Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is urging the Copyright Office to grant several proposed software-related exemptions to Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 1201's anti-circumvention rules. He said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that failure to grant those exemptions “would be a massive mistake, and Americans need to speak up.” The CO is considering 27 exemptions as part of its triennial Section 1201 exemptions rulemaking process, including several exemptions for unlocking or jailbreaking mobile devices. The CO is expected to release its ruling on the exemptions Oct. 28 (see 1510080054). Wyden highlighted a proposed exemption that would allow security researchers to circumvent technological protection measures on vehicle software, saying the exemption would have allowed researchers to detect Volkswagen's use of software in its diesel vehicles to manipulate the results of emissions tests far earlier. “The obstacle thrown up against access to copyrighted software makes it more difficult for researchers and engineers to find similar problems in the future,” Wyden said. The Electronic Frontier Foundation made a similar argument last month shortly after the EPA uncovered the software manipulation (see 1509220060). Wyden also called for the CO to grant exemptions related to medical devices and other connected devices. “Coffee makers, thermostats, hot-water heaters, blow driers, watches, fireplaces and cars are all increasingly controlled by software,” Wyden said. “Their owners should be able to examine these devices’ software -- which is often as important as the hardware.”

The Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) upheld a Securus patent in a ruling on a petition filed by industry competitor Global Tel*Link (GTL) seeking to invalidate the patent, Securus said in a news release Monday. The disputed patent concerned an incentive program that offered discounted calling rates for prison inmates exhibiting good behavior, and is the first of Securus' patents challenged by GTL under the new PTAB review proceedings to be upheld. The PTAB recently invalidated two patents held by Securus after GTL filed petitions for review (see 1509140069). "GTL had requested the [PTAB] invalidate approximately 18 of our patents -- two have been invalidated and one has been upheld -- those are ratios that we expected, so no surprises there," Securus CEO Richard Smith said. "Ultimately -- the number of patent invalidations that GTL seeks is irrelevant to me." There will be no change in how the company operates if one of its patents is invalidated, Smith said, and if GTL successfully invalidates all the patents it has filed petitions against, Securus will still have more than 92 percent of all issued and pending patents in place. GTL didn't comment.

Creative Commons (CC) urged the U.S. Copyright Office Friday to reconsider its proposed extended collective licensing (ECL) pilot program for mass digitization projects, saying in a filing that the fair use doctrine has actually been strengthened via recent court decisions “that have increased the certainty with which a number of entities can engage in mass digitization.” The Authors Alliance has similarly urged CO to reconsider implementing ECL (see 1510090057). Other countries that have or are considering an ECL program “do not have a flexible and reliable exception or limitation on which those engaging in mass digitization can dependably rely,” CC said. ECL programs “have many drawbacks (such as the often low levels of representation among collecting societies, the existence of sectors without collective rights management, the difficulties of agreeing on remuneration, and the sometimes-opaque methods of distribution of licensing fees) that European cultural heritage institutions are willing to accept because they have no other option,” CC said. “U.S. institutions -- such as university libraries -- can rely on fair use.”

The Authors Alliance urged the U.S. Copyright Office to reconsider implementing its proposed extended collective licensing pilot program for mass digitization projects, saying in a Friday filing the current program proposal doesn't adequately address authors' interests. The pilot program proposal also doesn't consider the complexities involved in managing licenses owned by multiple copyright owners. Authors Alliance co-founder Pamela Samuelson, a University of California-Berkeley School of Law professor, separately offered alternative proposals to the CO, including having Congress adopt a permanent exemption to U.S. copyright law that would allow nonprofit libraries to digitize their collections and make those digital copies available on library premises for research purposes.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Michelle Lee signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) while in Geneva for meetings of the World Intellectual Property Organization, the PTO said in a news release Thursday. Lee signed separate MOUs with the European Patent Office (EPO), the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL). Under one MOU, the USPTO and EPO will "help advance international adoption of the Cooperative Patent Classification system while improving collaboration between the two patent offices," the release said. The MOU between the USPTO and IPOS "will increase international prior art searches under the Patent Cooperation Treaty," while the memorandum between the USPTO and IPOPHIL will "expand existing collaboration between the two offices and strengthens cooperation by sharing best practices and undertaking joint activities to improve operations and harmonization of patent application processing," the PTO said.

