One of the main issues with copyright reform is balance between protecting the creator, and reasonable expectations of consumers.   An important aspect of that is to consider on a practical basis the extent that certain types and amounts of copying are not harmful to the creator.  Indeed, some copying (sometimes referred to as “leakage”) can actually be beneficial to the creator.  In other words,  this is not a zero sum game – both sides can be better off with some copying.

Mike Masnick of Techdirt uses last weekend’s Batman Dark Knight debut to illustrates this point.  It set a record for opening weekend box office sales – yet at the same time was easy to download online.

Read the Techdirt post

Its what?  That was my reaction when I read the headline to Michael Geist’s latest column – but he makes a valid point.    

It builds on the notion I expressed a while back that the bill is a backwards step and out of touch with the reality of today’s technology, marketplace, and consumer rights and expectations.

Read Michael’s column