Showing posts with label copyright office. Show all posts
Showing posts with label copyright office. Show all posts

Saturday, March 07, 2020

Willy Nilly and the Erosion of Privacy

Does personal privacy matter? Less so, it seems, in the age where a priority is put on the convenience of others and the profitability of "data", whether the subject of the eroded privacy likes it or not.

"Willy Nilly" harks back to the Old English for "will he" and "ne-will he", "ne" being the negative prefix which is not usually cited in online dictionaries. Most resources condense "ne-will" to "nill", but not all.

Millennials don't seem to mind.  Authors are accustomed to having to give up some privacy as a trade off for pursuing a career, and some authors use pen names... and sometimes, a pen name is not the guarantee of privacy that it used to be.

Perhaps, it is not a good thing for all those sites --that post disclaimers asking paid users to refrain from making employment, or housing, or lending, or other important decisions about the person whose alleged info they are selling online-- to be allowed to monetize private information.  They don't always get it right.  Even if they did get everything right, that information tends to deny persons a fair chance or a second chance.

It is divisive.

Ironically, to read a Loeb and Loeb legal blog article about privacy, you have to accept cookies.
https://www.loeb.com/en/insights/publications/2020/02/new-uspto-rule-makes-trademark-owner-email-and-mailing

Lexology link.

Loeb and Loeb LLP legal bloggers Melanie Howard, David W. Grace and Ashley Van Leer explain for the benefit of trademark owners how new USPTO rules make trademark owners' street addresses and email addresses available to the public. Authors cannot hide behind their intellectual properties attorney any more.

That is lovely for the "Person-Locator-type" internet businesses that sell personal information, and also for scammers, robocallers, spear phishers, and other common varieties of spammers... and advertisers and marketers.

By the way, on the subject of government helpfulness.... the Copyright Office will be raising many fees as of March 20th, 2020. (Not for photographers.)
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-02-19/pdf/2020-03268.pdf

Reverting to advertising and targeting, and the annoying loss of privacy, the Charles Russell Speechlys LLP  UK focused legal blog has some must-read insights into data driven online targeting.

Lexology link.

Original:
https://www.charlesrussellspeechlys.com/en/news-and-insights/insights/commercial/2020/2020-update-data-driven-online-targeting/

Legal blogger Olivia Crane does a deep dive into what data-driven online targeted advertising means, especially for Britons. This author sympathizes with Olivia Crane's unpleasant experience with shower curtains.

I had a similar experience recently with a synthetic planking product that popped up and virtually stalked me wherever I went (online).  This was after I made a purchase which I regret to this day... so where was the commercial sense in metaphorically bludgeoning me with a Lumber product?

It seems to me, the sensible advertisement targeters might be using "targeting" in much the same way as click-fraud.  "This woman recently bought a new roof for her house (usually a 15 - 30 year warrantied purchase), let's sell her name to roofers, so they can try --in vain-- to sell her a new roof!"

Most authors use Facebook, too.  The Socially Aware legal blog asks, "Are your facebook posts discoverable?"  Of course they are!
https://www.sociallyawareblog.com/2020/02/24/are-your-facebook-posts-discoverable-application-of-the-forman-test-in-new-york/#page=1

Lexology.

J. Alexander Lawrence and Lily Smith for Morrison Foerster LLP give chapter and verse on how far your privacy can be eroded and information you shared semi-privately on Facebook can be exploited and used against you in a court of law.

So, if you are ever going to sign a lease to rent a home that says "No cats", and having an illicit cat is grounds for eviction, do not post photos of your beloved cat on your Facebook page with distinctive features of said rental house in the background... for example.

Finally, for readers who love fine art, your ability to acquire anonymously is receeding, as Andrea N. Perez, writing for Carrington Coleman explains.
https://www.ccsb.com/our-firm/publish/loss-of-privacy-rights-when-purchasing-art/

Lexology.

Art lovers are presumed to be terrorists and/or money launderers until they prove otherwise according to the EU's Fifth Directive.

