ArchAngel* Wrap-Up

Hello followers!  This is the beginning of a weekly wrap-up of goings-on in the BLIP scene: meetups, meetings, activities, and legal issues.  I hope you’ll join us as we explore NY technology, entrepreneurship, and their convergence in law.  

Brooklyn’s snowy and cold, but BLIP’s fiery with activity.  Speaking of heat, it’s been a heated conflict on the IP front this week.  NYTM-supported protests and content-provider-supported blackouts, have led to the tabling of both SOPA and PIPA.  Almost on cue, DOJ seized MegaUpload, once one of the largest online video distributors, and arrested their top-level management in New Zealand.  Anonymous responded to the takedown with their own hacktivism and temporarily made the DOJ website inoperable.  The DOJ’s action isn’t surprising, and the timing is probably more than coincidence.  Perhaps DOJ is reminding folks that even without SOPA or PIPA, Grokster and Aimster are still on the books; that is, you may be free to create open platforms (for now), but inducing copyright infringement or turning the willful blind eye to it will not be tolerated.

In other news, SCOTUS held that Congress could constitutionally take foreign works out of the public domain.  What does this mean for the masses?  Well, for one, you can expect fewer remixes of Peter and the Wolf.  

I had a ton of great meetings this week.  Tony from New Work City, Tina, and I got lunch in Chinatown and talked about all things law, entrepreneurship, and space travel (!).  Daria from the Hive at 55 met with me to discuss new ways BLIP can help out the Hive.  I also had great meetings with General Assembly, the new NYU-Poly campus in DUMBO, and the Brooklyn Public Library’s business library.  On Wednesday, we had an excellent visit to New Work City for a Goodnik event on effective crowdfunding for social entrepreneurs.  We were excited to be so warmly welcomed there.

It was a busy (and exhausting) week.  Ideas are flowing; opportunities are everywhere.  Now back to the books!

—Phil—

*For clarification, I’m not a narcissist nor a blasphemer.  Our outreach team at BLIP is the Angels.  As lead, I’m the Archangel.  Got it? Great.