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Abstract:
The advent of digital technology and increased global connectivity has, to put it mildly, caused some ripples for the entertainment industry specifically and copyright law generally. In the aftermath, many are searching for new ways to incorporate the benefits of digital copies and the internet while minimizing the harms. To some, the anime industry and its fans offer examples of how an industry can benefit and even grow from allowing copyright infringement. This article examines the anime industry in-depth with this suggestion in mind and places the industry among current copyright policy debates, such as those suggested by Lawrence Lessig.

anime, otaku, Lessig, copyright, fansub, p2p, free culture

Abstract:
This report considers the Dominican Republic - Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) and its impact on Information Technology (IT) based businesses. The report summarises the factual background to, and contents of, the agreement, and then reviews those parts of the agreement (or omissions from the agreement) that are relevant to the IT field. IT is of interest both because of its potential importance as a contributor to business (and social) growth, but also because of the lesser international roles accorded to it in comparison with its sister, intellectual property (IP). The IT-related provisions of DR-CAFTA reflect international IT (and IP) controversies. But DR-CAFTA also raises questions of the place of agreements between states, their legal validity and their impact upon international relationships and global development.

The primary objective of this project was to explore the extent to which DR-CAFTA impacts upon IT based businesses; the implications of this; to assess how much these issues, and associated economic and legal questions, had been addressed; and to lay the foundations for further legal and interdisciplinary work. We have not, at this stage, explored all the issues covered and not covered in DR-CAFTA, and arising in respect of other agreements of this nature. Rather, we have sought to introduce the issues, provide preliminary comment, and provide a list of resources for further study. We hope that this will be helpful to those coming to the project from a variety of backgrounds, including different legal specialities.

We have concluded that there are important issues to be developed regarding all free trade agreements and IT. These issues are highlighted in the following sections. In terms of immediate further work, we propose investigating the present and future impact of UDRP provisions in DR-CAFTA countries, and liability of Internet Service Providers (ISPs). We believe that these can raise important questions combining IT, e-commerce, IP, trade, human rights and competition issues; both for DR-CAFTA countries and those contemplating their own agreements. We also consider that there is a need for international and interdisciplinary collaboration for this work to be done, including through empirical research with ISPs and domain name owners. We propose holding an international meeting of experts. As a preliminary step, we are also publishing this report in Spanish.

Progress has been shared on the project blog, throughout, and we have been delighted with the interest expressed from a variety of corners. We anticipate this report being transformed into a wiki and for further contributions to be developed via web-based. We hope to maintain the project's momentum through the wiki, and details of this will be posted on the blog.

This project was one of the final activities of Phase 1 of the AHRC Research Centre for Studies in Intellectual Property and Technology Law at the University of Edinburgh (AHRC Research Centre). We are grateful to the AHRC for their support, and look forward to pursuing parts of this work in Phase 2.

FTA, TRIPS-plus, CAFTA, electronic commerce

Abstract:
The Common Information Environment (CIE) recently released a report concerning the possibility of using Creative Commons licenses for information produced by public sector bodies (Barker et al. 2005). One of the issues that came up during the study was the compatibility of Creative Commons (CC) licenses and Digital Rights Management technologies (referred to here as Technical Protection Measures). Many public sector bodies felt that password protection schemes were a practical necessity and would not consider CC if they could not place materials behind a password. This article expands upon the conclusion in the report that CC licenses do allow password schemes and considers a broader scope of TPMs. Though any organization or individual looking to implement TPMs on CC licensed content must tread carefully, TPMs can be used to enhance the attractiveness of CC licenses.

Creative Commons, technical protection measures, digital rights management

Abstract:
This paper examines the legal and regulatory implications of wireless mesh networking. Current approaches to internet regulation focus on centralized points of control, such as traditional ISPs. Following the Lessig concept of code, wireless mesh networking is a decentralized architecture, thus increasing the difficulties of regulating internet behavior. Because this new code enables different players to enter the ISP game, this paper also looks at the regulatory impact of two significant groups: community-based and municipally-owned networks.

mesh network, municipal, community network, internet, regulation

Abstract:
This chapter traces the journey from relatively simple example of direct marketing online (spam) to more recent exercises in which consumers are more subtly tracked, profiled and targeted by advertisers. This targeting has appeared first on-line but increasingly offline tracking will be used too, using digital technologies such as RFID and sensor data collectors. Tracking technologies have evolved from simple “cookies”, first regulated in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (“PECD”) in 2002 , to far more complex technologies of commercial surveillance. These are currently perplexing privacy advocates, privacy commissioners and the European Commission alike, while users are still largely ignorant of their existence. Will our individual and collective privacy suffer from this new type of scrutiny, and can data protection (DP) law still adequately manage to protect European users? In particular, this chapter takes the debate around the Phorm “Webwise” system in the UK and Europe as a case study to illustrate how difficult it is for the law to tackle these issues.

internet, targeted marketing, gmail, adwords, phorm, profiling, RFID, GPS

Abstract:
Given recent instances of lawsuits over copyright in tattoos, this paper examines the implications that come along with granting intellectual property rights in art that is permanently placed on the human body. Because evidence suggests that the tattoo industry has not previously taken into account copyright law, this paper suggests some specific changes for the industry.

copyright, tattoo, VARA, ink, Rasheed Wallace