In a brief filed in federal court yesterday, Universal Music Group (UMG) states that, when it comes to the millions of promotional CDs ("promo CDs") that it has sent out to music reviewers, radio stations, DJs, and other music industry insiders, throwing them away is "an unauthorized distribution" that...

Last time we wrote about the EU's Bono Report on the Cultural Industries, it was
to
href="http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2007/12/music-industry-europe-filter-pressure">warn
of a rightsholders' hijack. Lobbying groups like
href="http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/effeurope/ifpi_filtering_memo.pdf">IFPI
were encouraging amendments that would give a European Union stamp of approval to ISP
filtering content, blocking...

Same day, two federal courts, two different rulings on "making available."
As we mentioned yesterday, a New York court in Elektra v. Barker gave a boost to the recording industry by ruling that an offer to distribute a file on a P2P network can infringe the distribution...

What Could It Mean for Warrantless Domestic Surveillance?
Update: Click here to read the AP article on the Yoo memo and the Fourth Amendment.
Today's Washington Post reports on a newly released memo, "Memorandum for William J. Haynes II, General Counsel of the Department of Defense...

Israel Adopts Fair UseIn their reform of national copyright law, Israel opts for an open-ended and court-defined idea of fair use, similar to the United States.

India Wants Blackberry CryptoOn the eve of renewing RIM's license in the country, India wants the keys to the mobile device's encryption...

NY Times Wiretapping Coverage -- The Inside StoryAn excerpt from NY Times author Eric Lichtblau's new book
on warrantless wiretapping.
Fee for All -- Music as Service from ISPsWarner is developing proposals that would make access to
music a service charged by ISPs.
...

With Congress in the middle of recess, surveillance issues have receded from the front pages. But look a few pages further in, and you'll find signs that the issues are very much on the minds of ordinary Americans:
Jerry Moe of Brown Deer, Wisconsin, in The Milwaukee...