MediaBerkman

QuickTime Video

Not too long ago, a student was escorted out of the Harvard University Bookstore (The Coop) for copying ISBNs from course materials only available at that store. The Coop claimed that the student was infringing on their “intellectual property,” because they were going to be used on the Crimson Reading website, which allows students to compare prices of course materials available online.

Clinical student Angela Kang and the Berkman Center’s John Palfrey and Wendy Seltzer joined together in noting the unfounded claims of The Coop in a recent Op-Ed published by The Harvard Crimson:

We’re not sure what “intellectual property” right the Coop has in mind, but it’s none that we recognize. Nor is it one that promotes the progress of science and useful arts, as copyright is intended to do. While intellectual property may have become the fashionable threat of late, even in the wake of the Recording Industry Association of America’s mass litigation campaign the catch-phrase—and the law—has its limits.

Now Berkman TV, the new video production channel from the Berkman Center, has an episode featuring Angela and Wendy, as they elaborate on this argument and the trends in intellectual property claims. Visit MediaBerkman for this episode of Berkman TV and the many more to come!

About

Berkman.tv is a frequently produced video segment on internet-related news and hot button issues with comments from Berkman fellows, faculty, and friends. Berkman.tv will explore a broad spectrum of issues, including, but not limited to, the future of the internet, copyright, net neutrality, intellectual property, public radio, and more. Keep an eye out on this space for more informed commentary from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.

“JZ, live on the big screen, Future of the Internet Luncheon“

In the spirit of One Web Day, a celebration of global online life taking place on September 22nd, as well as Berkman’s 10th anniversary, we dedicated our luncheon series last week to a discussion on “The Future of the Net.”

Download the MP3 (time: 1:05:20)

In a packed house, four Berkman Faculty/Fellows talked about their visions of the Net 10 years from now. Presenters included: MIT Media Lab professor Judith Donath, CALI fellow Gene Koo, visiting assistant professor at Northeastern School of Law Wendy Seltzer, and Berkman co-founder Jonathan Zittrain.

QuickTime Video

In the spirit of One Web Day, a celebration of global online life taking place on September 22nd, as well as Berkman’s 10th anniversary, we dedicated today’s luncheon series to a discussion on “The Future of the Net.”

In a packed house, four Berkman Faculty/Fellows talked about their visions of the Net 10 years from now. Presenters included: MIT Media Lab professor Judith Donath, CALI fellow Gene Koo, visiting assistant professor at Northeastern School of Law Wendy Seltzer, and Berkman co-founder Jonathan Zittrain.

Produced by Leah Weinberger.

Runtime: 59:42 , size: 320×240, 86MB, .MOV, H.264 codec

Suits brought against members of University by the RIAA bring up issues revolving around the role and identity of University and copyright. Universities are being asked to absorb financial and non-monetary costs of the record companies’ enforcement. Is this enforcement also compromising student privacy? Does this limit access to genuine educational resources? How do we provide opportunities for new creative expression through digital mediums?

Facilitator: Wendy Seltzer (Berkman Fellow), Doc Searls (Berkman Fellow), Lewis Hyde (Berkman Fellow)

Download the MP3 (time: 1:27:16).

To learn more about this working group session, visit the Internet & Society 2007 wiki.

When Berkman Fellow and Chilling Effects founder Wendy Seltzer posted a Super Bowl clip to YouTube, she thought she’d get to teach a bit about copyright — the clip was the NFL’s warning that “Any other use of this telecast or of any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL’s consent, is prohibited.” In series of DMCA notices, copyright takedowns, counter-notifications, and put-backs, Seltzer has found the process more convoluted than even she anticipated. Join the discussion at the Berkman Center about the free expression stakes in Viacom v. YouTube: copyright, safe-harbors, and Chilling Effects.

Download the audio podcast (time: 1:10:31).

Brooklyn Law School, where she teaches Internet Law and Privacy. She was previously a staff attorney with Electronic Frontier Foundation, focused on intellectual property and free speech issues. She is a 1999 graduate of Harvard Law School and a 1996 graduate of Harvard College.