We thought the provisions in the WIPO broadcast treaty which would add a layer of intellectual property rights were kaput, over, dead-as-a-doornail. Wrong. In May a new version of the treaty was introduced and, contrary to widespread belief about the changes which had been planned, language still exists in the WIPO treat which -- if passed -- would create a brave new world of copyright madness.

As currently written, the treaty would remove fair use rights on things like excerpts of television and radio broadcasts for the purpose of explanation, examination or critical commentary; something even the DMCA hasn't torn asunder.

Also at stake is your PC, the all purpose content creation device in front of which you currently sit. Signatory countries -- which include the "G8" -- would be required to enact legal protections for content which could easily mean that your PC's feature list falls squarely under the control of government, rather than innovative developers. This part of the treaty would stifle new technology in distribution and throw a giant wet blanket on indie content producers.

Sign this online petition and help play a small part in making sure your PC's future remains free.

The next time one of your fair-use zealot friends starts in on a tirade over dinner, you may want to pay closer attention. Shelly Batts, a Phd candidate at the University of Michigan, recently received a nasty-gram from Wiley, publishers of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, ordering her -- in some fairly stern language -- to remove a diagram she'd used in a post on her site.

"In short, I was threatened with legal action if I didn't take it down immediately. I used a panel a figure, and a chart, from over 10+ figures in the paper. I cited and reported everything straight forwardly. I would think they'd be happy to get the press" wrote Batts. You'd think Wiley's legal team would recognize one of the most clear cut cases of fair use possible; that of excerpting for scientific discussion. Then again, you'd think a host of other mega-corporations would be familiar with existing fair-use statutes and recognize when their intellectual property is being used in a responsible, legal manner. Not so.

When will we see legislation to protect bloggers, writers and video editors from these intellectual property bullies?

[via Boing Boing]

Critics of online music stores like the new Napster and Yahoo! Music Unlimited say by giving them you're money you're really just renting your music, since if you stop paying their fees, you lost the ability to listen to the tracks you've downloaded. But if the makers of FairUse4M have anything to say about it, that's no longer the case. Engadget has the scoop on this new, probably-illegal program for Windows that strips the DRM from Windows Media 10 and 11 files, allowing you to play those Napster tracks indefinitely, even after you've canceled your subscription. Engadget's Ryan Block says, "we can verify with all certainty that yes, Windows Media DRM can now be easily and quickly stripped from PlaysForSure media services," but it didn't work on their Vongo videos or Windows Media 9 DRMed files. This is a pretty big deal for Microsoft, which has busily been ensuring record companies for years that PlaysForSure is the best way to protect their content. For awhile software has been available that strips the DRM from music purchased from Apple's iTunes Music Store--the difference is, one had to pay for each of those tracks in the first place, whereas with Windows Media-based subscription stores, one could buy a one-month subscription and potentially unlock tens of thousands of files for the price of a single CD (or for free, if one takes advantage of a free trial period). Yow.