Oracle v. Google SCOTUS Oral Arguments Next Week. Ahead of the October 7 Supreme Court oral arguments in Google v. Oracle, Jonathan Band explained ”potentially one of the most consequential copyright cases in decades.” The Supreme Court’s decision will have lasting implications on software development, innovation and competition. Amidst concerns around the Justice Department’s politicization, Band also raised questions on the Solicitor General’s motives for supporting Oracle. IBM, Mozilla, Microsoft, startups and others in the tech industry filed amicus briefs in support of Google and open innovation earlier in the year.
Diverse Groups Oppose Copyright Small Claims Provisions S. 4632. A group of creators, library organizations, online services and other organizations signed a letter in opposition to the Online Content Policy Modernization Act which includes controversial copyright small claims provisions. Based upon S. 1273, the “CASE Act” provisions in S.4632 would expose ordinary Americans to tens of thousands of dollars in damages and has serious constitutionality issues that have still not been vetted. “The copyright small claims provisions in S. 4632 may have been drafted with laudable intentions, but would instead result in exposing hard-working Americans to economic ruin and challenge our Constitution. That is why other attempts to pass and sign this bill into law have not advanced,” the letter states.
In Defense Of DMCA Section 512. Representatives from Re:Create members CCIA, Public Knowledge and the Library Copyright Alliance testified in support of Section 512 of the DMCA before the House Judiciary Committee this week. The hearing was held in response to the Copyright Office’s long-delayed Section 512 report. “Two hundred and twenty-nine million Americans use the internet each day. That’s 229 million American adults using the internet to work, worship, connect with family and friends, receive healthcare, consume and discuss the news, and organize political action each and every day. The laws we debate here set the rules for that speech. The ability of these 229 million users to speak freely online must be the first motivating priority of any reform to copyright liability,” said Public Knowledge’s Meredith Rose in her testimony.
YouTube’s Cosmic Kids Yoga Goes Viral. Back in 2012 with the encouragement of her husband, former gym teacher and yoga instructor Jaime Amor took to YouTube and started Cosmic Kids Yoga. Over time, children came to love Amor’s yoga lessons combined with storytelling and she picked up a following on her YouTube channel. Then this spring Covid-19 hit, forcing families to stay at home and suddenly the views on Jaime’s channel started to skyrocket. “Before, we had 100,000 views a day on average,” said Amor. “And it jumped up to over a million views in a day.” Cosmic Kids Yoga has gone absolutely viral and according to the Washington Post, Amor and her husband are in the midst of discussing a television deal.