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Media

Submission + - Anti-piracy tactics futile (canoe.ca)

Submitted by Samalie
Samalie writes: Canadian newspaper "The Sun" columnist Darryl Sterdan has written a blazing piece on how anti-piracy tactics are hurting the music reviewer. FTA:


This isn't one of those stories about how gangster-rap lyrics or Satanic metal make me want to kill. This is the story of something more ridiculous: How the music industry's anti-piracy tactics are so absurdly counterproductive, they practically encourage me to steal music to do my job.

Read the full story here.
Music

Submission + - Another challenge to the DCMA subpoena clause 1

Submitted by tom_gram
tom_gram writes: A lawyer for a "a Jane/John Doe" recently filed a challenge to the RIAA's right to demand that a University provide the names of students associated with IP adresses that the RIAA suspects of sharing music files.

An article in the Columbus Dispatch describes the lawyers legal position: ""Here, we have the well-oiled and ready legal machine of the music industry poised against ... unemployed college students who depend on their parents, the government or benevolent institutions for their very sustenance," Kafantaris said. "It's an abuse of the legal system, and it is unconscionable."

The article describes the general approach of the RIAA, which has the college forward letters to students "that say they can settle the complaint at a "discount" (typically between $3,000 and $4,500)" but in this case are now demanding names of students who did not comply.
Media

Submission + - Major League Baseball wipes out DRM licenses 1

Submitted by cuban321
cuban321 writes:
Major League Baseball has switched DRM providers, forcing customers who bought videos from their old system to buy them again if they want to continue watching them. From one of its victims, sportswriter Allan Wood: "MLB no longer supports the DDS system that it once used and so any CDs with downloaded games on them 'are no good. They will not work with the current system.' ...I was told there is absolutely nothing MLB can do about these lost games. Plus, they said my purchases were all 'one-time sale' and thus 'there are no refunds.'"
The Courts

Submission + - Ohio University finds key to getting RIAA to stop 7

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "Ohio University, in Athens, Ohio, has found the key to getting the RIAA to stop inundating it and its students with "settlement" letters. According to the university's student online publication, the university paid $60,000, plus $16,000 per year "maintenance", to Audible Magic, the business partner of the RIAA's all-purpose expert witness Dr. Doug Jacobson, for its "CopySense" filtering software. Once it made the payments, the letters stopped. This of course raises a lot of questions as to the 'disinterestedness' of Dr. Jacobson, whose deposition in the UMG v. Lindor case was the subject of interesting Slashdot commentary."
Privacy

Submission + - Supreme Court Free Speech/ Pornography Case Today (acsblog.org)

Submitted by
ACSBlog
ACSBlog writes: "On Tuesday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument in U.S. v. Williams, a case that examines whether the First Amendment is violated by the PROTECT Act, which bans the pandering of real or purported child pornography. The American Constitution Society is pleased to make available two resources, one written, the other a video presentation.

First, ACS presents an analysis by Camille Gear Rich, assistant professor of law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. She examines whether Congress can criminalize speech drawing attention to the picture's sexual nature, or whether Congress has committed the ultimate First Amendment sin of prohibiting the mere expression of unpopular ideas. A link to her article is available here: http://www.acsblog.org/guest-bloggers-guest-blogger-the-first-amendment-pandering-and-pornography.html

Second, ACS presents an analysis by Paul Smith, a partner with Jenner & Block LLP. A link to video of him presenting his analysis is available here: http://www.acsblog.org/bill-of-rights-paul-smith-discusses-us-v-williams.html

More information about ACS is available at www.ACSBlog.org or www.acslaw.org."
The Courts

Submission + - Florida Judge OK's Claims Against Record Companies (blogspot.com)

Submitted by NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: A federal judge in Tampa, Florida, has ruled that an RIAA defendant's counterclaim against the record companies for conspiracy to use unlicensed investigators, access private computer records without permission, and commit extortion, may move forward. The Court also sustained claims for violations of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act as well as a claim under Florida law for deceptive and unfair trade practices. The decision (pdf) by Judge Richard A. Lazzara in UMG v. DelCid rejected, in its entirety, the RIAA's assertion of "Noerr Pennington" immunity, since that defense does not apply to "sham litigations", and Ms. Del Cid alleges that the RIAA's cases are "sham".
The Courts

