I’ve been reading Modernising Copyright, the report of the Copyright Review Committee (CRC), and decided to put my initial thoughts down in writing. Be warned, if you’re used to the 200 word bites on here, this article is considerably longer. Colmcille As is noted to the point of fatigue in Irish writings on copyright, the… Continue reading On copyright
Tag: copyright
Guth: What’s in a name?
Why call it Guth? If there’s one question I get asked more than any other about Guth magazine, it’s why I called it Guth. The simple answer is, it’s an Irish word, and an Irish magazine, and unlike English words, most Irish words tend to be available. They’re less likely to be trademarked, less likely… Continue reading Guth: What’s in a name?
Platforms yet to be envisaged
The Irish Times is running a competition called Legends of the Fall, and asking readers to submit works of fiction “inspired by the events of the last five years in Ireland”. The original terms and conditions, published by the Irish Times, asserted that “by entering this competition, you are agreeing that any submissions made become… Continue reading Platforms yet to be envisaged
Charity asked to pay for links to newspaper websites
A copyright licensing agency has told a domestic violence charity that it requires a paid licence to link to newspaper articles from its website. In an email sent to Women’s Aid, Newspaper Licensing Ireland said that “a licence is required to link directly to an online article even without uploading any of the content directly… Continue reading Charity asked to pay for links to newspaper websites
No comment
For a while, I’ve been toying with an column idea. Call it The Raised Eyebrow. Part Flat Earth News, part questioning conventional wisdom. Last week, an editor agreed to a column. Depending on how it worked out, more might follow. One idea came from a throwaway Prime Time line. “Sean Sherlock’s website was hacked”, apparently… Continue reading No comment
A torrent of words
I write. As a freelance, I hold copyright on those words. “Ireland’s SOPA” wants to protect those words. But copyright already protects them. My words have been pirated a few times. The first time, articles were cut and pasted wholesale from a website and re-used. Not by a pirate website, but by an old-established company.… Continue reading A torrent of words
Orphan works
Imagine you arrive at a foreign airport, only to discover that your luggage has somehow gone missing. Perhaps it’s on a later flight, or it was sent to another airport. So you go to the lost baggage office, only to be told that because the owner of the luggage could not be identified, they gave… Continue reading Orphan works
Copy that
Tucked into the Fine Gael manifesto were a couple of promises which affect journalists: a plan to pioneer US-style “fair use” in EU law, and a review of intellectual property (IP) law. Fair use, Fine Gael says, will “allow internet companies and digital innovators to bring their services to market”. The IP update would give… Continue reading Copy that
Down the tubes
A couple of weeks ago, I uploaded my first video to Youtube – a montage of photographs taken at the Glencolmcille Agricultural Show, set to a music soundtrack by Eunan McIntyre, a local musician. Being a journalist, and living with copyright issues, I first checked with everyone that it was okay to use their work.… Continue reading Down the tubes
The death of journalism
Earlier this week, I spent half a day sitting in a district court. The district courts can be worthwhile if you’re a freelance journalist, but they’re a bit of a lottery too. Get in well with some of the staff, and you’ll get a tip off if there’s something interesting coming up. On Monday, I… Continue reading The death of journalism