Austin Real Estate Blog

OCLC (an organization with a mission similar to RPR, but for libraries) has alienated itself from it's supposed beneficiaries. Could something like this happen with RPR?

In order to understand the potential problems with providing original real estate records to a communally-owned database, as RPR is suggesting, it’s useful to look at an analogous situation that exists in a similar community: the library world.

On July 6, 1967, the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) was founded as a cooperative effort among libraries to allow standardization and sharing of bibliographic records among libraries who signed up for this service. The records were to remain the property of the library that created them, but would be free to use for any member library, with only a small cost-recovery fee charged for various services. OCLC continued to grow, until today it serves 72,000 libraries all around the world, who participate by creating bibliographic records and sharing them. OCLC is also available for library users to search, allowing them to locate hard-to-find items through its online search options. So, libraries created bibliographic records for books and journals and CDs and DVDs, and users could find information on them through OCLC. And everything was fine, for a while.

Then, in 2008 OCLC announced its proposed “Policy for Use and Transfer of WorldCat Records,” which required that all records before and since that appear in OCLC would bear a line granting copyright (license) over the record to OCLC and prohibiting the record’s use in any other service that was similar to OCLC. Essentially, OCLC simply took over the license for those records. OCLC did not make those records, so how could they do this?

The answer lies in the way that copyright law is structured. The records stored in OCLC were comprised of facts. Facts cannot be copyrighted. I can’t copyright the fact that a house is located at a certain address or that it is on the market for a specific amount; I can’t copyright that grass is green and the sky is blue. I can, however, copyright the way that I describe the house, the look and feel of my real estate descriptions, and the formatting I use in creating a listing for the house. It’s the last issue, that of formatting and metadata, that created the situation with OCLC.

OCLC didn’t claim ownership over the information in its database; it couldn’t. Copyright doesn’t allow for ownership of facts. Instead, OCLC claimed ownership over the format and metadata (descriptions of the books) – the look and feel of the interface – as its justification for claiming the right to license the records. Because the information had to be entered in a format that OCLC set up when the initial database was first put into place, OCLC owned the format. The records in that format were thus the property of OCLC because the format was OCLC’s. Restrictions were outlined that restricted the rights of libraries to use the records, even for records they had created themselves and that logic would dictate those libraries “owned.” Despite public outcry, the provision was implemented in 2009.

But OCLC was a consortium of libraries working together, right? So how could they do something that was so clearly at odds with what the majority of the membership wanted?

The answer, sadly, is that OCLC’s leadership seems more interested in protecting its own financial interests than in being responsive to its membership. Once OCLC became the standard that most libraries used, it began to derive its own profit-driven agenda; since it essentially had a monopoly on the records that had already been created, it no longer needed to serve the libraries that had created it and built its success.

If any of this sounds familiar, it should. Similar situations are arising throughout the intellectual property world. If RPR successfully implements its proposed database, it can make a claim that the records contained belong to it, no matter who originally created the record, because RPR would own the format and metadata. This would allow for a widespread land grab that could end up costing members and others simply to get their own listings back.

Don’t think this could ever happen? It already has. Just ask a librarian.

New rules proposed by the Community Development Commission could spell big changes for builders seeking variances for new developments in Austin.  The proposal is modeled on a similar law already in effect in Massachusetts and would require that builders who receive special permission to build larger-than-allowed residential buildings must devote a portion of their development to affordable housing for low to moderate income families.  The Community Development Commission is comprised of thirteen political appointees who are tasked with the development and implementation of programs intended to serve low income families and households in the Austin area.

Recent developments have also led to the appointment of a new Downtown Density Task Force, a result of stalemate on the part of the previous task force which could not come to an agreement at a meeting last month.  Many builders have noted that a proposed “pay-to-play” system that would require payments to a community development fund may also constitute a deterrent to new construction in the area during a time of economic uncertainty; most economic experts believe such requirements are unwise given the current housing market downturn.

