Friday’s Endnotes – 07/01/16

America must be as independent in literature as in Politics, as famous for arts as for arms.

— Noah Webster (1758-1843)

Copyright Small Claims Court: Not Just a Dream — “For decades, copyright infringements worth a few thousand dollars in damages have frustrated photographers, because suing ‘small’ infringers in federal court costs $30,000 or more. Finally, there’s hope for a solution: a Copyright Small Claims Tribunal that would give photographers and other copyright owners access to the legal system at a much lower cost.”

Creators frustrated with Copyright Office’s outdated technology, procedures — “According to industry representatives and creators, the system discourages groups from registering their copyrights. Some songwriters and makers of standardized tests delay or avoid registering because they do not trust the office’s computer security. Newspapers must be submitted in the form of costly and increasingly redundant microfiche, driving some to avoid registering altogether. Others simply get fed up with the office’s clunky registration process. When creators don’t register, people like Kempner struggle to find an owner if they want to buy a work. Skipping registration also severely limits the legal recourse a creator can pursue if their work is used illegally.”

1,000 Artists Including Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran Write Letter to European Leaders Over YouTube — The letter, calling “for Europe’s leaders to address the value gap that exists between digital music consumption and revenues returned by user-generated services like YouTube” follows a similar one appearing in US publications.

Citing Kirtsaeng, Publishers Ask Judge to Deny Legal Fees in GSU Case — The publishers cite to the Supreme Court’s decision that directs courts to put substantial weight on the objective reasonableness of a losing party’s litigation positions and argue that the case represented “a quintessential example of the type of ‘useful copyright litigation’ that is to be encouraged.”

Seven things we’ve learned from the first year of Apple Music — “1) You don’t need a free tier to get people to pay.”

The STAR TREK Fanfilm Guidelines Saved Fanfilms — “The basic creativity of fans can be allowed to flourish while the people who own the property feel like they’re not getting screwed. Because the reality is that without rules like these the only other options are for the property owner to just throw up their hands and let anyone make and sell stuff based on their IP (coming this fall: Disney’s fanfilm of Batman!) or be truly draconian and allow nothing at all, to cruise YouTube all day sending takedown notices for any small, goofy fanwork.”