From Public Knowledge:
This morning, the House Judiciary Committee decided not to proceed with a markup of HR 6052, the Copyright Modernization Act. The bill would put in place a needed new system of licensing for digital music. At the same time, the bill would place new restrictions on innovative devices that allow consumers to record [...]
Archive of entries posted on September 2006
Public Knowledge Commends House Judiciary Committee Action on Copyright Bill
Google won’t hand data to Brazil judge
From BusinessWeek:
Google Inc. will not meet a Brazilian judges’ deadline to turn over information on users of the company’s social networking service Orkut, a spokewoman said Wednesday.
IRS Sued for Lenghty Delay in Responding to FOIA Request
From the FOIA blog:
The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center has sued the Internal Revenue Service (”IRS”) for its failure to produce records on a request made to it approximately 18 months ago. The request sought records on the plaintiff’s attempt to get itself 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. While the IRS [...]
State by State: Ballot Issues and Campaign Finance
Thanks to Free Government Information for pointing out this state-by-state map of ballot initiatives coming to a ballot box near you this fall. From PBS’s NOW.
Click where you live to find ballot proposals you’ll be voting on this November, as well as a campaign finance disclosure report card for your state (You might be surprised [...]
The Slow Road: FOIA Litigation
New LLRX Column by Scott A. Hodes:
One of the reasons that FOIA litigation is disfavored by people is the time it takes for the lawsuit to actually result in a decision. Even before a lawsuit has been filed, the requester has usually spent some time waiting for the agency to make a decision on his [...]
SEC to Rebuild Public Disclosure System to Make It ‘Interactive’
SEC Press Release:
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox announced today that the SEC has awarded three separate contracts totaling $54 million to transform the agency’s 1980s-vintage public company disclosure system from a form-based electronic filing cabinet to a dynamic real-time search tool with interactive capabilities.
China blogging leaps 30-fold in four years
From News.com:
The number of blog sites in China reached 34 million last month, a 30-fold increase from four years ago, state media said on Tuesday, despite a series of curbs on media and dissent.
China has more than 17 million people writing blogs and more than 75 million people reading them, Xinhua news agency said.
The Law is an Ass!
From News.com:
British Library calls for digital copyright action
The British Library has called for a “serious updating” of current copyright law to “unambiguously” include digital content and take technological advances into account.
In a manifesto released on Monday at the Labor Party Conference in Manchester, the United Kingdom’s national library warned that the country’s traditional copyright law [...]
Spanish university joins Google book scan plan
From Yahoo! News UK:
The Complutense University of Madrid is becoming the first library in a non-English-speaking country to join Google Inc.’s bid to scan every book in print, as the controversial project extends its global reach.
Washington Post Political Ads Database
About The Political Ads Database:
The database includes political advertisements funded by campaigns, parties, committees, and independent advocacy groups. Most of the ads are tied to specific U.S. House, U.S. Senate, or gubernatorial races throughout the country. Some of the ads are more general “issue” or advocacy ads not tied to a particular race or candidate. [...]