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Shownotes for The Singularity Law Podcast: Episode 7 for November 17, 2008

Our Panel for Today:

• Prof. Michael Scott of The Singularity Law Blog
• Josh Kagan of The Josh Kagan Blog

President-Elect Obama Talks Technology Policy

• Barack Obama’s Technology Proposals (From Campaign)
• Digg Dialogg with Al Gore
• Michael’s blog: We Need a Technology Policy for the 21st Century
• Josh’s blog: On Technology Policy, Let’s Be More Specific
• CNET writes about Obama’s search for a national CTO
• Also from CNET: Obama’s Mixed Signals on Transparency

Net Neutrality

• Michael’s blog: Network Neutrality: To Regulate or Not to Regulate
• Wired: Net Neutrality Advocates In Charge of Obama Team Review of FCC

From Pages to Platforms: The Law of Web 2.0 and Beyond

• Webcast of Josh’s Talk

Practice Pointer: Conditional vs. Promissory Language in Licenses

• Jacobsen v. Katzer (Fed. Cir. Aug. 13, 2008)
• Josh’s blog: Win For Open Source in Jacobsen v. Katzer

Turbulence in the International Arena

• Torrentfreak: Record Labels to Sue Vuze, Limewire and SourceForge
• Intellectual Property Law Blog: Why US Web Site Owners Should Watch Foreign Suits (PDF)

Napster Judge Proposes Radical Copyright Reform

• Wired writes about Judge Patel’s proposals

Final Thoughts: Craigslist and Hookers

• Silicon Alley Insider: Craigslist: From Now On, All Hookers Require A Valid Credit Card

We apologize for the fluctuations in sound quality throughout this episode. We realized about 15 minutes into recording that our microphone had a bad connection.

Click the play button below to listen, or click here to subscribe to us on iTunes!

Click here to download this week’s show.

Here are the show notes for this week’s episode:

Shownotes for The Singularity Law Podcast: Episode 4 for October 19, 2008

Our Panel for Today:

• Josh Kagan, author of The Josh Kagan Blog
• Prof. Michael Scott of The Singularity Law Blog

DRM and Activation in Video Games

• EA’s CEO speaks to Gamasutra about DRM.
• Ars Technica: EA’s DRM, arrogance may cause gamers to skip good titles

Anonymity on the Internet

• Anonymous proxy servers: Necessary or evil?
• The growing cowardice of online anonymity
• UK/Germany: “Disclosing Encryption Keys and IP Addresses
• Men defamed on dating sites
• Josh Kagan: JuicyCampus and the Limits of Section 230
• The Internet as Conduit for Hatred & Violence
• Passports will be needed to buy mobile phones

Google and YouTube refuse to grant special DMCA treatment to McCain Campaign Videos

• McCain Campaign’s Letter to Google/YouTube
• Ars Technica: McCain/Palin campaign angry over bogus DMCA takedowns
• YouTube to McCain: No special treatment for DMCA takedowns
• Judge Rules That Content Owners Must Consider Fair Use Before Sending Takedowns | Watch the video here
• Massive Takedown of Anti-Scientology Videos on YouTube
• Bogus anti-Scientology DMCA notices sent to YouTube linked to Wikipedia user

Cybersquatters: The Hidden Trademark Danger

• Trademark Owners Must Pursue Cybersquatters or Potentially Lose Their Trademark Rights
• Southern Grouts & Mortars, Inc. v. 3M Co., 2008 WL 4346798 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 17, 2008)
• Southern Grouts and Mortars v. 3M Co., Second Amended Complaint

The Elephant is in the Library: Digital Libraries Online

• Universities launch elephantine digital library

Final Thoughts: Can a record label infringe its own copyright? One hosting provider thinks so.

He’s right.  But I want to go one step further and specifically outline what a good federal technology policy should include.  Here are my ideas.

• The first problem is that our present government doesn’t seem to understand technology when it matters.  For example, Senator Ted Stevens (R. Alaska) delivered a now-infamous speech in which he demonstrated a complete lack of understanding about how the Internet works.  Normally I wouldn’t care, but at the time Sen. Stevens was the chair of the Senate Telecommunications Committee.  He vehemently opposed an important bill on the basis of this erroneous understanding.  This is destructive.  The people in charge of technology need to be experts in the technology.  It’s obvious that Sen. Stevens and others in Congress have their committee chair positions simply because of seniority.  In other fields this probably isn’t a big deal, but in technology it’s huge.
• Another issue is reform of the broken patent system.  A good technology policy should provide consistent, predictable, and reliable protection for inventions while closing off the patent trolls as much as possible.  Let’s use the U.S.P.T.O. to encourage innovation, as it was designed, instead of undermining innovators and rewarding trolls.
• We also need a consistent policy for protecting our IP abroad.  We live in a nation with an increasingly information-driven economy.  Innovation may soon be our greatest export, and because of the Internet information has no borders.  In some industries like entertainment this is especially important.  We need a fair and consistent set of rules that allow American businesses to cooperate and competitively conduct business in foreign markets over the Internet.
• The next problem is that our present government doesn’t embrace technology when it should.  The Internet is a powerful tool for bringing people together and allowing them to do and understand things very efficiently.  The next president should create a cabinet-level position for using technology to communicate and work with the people.  For example, people should be able to use the Internet to retrieve up-to-date information about how tax dollars are being spent.  Let’s use the Internet to create the ultimate transparency law.
• In addition to embracing technology, the government should also embrace science.  Our current administration has an almost antagonistic relationship with science.  When our scientists present valid peer-reviewed findings, the policy should be to put their recommendations first, not second to the needs of some lobbying group or faith-based position.
• The government also needs to have a policy of promoting next-generation technologies like broadband access.  It’s ridiculous that the U.S. trails behind Korea, Canada, the Netherlands, and other countries in broadband penetration.  The Internet is quickly becoming the most important way that people communicate, and everyone should have access, regardless of socioeconomic status.  This is an area where the U.S. should lead, not trail.
• Finally, a good technology policy needs to be committed to information neutrality across all channels.  This includes everything from net neutrality on the Internet to continuing the U.S. tradition of content neutrality on the airwaves.  Give everyone a chance to express their opinions and to try to make their business models work.

Obviously there’s more that can be done, but I think this would be a terrific start toward “turning things around,” back on the road to being the technological leader that our nation could be.  Let’s invest in our future.  Let’s embrace the 21st century instead of running from it.