CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto: Working email and RSVPx

Apologies for this housekeeping message, but my mail server was down
yesterday, so any RSVPs sent would have bounced. If you have a minute
to resend, that'd be great. Thanks!
Ren
=-=-=-=-=-=-
Dear CopyNight Toronto,
It's time for another CopyNight! Note that we're back to meeting on
Tuesday night this month. If you are planning to come, shoot me an
email so that I get a sense of the required table size. Here are the
details:
Where: Victory Cafe
(typically upstairs, as it's easier to get a big table)
When: July 28, 7:30 P.M.
Host: Ren Bucholz
(416 300 5316 if you get lost!)
Hope this finds you well!
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Dear CopyNighters,
This is a quick reminder that most chapters meet this week of
Monday, July 27th, in cities around the world. Be sure to check
the website for details on your local chapter, and shoot us an
email if you'd like to start something in your city!
<http://copynight.org/>;
~Apertif: Of tethered devices, Kindles and Orwell
For my money, the most interesting tech/copyright story of the
month is the Kindle/Orwell debacle. Earlier this month, some
owners of Amazon's Kindle ebook reader found that copies of George
Orwell's "1984" (among other titles) had been remotely deleted
from their devices. Amazon provided full refunds and explained
that the rights for these works had not been properly cleared.
While true, it did little to quell the intense backlash that
followed. After a week of excoriation on the blogs and in the
tech press, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos issued a public apology calling
the move "stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line" with
Amazon's principles.
The ability to remotely delete content and disable device features
has long been a goal of copyright holders. It has also become
fashionable for tech companies that make what Prof. Jonathan
Zittrain calls "tethered devices" in his book, "The Future of the
Internet and How To Stop It." These devices offer ease of use,
convenience, increased security, etc., by requiring continued
contact with some central authority. Users who decide to sever
that tie--whether by hacking or refusing to install "recommended"
updates--find themselves with degrading functionality or even
bricked devices.
The Kindle is just one example of a tethered device, and the
Orwell debacle is just one example of the cost of its convenience.
Amazon is able to provide a seamless customer experience by
keeping its fingers on the pulse of every unit it sells. And
this story may be something that, in hindsight, Amazon views as
a mistake. But the reality is more and more devices can be choked
when their controllers disagree with how their nominal owners want
to use them.
Cheers,
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto: Meeting Tuesday, July 28th

Dear CopyNight Toronto,
It's time for another CopyNight! Note that we're back to meeting on
Tuesday night this month. �If you are planning to come, shoot me an
email so that I get a sense of the required table size. Here are the
details:
Where: Victory Cafe
(typically upstairs, as it's easier to get a big table)
When: July 28, 7:30 P.M.
Host: Ren Bucholz
(416 300 5316 if you get lost!)
Hope this finds you well!
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Dear CopyNighters,
This is a quick reminder that most chapters meet this week of
Monday, July 27th, in cities around the world. Be sure to check
the website for details on your local chapter, and shoot us an
email if you'd like to start something in your city!
<http://copynight.org/>;
~Apertif: Of tethered devices, Kindles and Orwell
For my money, the most interesting tech/copyright story of the
month is the Kindle/Orwell debacle. Earlier this month, some
owners of Amazon's Kindle ebook reader found that copies of George
Orwell's "1984" (among other titles) had been remotely deleted
from their devices. Amazon provided full refunds and explained
that the rights for these works had not been properly cleared.
While true, it did little to quell the intense backlash that
followed. After a week of excoriation on the blogs and in the
tech press, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos issued a public apology calling
the move "stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line" with
Amazon's principles.
The ability to remotely delete content and disable device features
has long been a goal of copyright holders. It has also become
fashionable for tech companies that make what Prof. Jonathan
Zittrain calls "tethered devices" in his book, "The Future of the
Internet and How To Stop It." These devices offer ease of use,
convenience, increased security, etc., by requiring continued
contact with some central authority. Users who decide to sever
that tie--whether by hacking or refusing to install "recommended"
updates--find themselves with degrading functionality or even
bricked devices.
The Kindle is just one example of a tethered device, and the
Orwell debacle is just one example of the cost of its convenience.
Amazon is able to provide a seamless customer experience by
keeping its fingers on the pulse of every unit it sells. And
this story may be something that, in hindsight, Amazon views as
a mistake. But the reality is more and more devices can be choked
when their controllers disagree with how their nominal owners want
to use them.
Cheers,
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto: No meeting this month

