‘Happy Birthday’ settlement puts the song in the public domain

Since 1988, Warner/Chappell has had an iron grip on the copyright for “Happy Birthday to You.” Artists couldn’t sing it on a recording without paying up, even though it’s virtually ubiquitous in real life — it’s widely considered the most popular English-language song in history. At last, though, logic appears to be taking hold. In the wake of a lengthy class action lawsuit, Warner has agreed to a $14 million settlement that will put “Happy Birthday” in the US public domain well ahead of 2030, when the label expected the copyright to run out. So long as the ruling holds, you can expect to hear those very familiar strains all over music, movies and TV shows in the near future.

As you might guess, Warner isn’t doing this as a kindness. It’s estimated to have raked in $50 million through licensing “Happy Birthday” in the past few decades, and the plaintiffs believe the label would have scooped up to $16.5 million more if the lawsuit hadn’t happened. Rather, the settlement will head off an outright loss that would have proven much more costly. A federal judge had already ruled that Warner’s lyrics copyright was invalid — the company faced the real possibility of having to pay full compensation to everyone who’d licensed the tune in the past.

It’s rare to see any company settle a licensing case like this by agreeing to a public domain release. However, this suggests that copyright isn’t always sacrosanct among media giants. They’re willing to end their battles if the cost of holding on to royalties is too high. You probably won’t see this happen very often, but the fact that it happened at all is noteworthy.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

NASA’s Curiosity offers another 360-degree peek at Mars

Less than two weeks ago NASA posted a 360-degree video on Facebook that showed the perspective of its Curiosity rover on Mars. It was an exhilarating view, but the way it had been created — by stitching together lots of different photographs — meant the final video offered a strange, fishbowl-like picture. Thankfully, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has uploaded a replacement to YouTube which is lightyears better than the original. While it’s still a static shot — so more of a panorama than a true 360-degree video — it’s another mesmerizing look at the Red Planet.

The component images were captured by Curiosity on December 18, 2015 using the Mast Camera rig, otherwise known as Mastcam, which sits on top of the robot’s vertical arm. In the video you can see the Namib Dune, which forms part of the Bagnold Dunes dotted along the northwestern flank of Mount Sharp. NASA notes that, after analysing images taken from orbit, scientists believe the dunes can move as much as one meter during a normal Earth year. A portion of Mount Sharp can be seen on the horizon and of course, Curiosity itself is visible down below on the surface.

You can watch the video in your browser and click around to change the perspective, but for an immersive experience we recommend using the YouTube app on your phone or a Google Cardboard — with the gyroscope sensor you can look around naturally, which is always pretty fun.

Via: The Verge

Source: NASA JPL (YouTube)

3Doodler is back with a cute, safe 3D printing pen for kids

Even from their earliest moments of Kickstarter success, one thing was clear to the team at 3D printing pen startup 3Doodler: they’d have to build a version just for kids. Now, after releasing a streamlined upgrade to the original and pushing to get these things into classrooms, they’ve finally done just that. Meet the 3Doodler Start, a curvier, cuter version of the pen meant for a new generation of pint-sized makers.

In case you haven’t been keeping up with the movers and shakers in the maker space, 3Doodler’s formula is dead-simple. Each pen comes with a starter pack of plastic strands — stick one in the pen, turn it on, and extrude that plastic into fanciful figures or faithful reconstructions. In a way, you yourself become a 3D printer, except your brain is the software that gives form and substance to your ideas. The new pen will set parents and school boards back $50 a pop (or $40 if you’re the type who pre-orders), making it half the price of the 3Doodler 2.0 the team released around this time last year. And before you ask, yes, that means the team had to make some notable compromises.

For one, there’s only one extruding speed, and it seemed pretty slow while playing with a very early model at our CES stage. There’s also only a single temperature setting too, but that helps keep the 3Doodler Start’s plastic extrusion tip from getting hot enough to burn anything (or anyone for that matter). Seriously. This is easily the most impressive thing about the Start — while playing with the pen, co-founder Daniel Cowen encouraged me to doodle on my skin, a move that would’ve meant a bit of yelping and lots of cold water splashing around just last year. The hardware team can’t take all the credit for this kid-friendly plastic extrusion though; 3Doodler has also developed a new kind of biodegradable plastic filament that melts at lower temperatures. Oh, and the pièce de résistance? The Start thankfully uses a standard MicroUSB port for charging — that’s one less chunky, specific wallwart to keep track of.

Interest piqued? It would’ve nice to get these before the holidays so as to keep teeming hordes of kids occupied, but the Start should make for a hell of a summer distraction — the first units are expected to ship this May.

