Technology

  • Protesting Internet Filtering in Australia

    By .fcoppa on Saturday, 16 July 2011 - 3:19pm
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    The OTW has been working with Australian fans and lawyers - including founding board member Cathy Cupitt - to submit comments protesting Australia's attempts to censor the Internet. Under the plan, Australia's two largest ISPs, Telstra and Optus (along with two smaller ISPs, itExtreme and Webshield) would create a secret list of blacklisted sites without any review or accountability.

    As Cupitt notes in her comment, fan sites can be "particularly vulnerable to inappropriate filtering, classification, and censorship." Cupitt's comment also notes that fanfiction, for example, represents "a reinvigorated and growing art scene, bringing new ideas to explorations of important topics such as ability, gender and race," and that the kind of discourse and interaction that happens on fan sites is valuable. Legal academic Kim Weatherall also discusses the special risks filtering poses to fans and to sites hosting user-submitted content in her comment. The commission is posting comments publicly here.

  • Links Roundup 11 July 2011

    By .fcoppa on Monday, 11 July 2011 - 9:53pm
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    Here’s a roundup of stories that might be of interest to fans: articles about professional fanart, technology meant to control fans, interactive fan sites, erotic fan fiction and sexuality, new models for fan-TPTB collaboration, and fans as transmedia specialists, all beneath the cut!

    * Just Don't Call It Fanart. Salon did a fascinating article on an ongoing art show called "Crazy 4 Cult" which features artists making work based on movie stills. The show is patronized by the likes of Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarentino, Samuel L. Jackson and others. But, Salon warns, "Just don't call it 'fan art.'" (It sounds to us a lot like fan art.)

    * Who Controls Your Camera? The Electronic Frontier Foundation recently posted about the implications of Apple's new patent: a camera that can be turned off by a third party. The idea is to stop fans from, say, capturing "illegal images" at a rock concert. The EFF points out that this repression of fans is bad enough, but also asks us also to imagine how that technology might be used in an era where portable cameras have been used to document and publicize civil rights abuses and spread important news all around the world. Who gets to decide what you can record?

    * Interactive Sites Before Pottermore. There have been many stories these last few weeks about Pottermore, J.K. Rowling's new interactive Harry Potter site, but here's an article about some other explicitly pro-fanfiction and pro-interactivity authors who have put together creative sandboxes for their fans.

    * Elmer Fudd vs. Miss Marple? This review of A Billion Wicked Thoughts, a book which uses erotic fan fiction and other online materials to draw conclusions about human sexuality, critiques the book on many fronts, but most notably from a lesbian perspective: "Is the near total silence about this quadrant of human desire because the authors couldn't fit lesbians into their thesis?"

    * No Endorsement; Endless Possibilities: Cory Doctorow, thinking through the implication of creating "ODOs" or On-Demand Objects, imagines a world where creators and owners could give fans a "no endorsement" license to make and sell derivative (not transformative!) works. The maker would automatically cut in the creator/owner for a stipulated percent of any profit.

    * Transmedia 2: Electric Bugaloo: Henry Jenkins has posted footage from all four panels of this spring's Transmedia Hollywood 2 conference. There was discussion of fan culture and works throughout the conference, with many panelists believing that fans have acknowledged expertise in transmedia storytelling, and others debating how best to engage fans in this new multi-modal world. (OTW Board Member Francesca Coppa was on the second panel to talk explicitly about fan works and characterization.)

    We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about you can submit it in three easy ways: comment on the most recent Link Roundup on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW, tag a link with "for:otw_news" on Delicious or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

    Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

  • Links Roundup for February 1, 2011

    By .fcoppa on Wednesday, 2 February 2011 - 3:07am
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    Here's a roundup of recent stories that might be of interest to fans.