Hey CopyNight Toronto,
I won't be able to host this month's meeting, but I hope
to catch you all next month. Enjoy the weather and we'll
connect in July!
Cheers,
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto: Meeting Wednesday the 27th!

CopyNight Toronto: Next Meeting is Wednesday, April 29

Dear CopyNight Toronto,
It's time for another CopyNight! Note that we're still meeting on
Wednesday night, not the usual Tuesday night, this month. �For the
new people, I'm the tall half-Asian guy with black hair and Nerd
Glasses. If you are planning to come, shoot me an email so that I
get a sense of the required table size. Here are the details:
Where: Victory Cafe
(typically the room on the north/left side as you
walk in, provided that it is not reserved)
When: April 29, 7 P.M.
Host: Ren Bucholz
(416 300 5316 if you get lost!)
See the attached general list email for some interesting bits of
copyright-related news. Hope this finds you well!
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto
+++++++++++++++++++
Dear CopyNighters,
This is a quick reminder that most chapters meet this week on
Tuesday, April 28th, in cities around the world. Springfield, IL
is the newest addition to the CopyNight crew. If you know any
copyright geeks in the area, let 'em know. Thanks to Liz Murphy
Thomas for taking the lead! Be sure to check the website for
details on your local chapter, and shoot us an email if you'd like
to start something in your city!
http://copynight.org/
Here are some recent news items that might be of interest:
Hypocrisy we can believe in?
The most iconic graphic of the 2008 US presidential campaign is
easy to spot: the red, blue, and white screen print of Barak
Obama's face was printed on everything from billboards to buttons.
The man who designed it, Shepard Fairey, has made a career of
borrowing, spinning, or stealing--depending on your
perspective--the work of other artists. It shouldn't have been a
surprise, then, that his campaign image was based on a copyrighted
photograph from the Associated Press. The ensuing legal imbroglio
has raised a host of interesting legal and ethical questions about
fair use and clean hands. Fairey maintains that his uses of
others' work is fair, not a violation of copyright. But Fairey
has also been quick to sue people who have subjected his work to
treatments that are similar to his own. Steven Heller at the New
York Times dissects some of the recent controversy as well as the
history of appropriation art that contextualizes Fairey's work:
<http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/10/graphic-content-shepard-fairey-is-not-a-crook/?hpw>;
File under d�j� vu
The movie studios' latest effort to stop home recording of video
is underway in California. Judge Patel--the same judge who
presided over the Napster proceedings--on Friday heard arguments
against Real Networks, the makers of RealDVD. That program allows
people to record a single copy of a DVD to their hard drive for
backup or later viewing. The studios argue that it will allow
people to "rent, rip and return" videos without paying retail.
This technology took the studios by surprise, as nobody had ever
before conceived of a device that might allow people to record
their movie rentals.
**coughVCR**
It's not like such a device has existed for three decades, or that
it legality was previously affirmed by the US Supreme Court. And
it certainly couldn't be the case that, during the last three
decades, movie rentals became the movie industry's number-one
source of revenue. That would be crazy! But if you want to read
more about this newfangled technology and the lawsuit aimed at
killing it, here you go:
<http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iI2S0rhz4o6YljAeL6d11eMbeDjwD97P23002>;
Cheers,
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto: Meeting Wednesday the 25th!

