The shield and the sword

The Media Wonk The Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive business meeting (i.e. markup) last week where members debated the Free Flow of Information Act of 2013. Modeled on state “shield laws” the bill would create a federal shield for journalists protecting them against being compelled to testify about their sources by a federal court. Read More …

Kaleidescape leaves Hollywood blu in the face

Well, here we go again. With its five-year litigation with the DVD Copy Control Association over its original DVD jukebox still not resolved, Kaleidescape Systems on Tuesday announced plans to roll out a new disc player that will import high-def movies from Blu-ray Discs onto Kaleidescape home media servers, along with conventional DVDs and CDs. The new player, the Read More …

Digital Britain and the return of the Stationer’s Company

Last week marked the 300th anniversary of the Statute of Anne, the first true modern copyright law in the West, which was passed by the British Parliament in 1710. It established a copyright term of 14 years and, for the first time, brought the author on stage as the party in whom the right was Read More …