Berkman Buzz: April 5, 2013

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Dan Gillmor: "if it's digital, we don't own it"

A federal judge has reminded us of a fundamental reality: if it's digital, we don't own it. In an unfortunate but unsurprising ruling, District Judge Richard J Sullivan sided with the Copyright Cartel – specifically, Capitol Records in this case – against an innovative startup that was providing a marketplace for used songs. Had the users of the startup, ReDigi, been selling used CDs via any number of online stores, there would have been no issue. But the music in this case was stored in computer files, so the doctrine of "first sale" – your right to resell what you've bought – didn't apply.

From Dan Gillmor's post for The Guardian, "In our digital world you don't own stuff, you just license it" About Dan | @dangillmor

David Weinberger joins Nicholas Carr & DPLA Executive Director Dan Cohen for the Digital Campus podcast

The latest podcast in the Digital Campus series focuses solely on the current state of the Digital Public Library of America. The discussion includes Dan Cohen who has just accepted the position of Executive Director of the DPLA, which is just wonderful news. Not only does he have a rare combination of skills and experiences — ever hear of Zotero, hmm? — but he is also — and there’s no other way of putting this — nice.

From David Weinberger's blog post, "Podcast about the DPLA’s status and its relation to public libraries" About David | @dweinberger

DID YOU KNOW that you can watch the @cms_mit thesis presentations LIVE? Check them out, we're going all day: https://t.co/hFm7A6Pi7Y —Molly Sauter (