What an excellent book title "The Fifth Directive" would be!

All the best,

Rowena Cherry 

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Moral Rights Deadline, Keeping Your Contest Legal.


If you feel that, as an alien romance author (or any other type of author), your moral rights ought to be increased or more vigorously protected by the US Government, you have until one minute before midnight Eastern Time on March 30th, 2017 to submit your brief (or lengthy) remarks.

Explanation:
https://www.copyright.gov/policy/moralrights/

Instructions:
https://www.copyright.gov/policy/moralrights/comment-submission/

Moral rights are non-economic rights that are personal to an author, such as the right of attribution (giving you credit for being the author of your work), and the right not to have your work distorted in a way that harms your honor or integrity.

LaVar Oldham, of the law offices of Workman Nydegger has written a helpful article on Moral Rights in the USA, and why authors might wish to provide comments. Other countries provide greater protection for authors' moral rights than does the USA, partly because the American "First Amendment".
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=7fec26a9-3207-44cd-bc73-84774f29e9b8&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2017-03-17&utm_term=

Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP have a helpful article about staying on the sweet side of the law while running a contest to promote one's work.
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=5801a2a8-d61d-4c3d-bdda-f0b8262c88cc&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2017-03-09&utm_term=

This is the first of a series. In this part, they define what makes a "contest" look like an illegal lottery ("a prize", the element of "chance", and "consideration" or "anything of value") and how to tweak your contest so that it is not an illegal lottery.

Many independent authors, and some traditionally published authors run contests that appear to cross the line. This looks like a series that is worth following.

Kudos and attribution for the sweepstakes advice go to Darren S Cahr, Tore Thomas DeBella, and Mita K. Lakhia.

All the best,

Rowena Cherry

PS. My apologies for not posting last Sunday. I blame Stella (the storm).

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Website Owners And Blog Owners -- Protect Yourself

I've only seen this on legal blogs...  Effective December 1st 2016, if you want Safe Harbor protection for your website or blog or app, you need to register your copyright agent information with the Copyright Office.

Otherwise, you don't get Safe Harbor protection if someone posts a hyperlink on your site or blog that links to infringing material.

Read more on this legal blog
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2d78785b-8083-46b6-89f3-2c725911aeea

Many thanks to Coe W. Ramsey of the lawfirm Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey & Leonard LLP
for his article on Lexology.

According to Mr. Ramsey, the copyright office has reduced the fee for registering an copyright agent to $6.00 but when this author looked at the LOC.GOV site it is still showing the old price (which is much more expensive).
http://www.copyright.gov/onlinesp/

Mark Whittow and Trevor M, Gates  of K&L Gates LLP share their perspective on the new rule, and
have more links and tables.
https://www.iplawwatch.com/2016/11/new-dmca-safe-harbor-copyright-agent-requirements-for-online-service-providers/

David J Wittenstein of Cooley LLP offers his own clear guidance on the new rules :
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=d599720a-3b71-438e-94a7-48da57fb5586

Some of us blogging authors may not feel that we are "service providers", but there are blogs that appear to infringe on authors' copyrights and/or link to online file storage sites where infringing copies of ebooks are illegally made available for downloading. We've all seen them. This new rule appears to make it very clear that hyperlinking is infringement.

By the way, dear visitors, you may not hyperlink to other authors' ebooks, but you might need safe harbor protection if visitors or guests (or you yourself) snag and use photographs lifted from social media sites that someone else posted without the copyright owners' permissions.

http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2284dee5-438d-43d5-b81e-1b207050ecc8&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2016-10-24&utm_term=


If you are an author and wish to check that your copyrights are registered, go here:
http://www.copyright.gov/onlinesp/

You can enter either your books by title, or enter your own name for instance (Cherry Rowena) or even search by keyword.

All the best,


Copyright agent for this alien romances blog:

Rowena Cherry
rowena@rowenacherry.com

PO Box 7301
2211 South Telegraph
Bloomfield Hills
MI 48302