BL10: CUFADM02A Posting: Finding / Describing a Copyright, Licencing or Intellectual Property Dispute Case – Film, TV, Games or Multimedia Industry

Search Engine used: www.bbc.co.uk
Search Parameters: Copyright Dispute+Game Industry
Article Title: "Microsoft settles Xbox dispute"
Posted Date of Article: 16 Jun 2001
Background Information about Case:
Microsoft wanted to release a video game console with the name “Xbox” but found that a small technology company already held the rights to the name Xbox. While the details of the deal made between the two companies are being kept “under wraps”, the result is that XBOX Technologies will alter their name and drop their challenge to Microsoft’s use of the name Xbox, in return for an undisclosed reward.
Basically, XBOX Technologies sold their name to Microsoft to be used as the name of a video game console.
Key Features of Case, relevance to Copyright
o XBOX Technologies filed applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office to use the Xbox name in March 1999.
o Six months later, Microsoft made its first Xbox filing
o February 2001, the companies stated they were in talks to settle dispute and to avoid lengthy arbitration process by patent office.
o Xbox console is Microsoft’s first entry into home gaming market, which is very lucrative industry.
Outcome of Case and main consequences for parties.
o Microsoft bought the rights to the name Xbox for a lot of money.
o Robert Koolen of Knowledge Mechanics, a computer-based education company that is the main holder of XBOX Technologies, stated “It was a very, very mutually satisfying agreement,” when asked about the deal made.

BL 9: CUFADM02A Posting: Useful Websites About Copyright Part 3

Australian Law Online

Website Title: Australian Law Online: Home Page
Website Address: http://www.law.gov.au/
Brief Description of Organisation/Resource
Australian Law Online provides access to law and justice related information and services from all levels of government. The objective of this site is to provide Australians with ready access to clear, understandable, user-friendly information about the Australian legal system and the government organisations that are part of the Australian legal system.

Brief Overview of Website Contents
· Has the following Links:
Australian Legal System
Business and Work
Consumers
Crime and Crime Prevention
Family and Relationships
Government
Health and Safety
Housing and Neighbourhood
Human Rights
Immigration and Citizenship
Indigenous Australians
International Law
Media and Communications
Money
Science and the Environment Transport

Date and Time Visited: 5:28 PM, Saturday 9th December 2006

IP Australia

Website Title: IP Australia - Welcome to the home page of IP Australia, the Australia Government that administers the patents, trademarks, designs...
Website Address: http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/
Brief Description of Organisation/Resource
Australia's economic well-being depends on capturing the benefits of increased innovation and creativity. IP Australia's role is to provide a strong intellectual property system which promotes innovation, investment and trade.

Brief Overview of Website Contents
· Has latest Relevant News article links ready for those who wish to peruse them
· Has links to Job Opportunities available
· IP Mailing List
· IP Media Centre
· The usual About Us Page
· What actually is Intellectual Property definition, as well as links to such things as Patents, Trade Marks, Designs, PDR, Business Strategies and Resources

Date and Time Visited: 5:31 PM, Saturday 9th December 2006

Part1: Creative Commons

Website Title: Creative Commons
Website Address: http://creativecommons.org/
Brief Description of Organisation/Resource
Creative Commons provides free tools for authors, artists, and educators to mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry. Our tools change "All Rights Reserved" into "Some Rights Reserved" — as the creator chooses. We are a nonprofit organization. Everything we do — including the software we create — is free.

Brief Overview of Website Contents
· I would say that is has been poorly designed but that is my personal opinion
· Links (at bottom of the page) shows that the reader can search for FAQs, Contact people whom created the site and such, About the site / organisation, Policies, etc.
· Note: I would have these links near the top of the page, to make the exploration of site a lot easier.

Date and Time Visited: 5:39 PM, Saturday 9th December 2006

Part 2: Creative Commons Australia

Website Title: Creative Commons Australia
Website Address: http://www.creativecommons.org.au/
Brief Description of Organisation/Resource
CCau is the Australian derivative project of the Creative Commons project in the United States of America. We are porting the Creative Commons licences into Australian domestic law and fostering a creative community premised on re mixable creativity. Hosted at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, CCau is devoted to the promotion of Creative Commons in Australia.

