Thoughts and Follow-Up on 2/18/09 Class

I welcome students' thoughts on class last night. Bill and Chris are new to the course, the only "first timers" during the entire semester. It was also the first time we used such a format - two lectures and a mock negotiation. They hadn't received the "no war stories" talking-to that I have given speakers in years past, so we had some more color than usual, but I think it was appropriate given their subject and the longer class period. I am eager to hear any feedback students have - whether that is via comments here / email / in person chat the next time we meet.

I noticed this article in the Dean's List this morning. The writer addresses the problem of label-distributor partnerships highlighted in our class last night in a very accurate way, IMO. I'll also post the follow-up piece (expected next week).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/17/AR2009021701753.html

(added 2/20): Note too that Facebook has retreated. Zuckerberg's blog post about the return to the original ToS is here: http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=54746167130; in a nutshell:

"A couple of weeks ago, we revised our terms of use hoping to clarify some parts for our users. Over the past couple of days, we received a lot of questions and comments about the changes and what they mean for people and their information. Based on this feedback, we have decided to return to our previous terms of use while we resolve the issues that people have raised."

He makes a good point about the impact of this document too. Something to think about from a legal / public policy perspective:

"More than 175 million people use Facebook. If it were a country, it would be the sixth most populated country in the world. Our terms aren't just a document that protect our rights; it's the governing document for how the service is used by everyone across the world. Given its importance, we need to make sure the terms reflect the principles and values of the people using the service."

Finally, here is the ipodmeister piece I mentioned:

http://www.thelicensingplate.com/what-is-the-longveity-of-a-lawfully-made-copy/

Enjoy the film next Thursday.