Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden appointed Karyn Temple as register of copyrights, which she has held in an acting role since October 2016. Temple “has done a superb job ... leveraging her skills as both a copyright lawyer and accomplished manager,” Hayden said Wednesday. Hayden in 2016 essentially ousted then-Register Maria Pallante, which drew the ire of Senate and House Judiciary Committee leadership (see 1706090050). Leaders unsuccessfully attempted to pass a bill that would have made the register a president-appointed position.
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act allegations against DirecTV by a California businesswoman don't include claims the direct broadcast satellite operator schemed with piracy auditing firm Signal Auditing to deceive business owners, or that Signal intended to deceive, said the DBS provider's motion to dismiss the second amended complaint posted Friday in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California (in Pacer, docket 16-cv-01440). DirecTV said threatening to initiate legal proceedings isn't mail or wire fraud and the complaint doesn't allege a RICO enterprise. Named plaintiff Doneyda Perez is alleging DirecTV sells its DBS service to small businesses under residential accounts, then accuses them of pirating signals (see 1611210019). Plaintiff's counsel didn't comment Monday.
Internet stakeholders should participate in voluntary industry initiatives to address illegal intellectual property-related activity, more than 70 groups wrote Congress Thursday. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Artists Rights Alliance (formerly the Content Creators Coalition), the Committee for Justice, American Legislative Exchange Council, Americans for Tax Reform, Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and Rainbow PUSH Coalition signed. The letter cites online statistics on digital theft: 2001-2015, U.S. music revenue fell from $14 billion to $7 billion. It also cited the need to protect IP rights through international trade agreements and the link between IP and free speech, consumer protection and national security.
There’s no evidence to suggest ASCAP and BMI consent decrees outlived “their intended purpose,” the MIC Coalition said Friday, responding to a proposal from ASCAP and BMI executives to replace them with an alternative framework that sunsets (see 1902280071). “If anything, they are more critical than ever in an increasingly complex and diverse licensing environment,” said the coalition. Members include the Computer & Communications Industries Association, CTA, Digital Media Association and NAB.
DOJ should replace the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees with modern consent decrees, said ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews and BMI CEO Mike O’Neill Thursday. They want to maintain musicians’ automatic access to BMI and ASCAP “repertoires with the immediate right to public performance,” access contingent on a “fairer, more efficient, less costly and automatic mechanism for the payment of interim fees." They want to keep “the rate court process for resolution of rate disputes” outlined in the Music Modernization Act and continue to get “non-exclusive U.S. rights from our writers and publishers, which allows licensees, songwriters, composers and publishers to still do direct deals if they so choose.” They want as-is “current forms of licenses that the industry has grown accustomed to beyond the traditional blanket license.” They warned against government intervention that would come with reverting to a compulsory licensing model. DOJ has been reviewing the decrees (see 1902140042) and reportedly may seek comment soon. Justice didn't comment immediately.
The Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee will discuss the annual IP report to Congress (see 1902040041) during a hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday in 226 Dirksen. The administration’s Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Vishal Amin will testify.
A Delaware district court didn’t err in how it construed the term “dispatch” in a case involving a patent for GPS-guided maps, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Tuesday. The ruling was a win for Verizon and affiliates Networks in Motion and Telecommunication Systems in a patent dispute with Vehicle IP. The products in question are apps on mobile devices that allow users to request navigation information, the court said: “Users provide a destination to the mobile application, which prompts the application to send an inquiry to Appellees’ servers.” Vehicle IP “appeals that construction, as well as the district court’s grant of the defendants’ motion for summary judgment of no willful infringement,” the Federal Circuit ruled. “Because the district court properly construed ‘dispatch,’ we affirm.” Judge Todd Hughes wrote the decision. Judges Kathleen O’Malley and Jimmie Reyna were the other members of the panel.
Between $50 and $100 is a reasonable price when faced with a legitimate claim for using a copyright-protected image, IP lawyer-experts agreed Friday at an FCBA event. Not all claims should be considered legitimate, said Fletcher Heald's Kevin Goldberg, NPR Senior Associate General Counsel Ashley Messenger and Ballard Spahr's Adrianna Rodriguez on “copyright trolls.” With a legitimate claim, a settlement is infringer's first thought, Goldberg said, and the object is to come to conclusion as quickly and painlessly as possible. Speakers stressed the importance of rigorous record-keeping to ensure online publishers know when they’re using content legally. Rodriguez suggested something as simple as an Excel spreadsheet with rights information. Messenger said NPR handles about one claim per month, and it’s usually the result of a good-faith editorial-staff mistake. The $100 range for a photo is reasonable, she said. Goldberg agreed.
Roku invented a method for enabling subscribers to log in using motion-detection fingerprints embedded in the TV’s remote control, said a U.S. patent application (20190012452) published Thursday at the Patent and Trademark Office. In entertainment systems, “a standard user login process using a remote control usually requires the user to type user identification information on a small remote control keyboard or use the remote control to direct an onscreen keyboard to enter the proper login information,” it said. “In either scenario, logging in to the system, particularly when using a remote control, can be a cumbersome process.” Roku’s solution includes at least one processor “coupled” to a “memory,” and “configured” to detect the motion of a remote control and compare that with one or more stored motions that grant access to the account if a match is found, said the application, based on a Sept. 14 filing. It names Ilya Asnis, senior vice president-Roku OS, as the sole inventor. The company didn’t comment Thursday on commercial implications.
Despite industry-altering technology, record labels are discovering and promoting music more than ever by “using radically new means to support artists,” RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier wrote Thursday. Hundreds of digital services are licensed to deliver streaming music, and labels are investing more than ever in artists and repertoire, marketing and “other artist support activities” like data insights, Glazier wrote. He cited a report by New York University Steinhardt Music Business Program Director Larry Miller.