Brief Overview of Website Contents
· Links to pages that have information on relevant topics. Page titles (and Link names) are as follows:
· About – information about the site,
· Contact – how people can contact key people in area,
· Learn More – where people can learn more information about topics covered at site,
· Licences – Information about what they are and how to use them,
· Materials – an archive of materials produced by Creative Commons Australia,
· CC Clinic – where people can sign up to a clinic run by Creative Commons Australia,
· Research – Research that Creative Commons Australia has done.

Date and Time Visited: 5:42 PM, Saturday 9th December 2006

WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization

Website Title: World Intellectual Property Organization
Website Address: http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en
Brief Description of Organisation/Resource
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system, which rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest. WIPO was established by the WIPO Convention in 1967 with a mandate from its Member States to promote the protection of IP throughout the world through cooperation among states and in collaboration with other international organizations. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.

Brief Overview of Website Contents
· Information about what they do,
· Links to sub-pages that has more information about relevant topics found with the organization and what may involve the organization
· Also has links to a online shop, members section and vacancies within the organization.

Date and Time Visited: 5:53 PM, Saturday 9th December 2006

BL 8: CUFADM02A Posting: Useful Websites About Copyright Part 2

Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA)

Website Title: APRA – For Composers, Authors & Publishers of Music
Website Address: www.apra.com.au
Brief Description of Organisation/Resource
Since 1926 APRA (the Australasian Performing Right Association) has been making life a little easier for songwriters, composers.and music users. Australian copyright law makes songwriters and composers the exclusive owners of their original music and lyrics. Nobody else can use their work without getting their permission first, and if necessary, paying a royalty for this use. This is where APRA steps in. APRA is a not-for-profit organisation that collects royalties on behalf of its 44,000+ members, and by agreement, for all the copyright owners around the world.

Brief Overview of Website Contents

• Has sections for Writers, Musicians and Publishers
• Within each section, there is information about resent news; events; etc.
• There is also a section on Awards for each area, and
• The site has a job search engine attached to it.

Date and Time Visited: 5:07 PM Saturday, 9th December 2006

Screenrights (Formerly – The Audio Visual Copyright Society)
Website Title: Screenrights – The Audio Visual Copyright Society
Website Address: www.screen.org
Brief Description of Organisation/Resource
Helping educators copy from TV for teaching.Paying filmmakers for this use of their work.
Screenrights was set up in 1990 to administer provisions in the Copyright Act that let schools, TAFEs and universities copy from TV and radio for teaching, provided they pay a fee. We monitor copying, collect royalties and distribute this money to our members on a non-profit basis. Screenrights’ educational copying licences now give more than 10,000 Australian and New Zealand educational institutions access to this valuable resource. They also bring in more than $20 million a year for distribution to the filmmakers who make the programs educators copy.

Brief Overview of Website Contents

• Has links to sub areas for Film & TV Users, Film & TV Industry, and Screenrights
• Also has following links: Monthly News, Events & Latest News, Screenrights in New Zealand, Publications, Press Release, Jobs at Screenrights, and Speakers Bureau
  

Date and Time Visited: 5:11 PM, Saturday, 9th December 2006

BL 7: CUFADM02A Posting: Editing My Link List and Adding a Posting to a Student’s Blog

Question 1: What is the Website Title and Website Address of the Blogger Help Topic “How do I edit my link list”.
Title: Blogger Help: How do I edit my link list?
Link: http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=41427&topic=8920

Question 2: Confirm that you have linked my Teacher Blog and two other Students Blogs – Add the Blog Title and Blog Address for each.
Link List
· Teacher: Pauline Fountain's Blog Site Title: Pauline Fountain: Teacher Blog: CUFADM02A 0206
· Student Blog 1: Steven Reynold's Blog Site Title: Steven Reynolds Student Blog
· Student Blog 2: Mike Free's Blog Site Title: mikefree0206

Question 3: Confirm that you have added a Comment to the “BL1 > Part 1:CUFADM02A Posting: About Me” posting on one of the student Blogs in your Link List. Provide the following details i.e. Student Blog Title, Student Blog Address, Date and Time you added the Comment, Link to your Comment.