    * The New York Times ran a skeptical editorial upon hearing that the Conan Doyle Estate has commissioned a new, "authorized" Sherlock Holmes novel, since the Holmes stories are out of copyright in the UK and mostly out of copyright in the U.S. As the article notes, "there is no reason why an 'official' 21st-century Holmes story will be any better...than an 'unofficial' one," and concludes, "We shudder to think what the Shakespeare Estate might be endorsing now."

    * In Japan, the supreme court has ruled that a service which transfers TV to overseas viewers is illegal. This reverses earlier rulings that the service did not violate copyright law.

    *Political remixer Jonathan McIntosh has put together an HTML5 video demo using Mozilla's Popcorn.js framework in order to create an annotated remix: that is, a version in which remixers can cite sources or add footnotes. McIntosh, who believes that a transparent citing of sources might strengthen fair use claims, also offering his code, skin, and design files to anyone who wants to use them.

    We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about you can submit it in three easy ways: comment on the most recent Link Roundup on LJ, IJ or DW, tag a link with "for:otw_news" on Delicious or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

    Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

  • La opinión de la corte alemana refuerza la creciente diferencia entre la responsabilidad de los hospedadores webs norteamericanos y europeos.

    By .Helka Lantto on Wednesday, 27 October 2010 - 6:20pm
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    Las cortes alemanas han indicado que podrían obligar a las empresas de hospedaje de vídeo como YouTube a buscar y eliminar de forma proactiva [NT: en inglés] videos de música que infrinjan los derechos de autor, en lugar de exigir a los titulares de derechos de autor y a los organismos de derechos de cobro que presenten avisos antes de que se eliminen los vídeos.

    Esto viene a sumarse a la condena, el febrero pasado, de tres ejecutivos de YouTube en Italia, donde la decisión del tribunal italiano incluyó una clara implicación de que todos los videos albergados en su sitio deben ser pre-seleccionados. [NT: en inglés]

    Aunque la agencia alemana de derechos de autor GEMA, perdió una solicitud de carácter urgente a finales de agosto de 2010, solicitando que el acceso a ciertos videos sea bloqueado, esto fue un pequeño consuelo para los sitios de hospedaje alemanes. El fallo se realizó sólo sobre la base de que una orden de emergencia en sí misma era inadecuada, siendo que GEMA sabía de hace mucho tiempo que los videos estaban disponibles en YouTube. El juez invitó a GEMA a solicitar una resolución en los procedimientos regulares, indicando que su reclamo en ese caso probablemente fuera exitoso. El ha sido publicado diciendo que "existen algunas buenas razones para pensar que YouTube tiene cierto deber de detectar las subidas de archivos ilegales".

    GEMA indicó [NT: en inglés] a principios de octubre del 2010 que tiene planes para presentar una nueva demanda.

    Según algunos observadores legales [NT: en inglés], el dictamen del tribunal alemán parece ser el último de varios [NT: en inglés] ejemplos [NT: en inglés] de una diferencia emergente entre la forma que una misma ley se interpreta en Europa y los EE.UU. [NT: en inglés], donde YouTube y otras empresas están cubiertas por el concepto "puerto seguro" de las disposiciones de la Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Sitios web de hospedaje basados en Europa parecen estar en mayor riesgo de ser considerados responsables por las acciones de los usuarios antes de recibir avisos de eliminación.

  • Urteilsbegründung eines deutschen Gerichts verstärkt Unterschiede in der Haftpflicht für Webhosts in den USA und Europa

    By .Helka Lantto on Wednesday, 27 October 2010 - 6:19pm
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    Deutsche Gerichte haben angedeutet, dass sie in Zukunft gewerbliche Videoportale wie YouTube dazu zwingen werden, vorsorglich Musikvideos aufzuspüren und zu löschen, die gegen das Urheberrecht verstoßen, anstatt erst zu reagieren, wenn Rechteinhaber und -verwertungsgesellschaften formal Einspruch einlegen.