The Copyright Office (CO) anticipates releasing its ruling on proposed exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 1201’s ban on the circumvention of technological protection measures (TPMs) Oct. 28, a spokeswoman confirmed Thursday. CO officials have been considering 27 proposed Section 1201 exemptions (see 1505140070 and 1505260050), including a new cellphone unlocking exemption and several other jailbreaking exemptions. A proposed exemption that would allow security researchers to circumvent TPMs on vehicle software has drawn renewed interest in recent weeks following the EPA’s claim in late September that Volkswagen had used software in its diesel vehicles between 2008 and this year to reduce emissions toxicity during emissions tests (see 1509220060).

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that copyright on “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” should revert to the heirs of song co-writer John Frederick Coots in December 2016. That overturned a 2013 ruling by the U.S. District Court in New York that granted summary judgment to current copyright owner EMI. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ranked “Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town” in 2014 as the most-performed holiday song of the year. The copyright on “Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town” is to expire in 2029. Coots had reached deals with preceding publishers in 1934, 1951 and 1981 to grant or extend his publishers’ rights to the song. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled in 2013 that Coots’ heirs couldn’t seek a termination of EMI’s rights to the song under the 1976 Copyright Act based on the publisher’s argument that Coots’ 1951 agreement with Leo Feist Inc. remained in effect. EMI owns Leo Feist’s catalog. The 2nd Circuit disagreed. Judge Debra Ann Livingston wrote in the court’s opinion that Coots’ 1981 renewal of his agreement “made it sufficiently clear that the parties intended to replace the earlier contract.” Since the 1981 agreement is the one currently in effect, provisions in the 1976 Copyright Act make Coots' heirs’ 2007 notice terminating EMI’s rights to “Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town” is valid, the 2nd Circuit said. Coots’ heirs’ lawyer Thomas Landry said in a statement that he appreciates the 2nd Circuit’s “well-reasoned decision,” which he said clarifies the 1976 Copyright Act’s effect on termination rights. EMI didn’t comment.

Recent Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) rulings adopting two separate settlements involving SoundExchange “wrap up some aspects” of CRB’s ongoing 2016-2020 webcasting rate-setting proceeding, while a separate Copyright Office ruling on the admissibility of direct license terms as possible benchmarks “could affect aspects of the proceeding not resolved by the CRB’s orders,” Fletcher Heald lawyer Kevin Goldberg said in a blog post Wednesday. CRB adopted most of an agreement in late September between SoundExchange and College Broadcasters Inc. for the 2016-2020 term that sets the rates for digital performances of sound recordings by noncommercial educational webcasters (see 1509290050). CRB adopted a partial agreement last week between SoundExchange and a group of public radio stations led by NPR and CPB that mostly leaves in place rates and terms from the 2011-2015 term. That partial agreement allows public radio to continue to directly administer arrangements, “so eligible stations should be on the lookout for direct notice(s) from NPR or an NPR affiliated entity for guidance,” Goldberg said. Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante ruled in late September that the CRB isn’t prohibited from using Pandora’s past direct licensing deals with independent music label rights consortium Merlin and independent label Naxos as possible benchmarks for the 2016-2020 webcasting proceeding (see 1509210054). That ruling is likely to benefit webcasters since Pandora’s direct license deals “stand out as actual, concrete examples of what a willing buyer and willing seller in this marketplace would agree on -- in, fact, have agreed on -- as the actual value for digital performance of a sound recording,” Goldberg said. “In that regard they may provide the CRB more persuasive evidence of the proper rates to be set.”

The Patent and Trademark Office unveiled its newly developed icons for intellectual property, intended to "help spread awareness about IP while engaging with the public," Deputy Director Russ Slifer said in an agency blog post Friday. The 19 symbols, developed through the PTO Iconathon workshop, were designed to universally represent IP, and include icons for concepts such as infringement, invention, patent pending, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and trademark, said Slifer.

The Copyright Alliance will become a “superhero for the copyright community,” new Executive Director Keith Kupferschmid said Wednesday in a blog post. “It astonishes me how the perceived divide” between the copyright and technology communities “is so often exaggerated and emphasized,” Kupferschmid said, noting his experience working with both communities in his former role as Software & Information Industry Association general counsel. “I do not perceive the copyright and technology communities as warring factions. Both groups rely on copyright to promote and protect their creativity and innovation and both depend on innovation and technology to develop different models for making these new creations and inventions available to the public to enjoy.” The Copyright Alliance should “become a clearinghouse for copyright information” for a diverse group of stakeholders, Kupferschmid said. The group should “assist these creators by providing services that will help them register their works with the Copyright Office (CO) and to enforce their rights against those who violate them,” he said. The Copyright Alliance should also make its primary policy focus the modernization of the CO since it's the main issue that all stakeholders agree on, Kupferschmid said.