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Outside of comic books, it is exceedingly rare to see a villain receive literal and poetic justice at the hands of its own creation. So when I read that Time Warner must now share the copyright for Superman with the heirs of Superman co-creator Jerome Siegel, I couldn’t help but give a healthy chuckle. The cause of action flows directly from a provision of the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) of 1998, which Time Warner (along with other studios) pushed through Congress with all their lobbying might. Granted Time Warner never supported this provision, which was a sop to folks and their heirs who sold copyrights when they thought they were only giving away 23 years plus a 23 year renewal, but TW regarded that as an acceptable risk for the billions upon billions of dollars it gained from yet another windfall in copyright land.

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Yesterday, I sent out the latest issue of my eJournal, Standards Today.  Not surprisingly, it focused on the OOXML process, and what can be learned from it.  Below is the Editorial, and you can  find the complete issue here.  You can sign up for a free subscription here.
Updated:  ISO has now issued its confirmatory press release.  The full text (less biolerplate) is appended at the end of this entry.  I note with some interest that the press release includes the following language:

Read the full post here.

Well, it appears to be final. As the results are verified and commentators weigh in, I’ll post a roundup later, as well as my own commentary on what this means for BytesFree.org’s objectives.

In the meantime, see the posts below from Groklaw and the Standards Blog.

Tags: News

Updated:  1. I have now received confirmation from a second source that these results are accurate.
2. Microsoft has issued a press release announcing that OOXML “Appears to Win Approval” (text below)
3. (1:00 PM EDT) I have now received a copy of the ISO communication from a National Body source entitled to receive it, and can confirm the data below.
4.  Ecma’s press release confirming approval is here

Open Malaysia has posted a final update of their vote registry, based upon an email from the OpenDoc Society to which is attached what they say are the final numbers on the OOXML vote.  The document looks authentic, and I should have an independent verif…

Read the full post at consortiuminfo.org