Some experts have noted that the proposal as it currently stands is in direct conflict with Texas state law, which prohibits requiring builders to include affordable housing in their planned developments.  Supporters of the proposal, however, note that the rules do not force builders to include such housing, but simply withhold the required legal variances from builders who do not make such accommodations a part of their development plan.

The timing of the proposal is unfortunate, given the recent prediction in the 2010 Texas Construction Outlook that Austin construction projects are expected to increase by approximately 30% in the coming year.  Federal stimulus funds and projects are credited with a portion of this growth, and new housing starts are expected to make up much of the rest of the increase.  Many builders feel that adding new layers of expense and paperwork will put a damper on these expected gains and stifle much of the economic benefit Austin could derive from this infusion of cash and projects to the local building industry.  While the public works and utilities projects are not expected to be affected by the proposed rule changes, some new housing developments may be delayed or even canceled if these rules are put into effect at this crucial time.  Given the fragile nature of the housing market recovery, most builders believe that these rules should not be implemented or should be delayed until the housing industry is more robust and the recovery is well underway.

Put this on my www.joecline.com/blog by accident. Here is the link, if you were looking for this post about the Realtors Property resource. I made this little ditty in Photoshop just for giggles. I was in a startup company a few years back and when the impending death sale of the company was in progress we had similarly themed, but much, much more professionally created posters. You know, don’t let any details slip out or you’ll sink the ship. Anyway, silence is great in war, but NOT WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO GAIN BUY IN or when you’ve used association moneys to start your company!

Someone should let the folks at RPR know that we ARE interested, but are not going to swallow whatever they produce hook, line, and sinker.

South by Southwest tix are highly coverted from coast to coast and from Film geek to music geek to computer geek!

The 24th annual South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals at the Austin Convention Center will showcase the finest in film, music, and interactive media from March 12th through the 21st. In keeping with Austin’s tradition of originality, the conferences and festivals focus on independent artists and films and offer a valuable first venue for aspiring musical artists and young filmmakers. Sponsors for this year’s festivities include the Independent Film Channel, Monster Energy, Chevy, Pepsi/Mountain Dew, and the Austin Chronicle.

The South by Southwest Conferences offer participants an outstanding opportunity to network with those in their chosen fields and to learn valuable skills through discussion panels and celebrity interviews in a casual, relaxed atmosphere. The keynote speaker for the Music Conference will be the great Smokey Robinson, one of the most influential musicians of all time. The Interactive Conference focuses on the best in website design, video games and internet start-ups, making it a must-see for would-be Web millionaires. Ben Huh, the innovator behind sites like I Can Haz Cheezburger and LOLcats, will be on hand to discuss techniques and methods for achieving internet success as the featured speaker for the “How to Rawk SXSW” panel.

The film festival usually gets most of the attention for its diverse selection of films, ranging from headliner events like “Get Low” with Robert Duvall and Bill Murray and “Cyrus” with John C. Reilly and Marisa Tomei to documentaries like “Rejoice and Shout,” a moving exploration of gospel music. International films from Belgium, Israel, Ireland, Denmark, and many other countries will also be showcased at the South by Southwest Film Festival. One highlight is sure to be the presentation of “Hubble 3D,” a breathtaking look at the spectacular galaxies as viewed through the Hubble Telescope and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. “The Lost World,” a silent science-fiction film from 1925, and Tod Browning’s “The Unknown” will also be shown during the festival. Short film categories will include animated shorts, documentaries, experimental short films and high school shorts created by Texas teenagers for presentation at this elite venue. Music videos will also be presented, showcasing a full range of musical stylings and artistic visions.

Attendees will participate in a wide range of panels, discussion groups, and meet-and-greet opportunities with some of the biggest names in film, music, and interactive technologies. When the day’s work is done, guests of the conferences can drink and dance the night away at numerous parties with many of the same celebrities they worked with during the day; the South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals offer the best of Austin nightlife to guests at this exclusive event. For more information or to sign up for one or all of the conferences, visit http://sxsw.com/.