Dear CopyNight Toronto,
After a holiday- and baby-related hiatus, it's time for another CopyNight! Note that we
will meet on Wednesday night, not the usual Tuesday night, this month. For the new
people, I'm the tall half-Asian guy with black hair and Nerd Glasses. If you are planning
to come, shoot me an email so that I get a sense of the required table size. Here are
the details:
Where: Victory Cafe
(typically the room on the north/left side as you
walk in, provided that it is not reserved)
When: 7 P.M.
Host: Ren Bucholz
(416 300 5316 if you get lost!)
Hope this finds you well!
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto: Two Events Tomorrow + Meeting in March

CopyNight Toronto,
Happy near-spring! It's almost time for our next CopyNight, which
will be on Wednesday, March 25th at the Victory Cafe. I'll send
more details about that soon.
In the shorter term, tomorrow contains two neat copyright-related
events that I thought you'd like to know about:
1. Panel Discussion: "Something New, Something Borrowed: Copyright
in the Remix Era"
IP Osgoode and the Osgoode Entertainment and Sports Law
Association are hosting a panel discussion that covers the
spirited debate over the production and use of creative content,
as well as the direction Canadian copyright policy should take in
an increasingly digital era. Panelists will explore these issues
through the lens of remix and sample-oriented cultures and the
alternative creation and distribution models they engender.
Discussion will focus on how our copyright regime addresses the
needs of artists, rights-holders, and the public, and consider
various models for reform.
Panelists: Brett Gaylor, director of "Rip!: A Remix Manifesto;"
Casey Chisick from Cassels Brock & Blackwell; Marcus Bornfreund
from Creative Commons Canada; and Reuven Ashtar from Borden Ladner
Gervais. The moderator will be Daniel Goldbloom from the National
Post.
Details:
When: Friday March 13, 9:30am-10:45am
Where: Osgoode Professional Development Centre (1 Dundas St. W.
What: The panel is part of a day long conference entitled the 11th Annual Entertainment and Sports Law Conference.
How Much: Admission is $5 for the day and meals. Refreshments will be provided.
For more information or to reserve tickets,
visit: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=71227445324
or contact: meganmackeigan@osgoode.yorku.ca
2. Premiere of "RiP: A Remix Manifesto"
This documentary is a timely, fun exploration of the digital
culture wars. Incidentally, its director is speaking on the same
day at the aforementioned panel. Check it out!
Event: Toronto Release of RiP: A Remix Manifesto
What: Exhibit
Host: RiP: A Remix Manifesto
Start Time: Friday, March 13 at 2:45pm
End Time: Monday, April 20 at 11:00pm
Where: AMC Theatre Yonge and Dundas AND Royal Cinema
I look forward to seeing y'all later this month at CopyNight!
Cheers,
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto: No January/February Meeting

Dear Toronto CopyNight,
Apologies for the late notice, but I won't be able to host tonight's meeting.
I have a class conflict this semester, so I'm planning to make Wednesday
our regularly scheduled night. That will commence in March, however,
since we're expecting a baby in mid-February.
I look forward to seeing y'all in March, and happy new year!
Best,
Ren

CopyNight Toronto Tonight!

Dear CopyNight Toronto,
It's that time again! CopyNight is tonight, and we're back
at the Victory. For the new people, I'm the tall half-Asian
guy with black hair and Nerd Glasses. If you are planning
to come, shoot me an email so that I get a sense of the
required table size. Here are the details:
Where: Victory Cafe
(typically the room on the north/left side as you
walk in, provided that it is not reserved)
When: 7 P.M.
Host: Ren Bucholz
� � �(416 300 5316 if you get lost!)
Hope this finds you well!
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto
---------
Dear CopyNighters,
This is a quick reminder that it's time for another CopyNight! Most
chapters meet this Tuesday, October 28th, in cities around the world.
Also, we'd like to welcome Madison, WI to the CopyNight family! If
you know potential CopyNighters in that fair city, send them to the
site for further instructions. Be sure to check the website for details
on your local chapter, and shoot us an email if you'd like to start
something in your city!
http://copynight.org/
Cheers,
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto Update: Tonight's Meeting Canceled

Dear CopyNight Toronto,
Apologies for the late notice, but I have to cancel tonight's meeting. I'm feeling
under-the-weather, and there are not enough RSVPs to continue with the event
tonight. Hope to see you next month!
Best,
Ren