Copyright Alliance – Beware of it
Following up on what I wrote about the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007…a bill designed to make it easy for virtually anyone to be convicted of copyright infringement, or even attempted infringement, by shifting the burden from the accuser to you.
The big money is lining up behind the bill with the formation of a new “Copyright Alliance.” Members include Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Association of American Publishers, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Microsoft, Viacom and Walt Disney.
This is an anti-consumer, anti-entrepreneur effort. Contact your U.S. Representative and Senators to oppose it.
Moving in the other direction, Amazon.com is launching its own music download service that will be DRM-free, that is, you’ll be able to transfer songs purchased from one device to another.
Utah Jumps the Shark With Trademark Protection Act
Utah is known for dim bulbs in Congress trying to legislate tech issues without a clue what they’re doing. It harkens back to the day when Utah’s WordPerfect was the most popular word processor and Novell was still headquartered in Orem.
No longer on the cutting edge, the state now attempts to make itself relevant for something other than HBO’s Big Love.
Utah’s legislature has just passed a law that attempts to restrict the way you do business on the Internet. Called the “Trademark Protection Act,” this poorly written legislation creates an “electronic registration mark.”
How can this affect you?
The law might be violated if you use as an advertising keyword (such as in Google Adwords or other pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns) a mark that has been registered in Utah under the new law.
Imagine the chaos if all 50 states set up such laws and you had to pay annual registration fees in each to protect your mark.
Look for this bill to be struck down as unconstitutional. The state is interfering with interstate commerce. In the mean time, tread carefully when doing business in Utah.
Hat tip to Danny Sullivan at SearchEngineLand.com
