News and Research articles on License

Volume 2, Issue 3

The changing role of collecting societies in the internet

Sebastian Haunss, University of Bremen
PUBLISHED ON: 30 Sep 2013 DOI: 10.14763/2013.3.199

The system of national collecting societies provided a relatively stable framework for licensing musical works – until the internet changed the field of music distribution. The GEMA-Youtube case serves as a starting point to discuss the future of collective copyright management.

KEYWORDS: Copyright, License, Intermediaries, Music, Distribution, Intellectual property rights, Collecting societies, European Union
Volume 2, Issue 3

Law of the cloud: on the supremacy of the user interface over copyright law

Primavera De Filippi, Research and Studies Center of Administrative Science (CERSA/CNRS), Université Paris II (Panthéon-Assas)
PUBLISHED ON: 18 Jul 2013 DOI: 10.14763/2013.3.175

The provisions of copyright law can potentially be bypassed by cloud computing applications whose interface is designed to regulate the access, use and reuse of online content.

KEYWORDS: Copyright, User interface, Terms of service, License, Public domain, Enclosure, Private regulation, Cloud computing
Open access

Wikimedia and the (political) meaning of free knowledge

Nikolas Becker, Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG)

PUBLISHED ON: 2 Apr 2013

In Europe, education and free knowledge are subject to political restrictions that can only be effectively changed on the EU level. Wikimedia, the not-for-profit organisation behind the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, believes this. The organisation could therefore soon open an office in Brussels to participate in the future debates about a European knowledge society. Nikolas Becker is a member of the board of Wikimedia Germany. Using three concise examples, he explains why and where he sees need for action.