U.S. Government Seeks Comments on Copyright Policy

By DAVID CHRISTOPHER BAKER, ESQ.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced that its Internet Policy Task Force (IPTF) will hold a series of public meetings to discuss copyright policy issues raised in a recently released green paper, “Copyright Policy, Creativity, and Innovation in the Digital Economy” (“Copyright Policy Green Paper”).  The IPTF issued its proposed digital copyright policy in July 2013 and is now soliciting public comments as part of its efforts to continue a dialogue on how to improve the current copyright framework for stakeholders, consumers, and national economic goals.

Specifically in the Copyright Policy Green Paper, the IPTF proposes five copyright policy issues to address.  The five issues include:

(1) establishing a multi-stakeholder dialogue on improving the operation of the notice and takedown system for removing infringing content from the Internet under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA);

(2) the legal framework for the creation of remixes;

(3) the relevance and scope of the first sale doctrine in the digital environment;

(4) the application of statutory damages in the contexts of individual file sharers and of secondary liability for large-scale infringement; and

(5) the appropriate role for the government, if any, to help improve the online licensing environment, including access to comprehensive databases of rights information.

Then-Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke launched the IPTF in April 2010, to conduct a comprehensive review of privacy policy, copyright, global free flow of information, cybersecurity, and their respective relationships to innovation in the Internet economy.

The next public meeting will be held on December 12, 2013 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, VA and the period for post-meeting comments has been extended.  For further information regarding the meeting, please contact Hollis Robinson (hollis.robinson@uspto.gov) or Ben Golant (Benjamin.golant@uspto.gov) in the Office of Policy and External Affairs, or call (571) 272-9300.

And, if you would like a digital copy of the Copyright Policy Green paper, please contact Mr. Baker.

Mr. Baker is head of the Intellectual Property Law Department and a partner at Hart, King & Coldren, a full service law firm located in Orange County, California.  If you would like to contact him, send an e-mail to dbaker@hkclaw.com or call him at (714) 432-8700.

Teacher's Aide Claims 'Elysium' Director Stole Idea for Film

Have you ever had a great idea for a movie but lacked the expertise (as well as the significant financial means) to make it a reality, only to see that idea turned into an actual movie by someone else?  Not surprisingly, this happens quite often in Hollywood.  And, when it does happen and the movie is a financial success, it often spawns lawsuits by those aspiring filmmakers who believe they have been cheated out of their share of the millions generated by the movie.

But, what happens when the movie is not a blockbuster or even fails to break even?  Does it still lead to litigation?  You bet it does.

In the case of the movie "Elysium," a movie written and directed by Neill Blomkamp (of "District 9" fame), a teacher's aide at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California, Steve W. Briggs, is convinced that Mr. Blomkamp stole the idea for his movie and his screenplay titled "Butterfly Driver." Briggs is so convinced that he filed a lawsuit in California Northern District Court (Case Number: 4:13-cv-04679-PJH) naming Blomkamp, Sony Pictures Ent., Inc., Tristar Pictures, Inc., Media Rights Capital and QED International.

So, how did Blomkamp allegedly get ahold of Butterfly Driver?  Briggs claims he registered his script with the WGA-West in December of 2005 and then in February 2007 he posted a copy of it in its entirety to the screenwriting website TriggerStreet.com.  Bad idea?  Maybe.  Briggs is convinced that Blomkamp accessed his script on TriggerStreet and used it as the basis for his own. According to Briggs' complaint, there are numerous similarities between his script and Mr. Blomkamp's movie.  If he's right on both counts and he can prove that (a) the defendants had access to his script, and (b) there are substantial similarities between the script and the movie, then he may have a valid claim to a share of the movie's profits.

However, Elysium cost $115 million to make and was only moderately successful in the United States, bringing in roughly $92 million in revenue.  Why sue for copyright infringement on a losing venture?  Well, overseas ticket sales brought in an additional $272 million and, if you're a high school teacher's aide in a small, California town, this may be your only chance at a big break in Hollywood.