Source: 3Doodler Start

ICYMI: Robot news round-up, 3D hand scanner and more

Today on In Case You Missed It: iRobot sold its line of military robots to a US-based firm to focus on Roomba and a new chameleon robot changes color to blend in; a student built a 3D scanner with cameras and Raspberry Pi that is much cheaper than any other scanner; and a new pedestrian detection software from the University of California, San Diego, is nearly as fast as the human brain.

We also wanted to give you a look at the latest certified Guinness World Record, this one for turning a mobility scooter for the physically impaired into a speed machine at 107.6 miles per hour.

As always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.

UK intelligence committee slams IP Bill for being too vague

The UK’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has struck out at a controversial surveillance law being proposed by the UK government, the Investigatory Powers Bill (IP Bill). The response is notable because the Committee is one of three groups that were commissioned to look into the UK’s patchwork of laws before the IP Bill was drafted. The authors believe the new bill has “suffered from a lack of sufficient time and preparation” and doesn’t cover some important powers held by the UK’s intelligence agencies. Given the purpose of the law is to collect, update and explain these abilities, the Committee calls the bill “a missed opportunity.”

The new report delves deeper into the government’s proposed legislation, taking issue with three specific capabilities — equipment interference, more commonly known as hacking, bulk personal data datasets and communications data, which refers to peripheral information about our conversations such as where, when and how a message was sent or received. The Committee says these abilities are too broad and “lack sufficient clarity.” In addition, the group says the bill has “a rather piecemeal approach” to privacy protections and that these should be written into its own, central section. Each of the proposed powers would then need to reference this like a checklist throughout the bill.

“Taken as a whole, the draft Bill fails to deliver the clarity that is so badly needed in this area. The issues under consideration are undoubtedly complex, however it has been evident that even those working on the legislation have not always been clear as to what the provisions are intended to achieve.”

One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the IP Bill is its proposed impact on encryption. In an introductory section, the Home Office stresses that there will be “no additional requirements in relation to encryption over and above the existing obligations in RIPA.” That last acronym being the the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which is the UK’s primary piece of surveillance legislation at the moment. It’s already a murky subject, but in the new legislation there’s also mention of a “technical capability notice” that asks for “the removal of electronic protection applied by a relevant operator to any communications or data.”

Would that affect end-to-end encryption and if so, how? The purpose of such protection is to ensure the provider can’t decrypt users’ conversations, even if they want to or receive a request from the government. Under the draft IP Bill, are they banned from offering users this encryption in the first place? Or could they simply decline based on the fact it’s impossible for them to comply? The Home Secretary Theresa May has provided some muddled answers, which worry the ISC:

“The Home Office must ensure that the legislation provides clarity as to the nature and scale of these obligations.”

The report chimes with what plenty of companies have argued during the joint committee’s investigation — the IP Bill needs to be clearer with its proposals. The government has tried to defend its position, suggesting that if it’s too specific the law will quickly become outdated. Then we’ll be in this same position again, debating minutiae back and forth for months. Of course, that’s no excuse for failing to provide adequate safeguards or a clear, accessible explanation of the general powers being awarded.

The joint committee is due to publish its own report later this week. It’s a crucial document which the government will need to review before finalising the IP Bill. Based on the evidence that’s been submitted, we’re expecting a laundry list of criticisms to rival those set out by the ISC.

Source: Intelligence and Security Committee

Uber shuts down its app in Paris to support driver protest

Uber will suspend its service in Paris today between 11 AM and 3 PM in support of a driver protest against proposed legislation from the French government. So far, the company has distanced itself from the conflict, but said it will shut down its app in support of its Paris drivers, the first time it has ever done so. The issue, of course, is about private chauffeur services and apps like Uber versus traditional taxis. The government banned the UberPop service last year, so there are no longer concerns over non-professional drivers. However, it now wants to stop a group of minicab chauffeurs from using Uber and other apps.

“Many professional drivers have been protesting in recent days — their fears are understandable — and they have asked us for support. As many as 10,000 families face financial uncertainty after the job they’d been doing was taken away from them,” an Uber representative told The Local. The company was referring to past agreements made by a private driver group that the French government now wants to rip up. “Mr. Valls Guillotined us,” said a spokesman, referring to French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

Certaines plateformes numériques veulent imposer leur monde sans règle à la République, la République sera toujours plus forte.

— L Grandguillaume (@LGRANDGUILLAUME) January 30, 2016

Taxi drivers staged their own protest late last month, which was followed by a “funeral march” of Uber vehicles on February 3rd. The driver group, which said Uber and other apps provide up to 70 percent of its business, wants to stop new regulations that could further hamper its chauffeurs. French mediator Laurent Grandguillaume is trying to decide which new rules, if any, the government will impose on the apps. However, he recently tweeted that “some digital platforms want to impose their world without regard to the law, but the Republic will always be stronger.” As a result, many critics think he’s already made up his mind in favor of taxis.

Via: The Verge

Source: The Local