I’ve been involved in a few disturbing conversations the last couple of days.
Fair Use has a vital role in copyright law- it allows the use of copyrighted material without permission for what are essentially societal benefits. Criticism, scholarship, teaching and research are specifically mentioned in the text of the law as examples of the kinds [...]
I came across two articles today that aren’t explicitly connected to one another, but are certainly evocative of similar issues.
The first is from CNN: The Pictures that Horrified America.
The article discusses the big push to censor comic book publishing in America, because critics alleged that these materials were corrupting the youth of the day. It [...]
As usual, William Patry as some very insightful things to say regarding anything going on in the copyright world.
http://williampatry.blogspot.com/2008/03/turn-it-in-and-kiss-it-goodbye.html
He mentions a few of the problems that I have with Turnitin. I don’t like requiring students to turn over their work in that manner, I despise heavily one-sided End User License Agreements, and I don’t like [...]
There’s been a great deal of talk about video games and art recently, and here’s the latest salvo-
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/levelup/archive/2007/09/18/the-question-of-whether-games-are-art-revisited.aspx
I find it interesting that they’re talking about insiders and outsiders.
To paraphrase a Washington Post slogan from the days of my brief stint there in the early ’90s, if he doesn’t get it, he doesn’t get it. Please [...]
I promised I’d write more about the Center for American History’s Videogame Archive Fund-Raiser, so I’ll do that now. I’ll also be writing about archives, digital archives, and video games and archives over the next few weeks. There’s a lot to think about. ^_^ I was a gamer long before I came to the iSchool- [...]
I’ll be a guest blogger at Collectanea this month, and my first post gets to be about Golan v. Gonzales. ^_^
Yesterday, I had the chance to volunteer at UT’s Video Games Archives FUNdraiser. It rained, it was muddy, and it was great. ^_^ I’ll write more about the experience, video games and archives, Richard [...]
ZDNet is reporting that a virtual land owner in Second Life is sending DMCA takedown notices to persons using screen shots of the now infamous, to put it bluntly, flying penis attack at a CNET interview with that person. There are several problems with this tactic, as ZDNet notes. Although the person has copyright in [...]
My housemate has gotten around to playing Kingdom Hearts, and naturally he’s been reading the FAQ to play through it. (It’s the only way he plays.) I’ve used FAQs from GameFAQs before, and being the copyright nerd that I am I always read the copyright notices. They almost always contain erroneous information, and part of [...]
Public Citizen | Press Room - Software Company Wrongfully Interfered with Sale of Guide to Popular Video Game on eBay
Here’s more on the Blizzard story from CNET. Blizzard’s restrictive policies and in this case, abuse of the DMCA, are far more destructive to Blizzard’s goodwill and recognition than any guide could possibly be.
Rockstar legal warriors squash online installation | The Daily Page
Again, games and copyright cross paths and the resulting crash isn’t pretty. GamePolitics linked to this article about Rockstar’s use of a DMCA Cease and Desist notice to take down a student’s site. The site used material from the Warriors in a manner that was critical [...]
We in the anime fan community tend to use ethics associated with practices that may or may not relate to actual copyright law- for example, pulling and stopping distribution of fansubs once the works are licensed, not supporting commercial bootlegs, and so on. I think those choices are great. The problem is convincing copyright holders that they are sufficient.
…something like this occurs that makes me question whether or not I want to give money to Blizzard. Early on, the bnetd issue. Last time it was their invasive anti-cheating measures. This time, I haven’t gotten a handle on their policies against advertising for a gay-friendly guild.
Slashdot | Gay Guild Recruitment Disallowed From WoW?
In Newsweekly [...]
GameSpy3A20A20Boy20and20His20Blob20Preview
A new release of a Boy and his Blob. Old news, but new to me. ^_^ aBahB was one of my favorite games on the NES- basically, you and your alien Blob pal must adventure to save his homeworld (aptly named Blobonia). You get past obstacles by feeding him different jellybeans, which allow him to [...]
From Wired, Wired News: Star Wars Fans Flee Net Galaxy
This certainly doesn’t inspire me in the least to try Star Wars Galaxies, even if the new play is as great as Sony Online claims (I have my doubts, but even if…). I just don’t want to pay money to a company that treats its users [...]
The Video Game Revolution: “Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked” by Henry Jenkins | PBS
A pro-game article from the PBS website by MIT Professor Henry Jenkins, refuting common attacks on games and gaming.