Overnight Tech: Copyright ruling could spill over to campaign trail

LEDE: An appeals court ruling Monday on copyright and fair use online could have broader ramifications during the 2016 political season.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that copyright holders — such as movie and music publishers — must consider fair use before demanding companies such as YouTube remove potentially infringing content. The court allowed Stephanie Lenz’s lawsuit against Universal to go forward after the company improperly demanded her video, in which her child dances to a Prince song, be taken offline because of infringement concerns.

{mosads}“Today’s ruling in the Lenz case comes at a critical time,” according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which argued the case. “Heated political campaigns — like the current presidential primaries—have historically led to a rash of copyright takedown abuse. Criticism of politicians often includes short clips of campaign appearances in order to make arguments to viewers, and broadcast networks, candidates, and other copyright holders have sometimes misused copyright law in order to remove the criticism from the Internet.”

“We’re extremely glad to see the appeals court uphold the idea that video creators and other uploaders can sue if their works are removed due to bogus or frivolous takedown notices,” Public Knowledge said in a statement.

While it is unlikely that presidential candidates would seek legal action for damages over a hasty takedown, they have been the victims of it in the past. Public Knowledge has cited instances in which videos from Rand Paul, John McCain and the DNC have been at least temporarily removed because of unwarranted copyright infringement claims.

BUSH TALKS TECH: In a post outlining his priorities on cybersecurity, GOP Presidential candidates Jeb Bush touched on the continued need for high-skilled immigration, his opposition to the government’s plan to give up oversight of ICANN and the need to streamline the Securities and Exchange Commission hurdles necessary for a startup to begin raising venture capital.

GOOGLE HIRES CEO FOR SELF-DRIVING CAR: Google brought on auto industry veteran John Krafcik to be chief executive of its self-driving car project. Krafcik has spent time at Hyundai and Ford before moving to the Google project. He was most recently the chief executive of TrueCar. Google recently announced it was reorganizing to become a collection of companies under the umbrella corporation called Alphabet, with a CEO to run each business. The company told The Wall Street Journal the self-driving car project is a prime candidate for that kind of model.

AND IS HIT WITH ANTITRUST FINDING IN RUSSIA: Google was found to have abused “its dominant market position,” according to The Wall Street Journal, but not found guilty of “unfair competition practices.” The case concerns the applications that Google includes with its Android operating system. The company told the Journal that it would wait determine its next move until after the full ruling was released — which the antitrust agency must do within 10 days.

ADVOCATES WANT CONGRESS ‘DATA AGENDA’ FOR CONGRESS: BSA | The Software Alliance pressed congressional leaders to put data security on its agenda. The trade association highlighted five key reforms on the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, cybersecurity information sharing legislation, reform to the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty process, clarification on the reach of U.S. warrants to access data stored overseas, and the Judicial Redress Act, which would give some privacy rights to non-U.S. citizens. The trade group’s president Victoria Espinel is holding a press call on the issue Tuesday.

WHITE HOUSE PUSHES ‘SMART CITIES’: The White House announced $160 million in investments for a “Smart Cities” initiative meant to help in “reducing traffic congestion, fighting crime, fostering economic growth, managing the effects of a changing climate, and improving the delivery of city services.” The money is being handed out by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards, as well as a host of other federal agencies. The administration also announced more than 20 cities agreed to collaborate more with universities and business. A focus will be placed on having cities become a testing ground for the emerging “Internet of things,” as well encouraging tech companies help local governments open up their data.

NAB ASKS FOR CLARIFICATION ON AUCTION PROCEDURES: The National Association of Broadcasters has submitted a petition for clarification regarding the procedures for next year’s incentive auction. “First, we’re asking the Commission to reconsider its decision to relocate TV stations in the duplex gap, which eliminates the only remaining exclusive use spectrum available for wireless microphones broadcasters use to cover breaking news and emergencies,” said Patrick McFadden, the group’s vice president of spectrum policy. “Second, we’re asking the Commission to reconsider the level of market variability it will permit in light of recent progress made in international coordination with Canada and Mexico.” The group said it thinks the FCC could address the items in question and still make the March 29, 2016 deadline for the sale

MARK CUBAN JOKES ABOUT 2016 PROSPECTS: Dallas Mavericks owner and tech billionaire Mark Cuban told CNBC he gets asked to run for president “every day.” He noted that if he ran as a Democrat he would beat Hillary Clinton and “crush” Donald Trump. He said social media has “changed the game” and Trump has capitalized on it. He later told Business Insider that he is not at all serious about mounting his own run, and that he was just having a little fun.

ON TAP:

At 9:00 a.m., CMS Passcode hosts a discussion of encryption policy featuring representatives from the Department of Justice and private industry.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that copyright holders must consider fair use before demanding companies such as YouTube remove potentially infringing content.

A key Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee called Monday for the panel to investigate the legality of fantasy sports as sites like FanDuel and DraftKings become more popular.

Lyft is revising its terms of service to allow users to continue to use the ridesharing service even if they opt out of receiving promotional messages.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is moving to require drone manufacturers to include geo-fencing technology that would prohibit devices from flying over restricted areas in newly-built devices.

And a conservative tech group said it should be easier for startups to do business with the government.

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