    Dieser Richterspruch folgt auf eine Verurteilung von drei YouTube-Managern im Februar dieses Jahres in Italien. Das Urteil des italienischen Gerichts impliziert deutlich, dass jedes gehostete Video vor der Veröffentlichung überprüft werden sollte.

    Obwohl die deutsche Rechteverwertungsgesellschaft GEMA mit ihrem Antrag auf eine einstweilige Verfügung Ende August 2010 gescheitert war, in dem sie die Löschung und Sperrung bestimmter Videos forderte, ist das nur ein schwacher Trost für deutsche Webhosts. Das Urteil kam nur dadurch zustande, dass das Gericht eine einstweilige Verfügung für unangebracht hielt, da die GEMA schon lange wusste, dass die Videos auf YouTube abrufbar waren. Der vorsitzende Richter forderte die GEMA dazu auf, den Anspruch in einem Hauptsacheverfahren geltend zu machen, und deutete an, dass der Erfolg in diesem Fall wahrscheinlich wäre. In der Pressemeldung des Landgerichts Hamburg steht, es "liege nahe, dass die Antragsgegnerin zumutbare Prüfungspflichten bzw. Maßnahmen zur Verhinderung erneuter Rechtsverletzungen nicht wahr- bzw. vorgenommen habe."

    Die GEMA gab Ende September 2010 bekannt, dass sie eine erneute Klage plane.

    Laut einigen Beobachtern [englisch] handelt es sich bei dem deutschen Urteil um das neueste Beispiel [englisch] einer ganzen Reihe von Urteilen, die deutlich machen, dass ähnliche Gesetze in den USA und Europa immer unterschiedlicher ausgelegt werden. In den USA fallen YouTube und andere Firmen unter die Klausel für "sichere Häfen" im Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). Für Webhosts in Europa dagegen ist das Risiko viel größer, für die Taten von NutzerInnen belangt zu werden, bevor überhaupt eine Abmahnung erteilt wird.

  • Advies Duitse rechter versterkt groeiende kloof aansprakelijkheid van Amerikaanse en Europese web hosts

    By .Helka Lantto on Wednesday, 27 October 2010 - 6:17pm
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    Duitse rechters hebben aangegeven dat ze misschien video hosting bedrijven zoals YouTube zullen dwingen om proactief op zoek te gaan naar muziekvideo's die inbreuk maken op auteursrecht en deze te verwijderen, in plaats dat houders van auteursrechten en de rechtenorganisaties eerst een verzoek moeten indienen vóórdat video's worden verwijderd.

    Dit komt bovenop de veroordeling van drie YouTube executives in Italië afgelopen februari, waar de uitspraak van het Italiaanse gerecht een duidelijke implicatie inhield dat elke gehoste video vooraf gescreend zou moeten worden.

    Hoewel de Duitse auteursrechtenorganisatie GEMA eind augustus het kort geding verloren heeft, waarin ze vroegen om de toegang tot bepaalde video's te blokkeren, is dit een schrale troost voor Duitse web hosts. De uitspraak werd gedaan op de grond dat een kort geding niet toepasselijk was, omdat GEMA al lange tijd wist dat de video's beschikbaar waren op YouTube. De rechter in de zaak heeft GEMA uitgenodigd een uitspraak in een bodemprocedure te vragen, met daarbij de mededeling dat zo'n aanvraag kans van slagen heeft. De rechter verklaarde dat "er goede redenen zijn te menen dat YouTube inderdaad een plicht heeft illegale uploads op te sporen."

    GEMA heeft begin oktober aangegeven dat zij van plan zijn een bodemprocedure te starten.

    Volgens sommige juridische waarnemers is het advies van de Duitse rechter het laatste in een reeks voorbeelden van een groeiende kloof tussen de manier waarop vergelijkbare wetten worden geïnterpreteerd in Europa en de VS, waar YouTube en andere bedrijven worden gedekt door de "veilige haven"-bepalingen van de Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Web hosts in Europa lijken een groter risico te lopen aansprakelijk te worden gesteld voor acties van gebruikers die plaatsvinden voordat ze een verzoek tot verwijdering ontvangen.

