Backlash Against Mockingbird Sequel as Concerns for Author’s Status Come Out

The reading world was riveted earlier this week by reports that a long-awaited second volume of Harper Lee’s work, a sequel-slash-prequel to the Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird, would be released by HarperCollins in July 2015. But speculation is already circulating that this is not in accordance with the author’s wishes or best interests…

Essentially, critics of the pending release aren’t at issue with its content or its quality, but of the fact that they do not believe the author herself would ever have allowed its publication if she were in better health and had better care watching over her interests. Lee is reportedly nearly blind and deaf and has lived in a care facility since a stroke in 2007, and some people close to her have reported she suffers from dementia. Critics have argued that this book never would have become public if Alice were still alive to protect her sister, her status as the author’s former attorney notwithstanding.

Read the full article @ goodereader.com.

Posted in Misc Tagged with: books, law, publishing

Friday Video: Lawrence Lessig Interviews Edward Snowden

Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig interviewed Edward Snowden at Harvard Law School on Oct. 20.

Posted in Politics & Law, video Tagged with: edward snowden, harvard, law, lawrence lessig, privacy, security, video

Tech Talk: How to Manage Your Online Presence

Did you know that your online presence works for you 24/7? You’re “on” even if you aren’t online. The power of online presence is amazing: it can land you a job, promote your brand, or provide a channel to demonstrate one’s skills OR it can be an embarrassing reminder of what not to do. This presentation will discuss how to best manage online presence by creating a professional digital image as well as building boundaries between personal and professional profiles.

Presenter: Marcia Dority Baker: Assistant Professor of Law Library, Access Services Librarian; University of Nebraska College of Law; Schmid Law Library.

Marcia’s presentation  and links from the show are also available.

In this monthly feature of NCompass Live, the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Michael Sauers, discusses the tech news of the month and share new and exciting tech for your library.

Posted in Tech Tagged with: facebook, law, linkedin, ncomplive, social media, social web

MIT blocking release of Aaron Swartz’s Secret Service files

Now, though, MIT has blocked a Freedom of Information Act suit by Wired’s Kevin Poulsen aimed at forcing the Secret Service to release their files on Aaron. A court recently ordered the Secret Service to stop screwing around and release Aaron’s file, but before that could happen, MIT intervened, arguing that if the world could see the files, they would know the names of the MIT employees who insisted that Aaron deserved to go to jail for what amounted to checking too many books out of the library. MIT argues that its employees would potentially face retaliation (though not, presumably, threats of felony prosecutions, million-dollar fines, and decades in prison) if their names were known.

Read the full article @ Boing Boing.

Posted in Politics & Law Tagged with: aaron swatrz, law, mit, privacy

New Indiana Law Makes It A Felony For Same-Sex Couples To Apply For A Marriage License

Indiana lawmakers have revamped a 1997 law that makes furnishing false information on a marriage license a class D felony. Beginning July 1, 2014, a same-sex couple applying for a marriage license in the state of Indiana will be guilty of a Level 6 felony, punishable by 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine. The new law also makes it a Class B Misdemeanor for a clergyman, judge, mayor, city clerk or town clerk-treasurer to perform a same-sex marriage, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.  Any clerk who issues a license to a same-sex couple would also be guilty of a Class B Misdemeanor.

Because Indiana marriage license forms have a space for “male applicant” and “female applicant”, any same-sex couple filling out the form would automatically violate the law. The harsh penalties Indiana lawmakers have approved make it difficult for protest movements like the Campaign for Southern Equality’s “We Do” Campaign, which encourages same-sex couples to apply for marriage licenses as a protest in states that prohibit same-sex marriages.

Posted in Politics & Law Tagged with: bigotry, law

About Frackin’ Time: Someone’s suing over Happy Birthday’s copyright status.

Jennifer Nelson is my hero!

The song “Happy Birthday to You” is widely credited for being the most performed song in the world. But one of its latest venues may be the federal courthouse in Manhattan, where the only parties may be the litigants to a new legal battle.

The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed on Thursday by a filmmaker in New York who is seeking to have the court declare the popular ditty to be in the public domain, and to block a music company from claiming it owns the copyright to the song and charging licensing fees for its use.

The filmmaker, Jennifer Nelson, was producing a documentary movie, tentatively titled “Happy Birthday,” about the song, the lawsuit said. In one proposed scene, the song was to be performed.

Read the full story @ NewYorkTimes.com. For more on the history of, and an investigation into, the copyright status of Happy Birthday, please take the time to read Copyright and the World’s Most Popular Song by Robert Brauneis, George Washington University – Law School. Yes it’s a law journal article but it’s one I’m assuming will be referenced in this case.

Posted in Politics & Law Tagged with: copyright, happy birthday, law, music

Publisher Threatens to Sue (Librarian) Blogger for $1-Billion

Jeffrey Beall is a metadata librarian at the University of Colorado at Denver, but he’s known online for his popular blog Scholarly Open Access, where he maintains a running list of open-access journals and publishers he deems questionable or predatory.

Now, one of those publishers intends to sue Mr. Beall, and says it is seeking $1-billion in damages.

The publisher, the OMICS Publishing Group, based in India, is also warning that Mr. Beall could be imprisoned for up to three years under India’s Information Technology Act, according to a letter from the group’s lawyer. Mr. Beall received the letter on Tuesday from IP Markets, an Indian firm that manages intellectual-property rights.

“I found the letter to be poorly written and personally threatening,” Mr. Beall said. “I think the letter is an attempt to detract from the enormity of OMICS’s editorial practices.” Mr. Beall believes he has documented all the statements he made about OMICS.

Read the full article on The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Posted in Libraries, Politics & Law Tagged with: law, lawsuit, librarian

Don’t ever speak to the FBI without a tape recorder running and a lawyer present

The message from Robel’s prosecution and Silverglate’s advice is clear: do not talk to the FBI without your lawyer present. If Harvey’s decades long experience is any indication, chances are that the agents will politely decline to interview you if you and your attorney insist on creating an accurate record of an FBI interrogation.

I’d say this is good advice for interrogation by any law enforcement agency, not just the FBI.

Full article @ PrivacySOS.org. (Via Boing Boing.)

Posted in Politics & Law Tagged with: fbi, law, police

Justice O’Connor: Maybe Bush V. Gore Was A Mistake

Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor says she has second thoughts on whether the Supreme Court should have accepted Bush v. Gore — the deeply controversial case that effectively decided the 2000 presidential election.

“It took the case and decided it at a time when it was still a big election issue,” O’Connor told the Chicago Tribune editorial board last Friday. “Maybe the court should have said, ‘We’re not going to take it, goodbye.'”

Read the full article @ TalkingPointsMemo.com.

Posted in Politics & Law Tagged with: 2000, bush, election, gore, law, scotus, supreme court

The false link between photography & terrorism

First watch this video:

Then read this article:

On the same day that federal investigators pleaded with the public for photos and videos that would help them identify the Boston Marathon bombers, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI released a memo stating the “discreet use of cameras or video recorders” could be interpreted as a sign that a terrorist act is being planned.

However, the Joint Intelligence Bulletin released April 16, one day after the attacks, failed to list any specific examples that this was the case, even though it listed several examples of previous planned terrorist attacks that were thwarted.

The truth is, the memo is simply rehashing the same information the feds have been stating for years, which is one reason why so many police officers and security guards tend to treat citizens with cameras as suspected terrorists.

Read the full article @ PhotographyIsNotACrime.com.

Posted in Politics & Law, video Tagged with: law, photography, police, terrorism