My friend and Trinity classmate Robet Nagle sent me a note about an upcoming panel discussion/debate he’s organizing. Called Copyright, Technology & the Arts, it’ll be on July 27 at the Nexus Cafe on Rogerdale near Westheimer. Debate topics will include:
Does current copyright law help or hurt artists?
Will technological innovation increase or decrease copyright infringement?
What is the impact of Grokster vs. MGM Supreme Court decision on publishers, web site owners and inventors?
Click the link above for more information. As befitting an event like this, it’s free and the site has free WiFi available. Check it out.
I recently attended(?) a telebriefing/CLE on the Grokster case. It was awesome, an attorney for the copyright owners was one of the panelist and also the attorney for the Morpheus guys (Fred von Lohmann from the EFF). The two went at it for an hour, it was great. Sometimes my job is cool.
Do you know who the panelists are going to be at this debate? I bet Craig Joyce from UH Law center would be good for this.
So far we have three speakers confirmed (if you include me). A musician, an intellectual property attorney and a writer/filmmaker (me). I’ll update the URL with names of more speakers as they become available (and try to update Chuck’s announcement page in the comment section here). Should be a lively audience too.
This event is sponsored by Copynight Houston, a monthly social gathering of people interested in restoring balance in copyright law. We meet over drinks once a month in many cities to discuss new developments and build social ties between artists, engineers, filmmakers, academics, lawyers, and many others.
Current copyright law “helps” artists in the same way NAFTA “helps” workers; i.e., it doesn’t.
Every change in the past decade – the NET Act, the DMCA, the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act,” etc., has been to benefit corporate interests.
Artists do need copyrights, just as America needs international trade. So we can expect the proponents to frame the debate as a choice between our laws as currently constituted, and nothing at all.
Don’t fall for it. In both cases, it’s a false choice. Reasonable intellectual property provisions, in both copyright laws and trade agreements, would protect artists, workers, and consumers. We don’t need to keep bending these laws to benefit the super-rich.
Also appearing: Patrick Flanagan, a lawyer/musician who plays bass guitar for Drop Trio jazz band.
We’ll be recording the talk and probably have a discussion board up on the day of the conference. If all goes well, I should have the mp3s up by the end of the week.
Based on the feedback I’ve heard so far, this should be a fiesty debate.