Link to my comment on Steven Reynolds Blog:
http://stevenreynolds-studentblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/bl1-part-1-cufadm02a-posting-about-me.html

BL6: CUFADM02A Posting: “Piracy, Consumers And The Digital Age” Podcast

Question 1: Provide details about the Program Presenter, Story Researcher / Producer, and the four Guests.
· Presenter of Program: Paul Barclay
· Story Researcher and Producer for Program: Julie Browning
· Guests that appeared on Program:

The Hon Philip Ruddock MP - Federal Attorney General
Dr Melissa deZwart - Law School, Monash University
Dr Matthew Rimmer - College of Law, ANU
Dr David Brennan - Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne

Question 2: Provide an Overview of FOUR DIFFERENT KEY ISSUES discussed by the GUEST SPEAKERS.
The Hon Philip Ruddock MP
· 02.50 - 09.45
· Talks about why we have copyright
· Free trade agreement (extending periods, obligations to protect technical measures)
· Courts fair use arrangements and what needs to be included for the future of media
Replies to Callers:
· Sally - addressed the issues of balance between private use and illegal distribution
· Ruddack said he will look at the draft before passing the bill

Dr Matthew Rimmer
· 10.15 - 12.45
· Concerns from Apple and Google (no fair use)
Replies to Callers:
· Discussed that the Australian government looked at the US laws and tried to make a balance between US laws and Australian Laws on copyright

Dr David Brennan
Replies to Callers:
· Payment of use and other ways of getting royalties back for the distributor and artist
· Free-to-Air advertising is one example of payment

Dr Melissa deZwart
Replies to Callers:
· Addresses the problems in which the legislation has been drafted. There are lots of grey areas which the drafts needs to consider
· Need time to fix the legislation draft

Question 3: Provide an overview of FOUR DIFFERENT ISSUES raised by LISTENERS RINGING INTO THE PROGRAM.
The First Caller called in at 13.15 - 14.30, Sally from Lismore, whom raised the issue about “Legislation saying you can only have one copy at a time for fair use”.

The Second Caller called in at 14.35 - 15.50, Josh in Sydney, raised two issues. The first issue was “Record company figures at highest ever” and the second issue was “People becoming their own distributors via file sharing”

The Third Caller called in at 15.55 - 17.20, Kevin in Moowollemba, raised two issues also. The first issue was about, “Whether copyright law should be abolish?” and the second issue was about, “A fair days pay for a fair days work”.

The Fourth Caller called in at 17.25 - 18.30, Arthur in Canberra, raised four issues when he called in. The first issue was about, “Holding copyright on material you can't buy”, the second, was about when the copyright expired “70 years after the composers death”. The third issue, “If the material is not available, how can it be justified on holding copyright on a material you cannot buy”. The fourth and last issue he raised was about “People who won't sell their copyrighted material, so people will obtain it illegally”.

Question 4: Provide the Website Title and Website Address of ABC Radio National’s website that provides access to all of their MP3 audio and Podcast services.
· Radio National: Audio Downloads: Pod casting and MP3s
· http://www.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/default.htm

BL5: CUFADM02A Posting: Useful Websites About Copyright Part 1

Australian Copyright Council
Website Title: Australian Copyright Council's Online Information Centre
Website Address: http://www.copyright.org.au
Brief Description of Organisation

The Australian Copyright Council is an independent not for profit organisation. We provide information, advice and training about copyright in Australia. You'll find a lot of information about copyright in Australia on this website, including many information sheets. Our publications include practical guides and discussion papers. We also do research, and make submissions on copyright policy issues.
Brief Overview of Website Contents
Information on the following:

• Copyright Basics
• Specialized areas of Copyright
• Training
• Recent Updates concerning Copyright details
• A page dedicated to purchasing resource material on Copyright topics
• And contact details for further information

Date and Time Visited: 10:05 pm 29 Nov. 06

Arts Law Centre of Australia
Website Title: The Arts Law Centre of Australia is the national community legal centre for the arts in Australia.
Website Address: http://www.artslaw.com.au/
Brief Description of Organisation
The Arts Law Centre of Australia is the national community legal centre for the arts. Arts Law is a not for profit company limited by guarantee which was established with the support of the Australia Council in 1983 to provide specialised legal and business advice and referral services, professional development resources and advocacy for artists and arts organisations.
Brief Overview of Website Contents
Information on the following areas:

• Legal services and Information
• Publications
• Up-coming Events
• Who the Organization are, including the who the Staff are and how to contact them
• How to gain employment with the Organization
• Also, they have information on Contracts for the budding Artist

Date and Time Visited: 10:05 pm 29 Nov. 06

BL4: CUFADM02A Posting: "Da Vinci Code"

