again. Concert posters are quickly becoming the hottest piece of merchandise, not only for growing indie acts but major artist as well. Indie bands with limited edition numbered prints have been able to sell good designs for $100, therefore banking more on posters than CD sales. Take an established group with a vintage concert poster back from the 60’s and it may sell for $10,000+. I can’t touch upon the global issues concerning concert posters due to the enormity of the content, nor will I address all the legal implications in detail, however I do suggest using the information below as a solid foundation, a brief flicker of insight into the multitude of issues that can quickly snowball out of control.

Use of concert posters have traditionally worked as follows: A music venue and/or promoter books a band and subsequently hires an artist to design a concert poster surrounding the performance. The band provides the venue/promoter with photography and logos who in return passes the information off to the poster designer. With new technology new methods are used. Now it may be common for a band to design a concert poster and later provide the poster to certain venues showcasing the venue logo/information. Others may hire poster designers who design, print, and distribute the poster. Regardless, every scenario identified consist of three major legal components, often ignored, which (especially in today’s music market) inevitable come back to bite someone in the ass. When these components are combined two questions emerge: who owns the poster and who owns the poster design? In order to touch upon these questions, let’s review the three legal components and how they’re used.
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Tags: Guest Contributor | Martin Frascogna | Entertainment Law | Copyright | Concert Posters

Copyright law's grip on film, music and software is suffocating...yet it barely touches the fashion industry...and fashion benefits because of it, in both innovation and sales, says Johanna Blakley. At TEDxUSC 2010, she talks about what all creative industries can learn from fashion's "free" culture.

Fashion encourages an open creative process and because there is no copyright, design has been elevated. So why hasn't copying destroyed the fashion industry? And without ownership (copyright), is there an incentive for creators to innovate?

Watch the video below to find out...this is a very intriguing concept which people need to consider. So...sow can this free culture be transposed over to the music and entertainment industries? Discuss!



To view more TED Talks videos, go here: http://www.ted.comClick To Read More...

Tags: Copyright | Free The Music | Fashion | Culture | Video