A copyright battle between the AP and an online news-clipping service is reaching a climax, and the case could have significant implications for fair use. AP sued Meltwater Group last year, arguing the "reputation management" company had a "parasitic business model" that violated copyright. Meltwater is arguing that it is merely a search engine. Last week, the nation's largest newspapers lined up to tell the New York federal judge considering the case that they support the AP.

Parker and Stone are being sued over their character King Lollipop, which appeared in three episodes in 2009, by a man who claims that they stole the character from his own show.

At issue in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons is the first-sale doctrine in copyright law, which allows you to buy and then sell things like electronics, books, artwork and furniture, as well as CDs and DVDs, without getting permission from the copyright holder of those products. Under the doctrine, which the Supreme Court has recognized since 1908, you can resell your stuff without worry because the copyright holder only had control over the first sale.

A drop in file-sharing following a court ordered block of the Pirate Bay was short-lived, data seen by the BBC suggests. A major UK internet service provider (ISP) said peer-to-peer (P2P) activity on its network returned to just below normal only a week after the measures were enforced earlier this year. Critics had warned the ban would prove ineffective. But the BPI, the music industry trade body, has defended the action. Its chief executive Geoff Taylor told the BBC the group would continue to pursue similar action in future.

Zinger quote from full-time artist (and QCO reader) Gwenn Seemel:

I'm fascinated by how artists say that their adherence to copyright is about money (even when they aren't making a living with their work) but that when you dig a little deeper it comes out that it's about fear. It's about the fear that someone will do what you're doing but do it better than you ever did.