(entry last updated: 2002-12-03 19:48:24)

Ugh! I’m never taking that evening flight from Heathrow again - at least, not if I expect to be functional the next morning!

Digging out is not going to get completed before I leave town again tomorrow, so here are just a few items to ponder:

• Infoworld summarizes the state of play in the current Shrman Networks copyright liability trial - do Morpheus, KaZaA etc. have “substantial noninfringing uses?” Here’s the News.com piece by John Borland. And CopyFight offers up some “live” coverage.

• In fact, Donna’s doing a whole lot better keeping up with things after Thanksgiving than I am.

• Meanwhile, Lisa Bowman describes day one of the ElcomSoft trial. Slashdot had a story yesterday.

• Declan McCullagh describes the rising fortunes for the broadcast flag, with potential FCC approval of its inclusion in digital TV transmissions. The ZDNet version includes some comments from readers.

• ZDNet UK is reporting that a Microsoft representative has stted that Palladium is going to be Microsoft’s proposed infrastructure for the next TCPA - v1.2. Up until now, it was assumed that Palladium was just a software infrastructure that would make use of TCPA hardware - if true, this changes the complexion of the Palladium debate completely. I would like to think the idea of a closed hardware architecture would be rejected by the same people who eschew Apples in spite of their acknowledged advantages in other respects, but it’s dangerous to predict mob behavior.

• The author of a GrepLaw piece on lagom copyright got his story accepted on Slashdot. Although it is accompanied by the usual troll vitriol, there are some worthwhile comments there - a little more traffic there than GrepLaw.

• Salon adds to our consideration of the costs of distribution in the non-digital work with this article on the costs of books, to go along with considerations of the costs of CDs.

• My brother points out that, even though I mentioned this article in my November 29 entry, I failed to note that Furdlog is also mentioned in it - the perils of trying to stay on top of things using a microweight VAIO without having my reading glasses with me!

• Piracy of export controlled software on the rise - Ed Felten points out that, as hard as the article tries, it’s NOT an Internet problem.

• Ed also likes this article from the Yale Law Review on copyright and the First Amendment.

• Will hip-hop be the same with digital turntables? And what did it take to get this piece of hardware past the RIAA copyright cops?

• And, what are the odds that they’ll take that technology on befofe they target some REAL pirates?

• And, the issues of Internet access in libraries continue to trouble everyone.