US Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Google

In the case of Authors Guild v. Google, the US Court of Appeals in a decision released October 16, 2015, affirmed the US District Court summary judgment finding Google's copying is fair use and 'transformative'.

Plaintiff-appellants, who are authors of published books under copyright, appeal from the judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Chin, J.) in favor of Defendant Google, Inc. Plaintiffs sued Google, alleging that its Library Project and Google Books project infringe Plaintiffs’ copyrights. Through these projects, Google makes and retains digital copies of books submitted to it by major libraries, allows the libraries that submitted a book to download and retain a digital copy, and allows the public to search the texts of the digitally copied books and see displays of snippets of text. The district court granted summary judgment based on its conclusion that Google’s copying is fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107 and is therefore not infringing. The Court of Appeals concludes that the defendant’s copying is transformative within the meaning of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569, 578-585 (1994), does not offer the public a meaningful substitute for matter protected by the plaintiffs’ copyrights, and satisfies § 107’s test for fair use. AFFIRMED.

Click HERE to read/download the decision of the US Court of Appeals.

International Conference on IP Policies and Copyright

A whole-day special event at MIBF, “Copy & Repro” is organized by Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society (FILCOLS) and will be held on September 19 at the Function Room 2, SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.

FILCOLS’ partner organizations for the event are Intellectual Property (IP) Philippines, the National Book Development Board (NBDB), and the Brussels-based International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO). IP Philippines director general Ricardo R. Blancaflor will deliver the keynote address, “Keeping the Philippines Off the USTR’s Watch List.”

Prospective participants are requested to register early because of limited slots. Deadline for registration is on September 5, 2014.

Conference fees cover morning and afternoon snacks, lunch, certificate of participation, and conference kit. Regular rate is PHP 1,500.00. Discounted rate is PHP 1,200.00 for SUCs and for groups of three (3) or more participants from the same institution.

For more details and to know how to register, please go to this link:

http://www.manilabookfair.com/img/downloads/Copy%20and%20Repro%20Event-Fact%20Sheet-Program-Registration%20Form-CHED%20memo.pdf

Papers Presented @ National Conference on Copyright and the Philippine Film Industry

The papers presented during the recently held National Conference on Copyright and the Philippine Film Industry last March 2-3, 2011 organized by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines are available for viewing/download here.

Some of the papers presented of interest to librarians and information specialist are:

1. The importance of copyright

2. The global finance and distribution environment

3. Global structure of the film industry

4. Copyright in the filmmaking process

5. Philippine film TV, new media industries in a digital environment