Stanford Center for Internet and Society

Johnny Symon's compelling critique of the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy, Ask Not, is premiering at the San Francisco International Film Festival. It provides a thoughtful and poignant look at both the origins and consequences of this policy that institutionalizes discrimination against the very people who fight so bravely to defend our freedom and the rights of others. See below for showtimes.

On the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Dan Slater notes the growing reaction against Rowling's copyright claims against RDR Books, and generates a spirited discussion of her position. Read it all here.

Today on Slate, Columbia Law Professor Tim Wu lays out an excellent explanation of why RDR Books has the right to publish the Harry Potter Lexicon, and why J.K. Rowling's copyright claims to the contrary are misplaced. Read the article here.

Pat Aufderheide, Peter Jaszi and their colleagues at American University's Center for Social Media have released a fantastic new study on creativity on the web -- and the threat that overly-aggressive copyright enforcement and so-called "anti-piracy" software pose to free speech.

Read the full study here, and view a slew of videos that represent the creativity that digital media has unleashed.

Yes, it's true. As Zohar Efroni reported, the Fair Use Project has signed on as co-counsel representing RDR Books in its litigation against J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. The case concerns the HP Lexicon, a Harry Potter reference guide that has existed on the web for a long time, and has become the authoritative guide to the people, places and things of the Harry Potter universe. Upon learning that RDR Books planned to publish a printed version of the Lexicon, Rowling and Warner Brothers filed suit, alleging copyright and trademark infringement, and seeking to permanently enjoin the publication of the HP Lexicon in printed form. Read a copy of the complaint here. More in the new year, as we file our opposition to Rowling's motion for preliminary injunction. In the meantime, view the online version of the Lexicon (which Rowling herself honored with a fansite award) here.

Henry Jenkins at M.I.T. put up an excellent post about Moral Kombat, one of the first films we reviewed as part of our then-new (now not-so-new but significantly bigger) Documentary Film Program. Read the post. See the film, which is going into previews now.