By Tyler Lacey

Wiki Operator Seeks Right to Host Discussions About Circumvention of iPhone’s DRM System

Wired reports that on April 27, BluWiki operator OdioWorks filed a declaratory judgment lawsuit against Apple in order to “clarify the rights of the parties.” Last November, Apple threatened OdioWorks with legal action over a thread discussing how to use unapproved software on both the iPod and iPhone. Apple claimed that the content was “designed to circumvent Apple’s FairPlay digital rights management system” in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. OdioWorks initially complied with Apple’s takedown demands, but is now being supported by Keker Van Nest and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in its lawsuit.

Ontario to Propose New Legislation Banning Ticketmaster from Reselling Tickets Through Its Subsidiaries

On April 29, The Toronto Star reported that Ontario’s Attorney General Chris Bentley plans to introduce a bill that would outlaw ticket sales companies such as Ticketmaster from reselling their tickets on subsidiary websites. Although ticket scalping is already illegal in Ontario, Bentley says the proposal is in response to complaints from customers upset with Ticketmaster’s practice of reselling tickets at prices above face value on its subsidiary TicketsNow. Ticketmaster had previously agreed to voluntary limitations on its use of TicketsNow in the United States.

European Union Votes to Extend Music Copyright by 20 Years

The European Parliament voted on April 23 to extend the length of musical copyright protection from 50 years to 70 years. If the proposal is approved by the European Council, artists will be able to continue receiving royalties for up to 70 years after the first release of their songs. Ars Technica reports that several groups have criticized the extension because most of the new royalties will go to record labels rather than the original performers of the songs.