  • German court opinion reinforces growing gap between liability faced by US and European web hosts

    By .Helka Lantto on Wednesday, 27 October 2010 - 6:16pm
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    Written by Tanaqui

    German courts have indicated that they may force video hosting companies such as YouTube to proactively search out and delete music videos that infringe copyright, rather than requiring copyright holders and rights collection agencies to submit takedown notices before videos are removed.

    This comes on top of the conviction last February of three YouTube executives in Italy where the ruling of the Italian court included a clear implication that every hosted video should be pre-screened.

    Although German rights collection agency GEMA may have lost an application for an emergency order at the end of August 2010 asking for access to certain videos to be blocked, this is small comfort for German web hosts. The ruling was made only on the basis that an emergency order in itself was inappropriate, as GEMA had known for a long time that the videos were available on YouTube. The presiding judge in the case invited GEMA to ask for a ruling in regular proceedings, indicating their claim was likely to be successful in that event. He is reported as stating that "There are some good reasons to think that YouTube indeed has some duty to take care of detecting illegal uploads."

    GEMA indicated at the start of October 2010 that it does plan to file a new suit.

    According to some legal observers, the opinion of the German court appears to be the latest of several examples of an emerging gap between the way similar laws are being interpreted in Europe and the US, where YouTube and other companies are covered by the "safe harbor" provisions of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). Web hosts based in Europe appear to be at greater risk of being held liable for users' actions prior to receiving takedown notices.

  • Australian Censorship Filter Unlikely To Be Implemented

    By .Helka Lantto on Thursday, 16 September 2010 - 4:51pm
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    I'm Helka, a member of OTW's International Outreach (IO) committee. In an effort to bring more international news to our members, the OTW has asked IO to work with the Communications team. The following story was written by IO member Tanaqui.

    A scheme for mandatory ISP-level censorship in Australia looks unlikely to succeed, despite the Labor government promoting the proposal having retained power in Australia's recent parliamentary elections. The filter, proposed by Labor before the elections, would have likely prevented Australians from accessing most R-18+ content, including fanworks hosted outside Australia on archives such as an Archive of Our Own (AO3).

    Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA), which campaigns to protect and promote the civil liberties of computer users, launched a campaign against the filter, the unfortunately-named It's Time to Tell Mum (which came under fire for sexist content). However, the EFA now believes that this filter legislation would not be passed in the House of Representatives, let alone make it through a hostile Senate because the new government could not muster enough support for the filter among the Greens and independents who make up its partners.

  • Website accounts and comment notifications

    By Kristen Murphy on Thursday, 14 January 2010 - 3:54am
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    Tags:

    Greetings from the OTW Webmasters! We're pleased to announce two changes to our blog on transformativeworks.org that will streamline the user experience. These changes do NOT affect accounts on the Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, or Transformative Works and Cultures.

    We're discontinuing user accounts on the OTW blog. Accounts have been a source of confusion for many people and offered little in the way of added features. New account creation is now blocked, and existing accounts will be disabled. Again, this does not affect AO3, Fanlore, or TWC accounts.

    You can still leave comments on blog posts — simply enter a name or pseudonym to sign your comment. Existing comments will be preserved. And you can still receive comment notifications via e-mail.

    In fact, we've installed a new comment notification system that is more powerful and easier to use. Notification e-mails now include the full comment text, LJ/DW-style, and you no longer have to leave a comment in order to receive notifications. Anyone can watch a post, with or without commenting, by clicking the "Watch this post" link and entering an e-mail address. (Your e-mail address will not be publicly visible.) You can unsubscribe at any time via a link in the notification e-mails or by returning to the post and clicking the "You are watching this post" link.

    We hope these changes will make it easier to follow and respond to conversations on the OTW blog. If you have feedback about the website, please feel free to contact the Webmasters Committee.

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