Fashion industry thrives in spite of no copyright protection

An upcoming paper in the Virginia Law review explains how the fashion industry thrives in spite of a lack of copyright protection. The paper has been widely covered in legal and new media blogs, and calls into question the common assumption that copyright induces creation through financial effects.

UK sound recording copyrights staying at 50 years?

The UK likely won't extend copyright for sound recordings beyond the current 50 year term, a surprise to most of the entertainment industry. Although this isn't a done deal, it means the earliest Beatles recordings will be in the public domain in the UK by 2013!

Will this have an impact on the US market? The Supreme Court held in Quality King (98 F.3d 1109) that imported copies are subject to the first sale doctrine. So what happens when a work no longer covered in the UK is manufactured there and resold here? The importer should be able to undercut prices in the market here.