Question 1: Background Information - "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail"

An Editorial Review of the book "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" by Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, and Richard Leigh from Amazon.com

Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, and Richard Leigh, authors of The Messianic Legacy, spent over 10 years on their own kind of quest for the Holy Grail, into the secretive history of early France. What they found, researched with the tenacity and attention to detail that befits any great quest, is a tangled and intricate story of politics and faith that reads like a mystery novel. It is the story of the Knights Templar, and a behind-the-scenes society called the Prieure de Sion, and its involvement in reinstating descendants of the Merovingian bloodline into political power. Why? The authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail assert that their explorations into early history ultimately reveal that Jesus may not have died on the cross, but lived to marry and father children whose bloodline continues today. The authors' point here is not to compromise or to demean Jesus, but to offer another, more complete perspective of Jesus as God's incarnation in man. The power of this secret, which has been carefully guarded for hundreds of years, has sparked much controversy. For all the sensationalism and hoopla surrounding Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the alternate history that it outlines, the authors are careful to keep their perspective and sense of skepticism alive in its pages, explaining carefully and clearly how they came to draw such combustible conclusions. --Jodie Buller

Obtained from the Website: http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Blood-Grail-Michael-Baigent/dp/0440136482

Question 2: Background Information - "The Da Vinci Code"

An Editorial Review of the book "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown from Publishers Weekly.

Brown's latest thriller (after Angels and Demons)is an exhaustively researched page-turner about secret religious societies, ancient cover ups and savage vengeance. The action kicks off in modern-day Paris with the murder of the Louvre's chief curator, whose body is found laid out in symbolic repose at the foot of the Mona Lisa. Seizing control of the case are Sophie Neveu, a lovely French police cryptologist, and Harvard symbol expert Robert Langdon, reprising his role from Brown's last book. The two find several puzzling codes at the murder scene, all of which form a treasure map to the fabled Holy Grail. As their search moves from France to England, Neveu and Langdon are confounded by two mysterious groups-the legendary Priory of Sion, a nearly 1,000-year-old secret society whose members have included Botticelli and Isaac Newton, and the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei. Both have their own reasons for wanting to ensure that the Grail isn't found. Brown sometimes ladles out too much religious history at the expense of pacing, and Langdon is a hero in desperate need of more chutzpah. Still, Brown has assembled a whopper of a plot that will please both conspiracy buffs and thriller addicts.

Obtained from the Website: http://www.amazon.com/Da-Vinci-Code-Dan-Brown/dp/0385504209/sr=1-1/qid=1164539482/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0487324-9008764?ie=UTF8&s=books

Question 3: Research this case and write a summary.

Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, two authors of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grain", had claimed that Dan Brown, author of "The Da Vinci Code", had stolen ideas from their book while his was still being worked on. Baigent and Leigh sued the publishing company, Random House, but the decision did not go in their favour. They plan to appeal next year. It is difficult to say whether their book, "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" influenced Dan Brown in any way because he did state that he had the book and that he did use parts of it within his own. Mr Baigent and Mr Leigh must pay 85% of Random House's costs of almost £1.3m.

Question 4: Why was Sony (in its capacity as a Film Company) so interested in the outcome of the case?

A spokesperson stated this when asked the question above: "While we were not a party to this lawsuit, we are pleased by this result and as we've been saying all along we are proceeding with our plans for the release of the film on 19 May. "
Obtained from an article found at this web address: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4888496.stm

Question 5: Key issues raised by Jon Silverman in relation to Copyright and creative works.
Some key points from within the article - 'No surprise' in Da Vinci judgement writen by Jon Silverman on 07 April 2006 about the Court case between Dan Brown, author of "The Da Vinci Code" and two authors of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail", Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh.

• Since there is no copyright in an idea, any claim for breach of copyright must rest on the way that the idea is expressed.
• But, as copyright lawyer, David Hooper, points out, the key issue is the amount of a book, both in quantity and quality, which is copied by someone else.
• Copyright lawyer Simon Gallant, who was in court when Michael Baigent was giving evidence stated, "It was electrifying. I estimate that in a 20-minute period, he was forced to retract two or three claims and to apologise to Dan Brown for making them."

Obtained from the article - 'No surprise' in Da Vinci judgement - by Jon Silverman from the web address: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4888954.stm