Around 500 BCE the government in Sybaris, the ancient city of Magna Graecia, started granting a one-year patent to any citizen for any “new refinement in luxury.” The Greeks, contributors of so many advances in the arts, philosophy, science, and government were the first who thought about and implemented protection for creators, unsuspected initiators of the intellectual property field. This seemed appropriate for the city which was recognized by its refinement and hedonism, to the…
First things first. We always encourage everyone to be respectful and mindful of others’ intellectual property, which in this electronic media age can be tricky. Nowadays, people can easily step into copyright infringement territory, if they are not careful. Recently, it came to our attention the case of blogger being accused by certain law firms of copyright infringement. Some good intentioned bloggers may be tempted to download and post pictures that circulate in the internet…
A bill, expected to be formally approved mid-March by the European Union (EU), is causing concern with big internet platforms because it makes companies liable for copyright violations. The bill is called Article 13 of the EU Copyright Directive and could make services such as YouTube, Facebook and Google responsible if their users upload copyright-protected movies, music, etc. Additionally, Article 13 will allow news publishers to negotiate licenses with aggregators such Alphabet Inc. The regulation,…
The age of the electronic media and social platforms have created new spaces for creators such musicians, who may be not attached to a traditional record company, creating a more autonomous model. However, nowadays, the road to stardom and a living wage is a steep one. Over the past decade, the way of making money in the music business by selling recorded albums has become obsolete and the technology of the streaming services has completely…
There is a world where all your little heart’s desires can come true: You live in a beautiful custom-designed mansion with a sparkling swimming pool where you gather your beautiful, model-like friends while you sashay a firm, bikini-clad body, martini in hand. It is called Second Life. Second Life is a virtual word launched in 2003 which has approximately a million regular users. Users create avatars of themselves to interact with places, objects, and other…