Submission + - Chair of BU Computer Science Dept Fights RIAA

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "Two expert witnesses, one the Chairman of Boston University's Computer Science Department, have submitted declarations supporting the motion of a Boston University student trying to vacate the RIAA's ex parte discovery order in Arista v. Does 1-21. Prof. Bestavros stated that some of Linares's factual statements were "not possible" (pdf), while Jesse Stengel stated that some of Mr. Linares's contentions were "not true" (pdf). These declarations, attacking the underpinnings of the RIAA case set out in the declaration of Carlos Linares, were referred to in Arista v. Does 1-11, the Oklahoma case in which several Oklahoma State University students have attacked the order which had been granted ex parte permitting the RIAA to subpoena their names and addresses from the university. These filings come on the heels of rulings in New Mexico and Virginia denying the RIAA's ex parte discovery motions."
Music

Submission + - When IP Protection Incites Consumer Rage

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: How many industries of late have managed to generate such genuine consumer hatred over the last several years? says Richard Menta about the record industry. He was refering to that industry's aggressive activities to control its content in the digital age and he makes a solid argument that these efforts, including oppressive DRM tactics and legal actions, have alienated the consumer to the point where it is a key contributor to decreasing CD revenues. This quarter alone EMI saw a 20% drop in CD sales, while Warners 3rd quarter loss widened. The article lays out 17 events including the Sony rootkit scandal and the payola scandal that have tarnished the industry's public image and undermined its credibility with the average record buyer.
Privacy

Submission + - Do Not Call Registry gets wake-up call (networkworld.com) 2

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "If you signed up for the federal or your state's Do Not Call Registry a few years ago, you might want to thing about refreshing it. Pennsylvanians this week got a wake up call, so to speak from the state's Attorney General Tom Corbett who kicked off a public awareness campaign designed to remind people what many have forgotten or never knew — that the 2002 law set registrations to expire after five years. That is of course unless you want to start hearing from those telemarketers as you sit down to dinner. Corbett said about 2 million people signed up in the immediate aftermath of the law taking effect and those who do not act by Sept. 15 will have their numbers dropped from the registry on Nov. 1. The Pennsylvania action is a reminder that the National Do Not Call Registry has a five year life span as well. The Federal Trade Commission is set to being a nation campaign in Spring 2008 to remind all US citizens to refresh their federal Do Not Call Registry standing. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/18066"
Privacy

Submission + - FBI Requires a Warrant to Install Spyware

Submitted by mrogers
mrogers writes: The FBI requires a warrant to install spyware on a suspect's computer, according to a new appeals court ruling. An earlier ruling had appeared to grant the FBI permission to install spyware under the weaker provisions applied to pen registers, which record the telephone numbers or IP addresses contacted by a suspect. However, yesterday's amendment made it clear that the pen register provisions only apply to equipment installed at the suspect's ISP.

The FBI recently used spyware to determine the source of a hoax bomb threat, as reported here and here.
Privacy

Submission + - MPAA: Plagarism good, Piracy bad? 1

Submitted by BillGatesLoveChild
BillGatesLoveChild writes: The MPAA is fast to complain about their Intellectual Property being violated, but have no qualms about violating the Intellectual Property of others. The SMH reports another case of a Hollywood Studio plagarizing a film as their own. Adam Sandler's I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) is a tale of two firemen who pretend to be gay to get domestic partner benefits. Curiously Paul Hogan's Strange Bedfellows (2004) made three years earlier, is also a tale of two firemen who pretend to be gay to get domestic partner benefits. Universal Studios issued a statement claiming "the similarities are purely coincidental". The producers of "Strange Bedfellows" are amused but not convinced.

This isn't the first time, with similar accusations being made against Spielberg's Julie Newmar (1995) vs Priscilla (1994) and Eddie Murphy's "Coming to America" which the courts found was stolen from writer Art Buchwald. Add to that "Hollywood Accounting" fleecing artists (The Forest Gump movie didn't pay the author a cent in royalties), the Record Industry doing the same and the MPAA itself caught yet unrepentant for pirating movies. Before The Senate rushes off to do their bidding, shouldn't the MPAA and RIAA be ordered to clean up their own houses?
Music

Submission + - Woman sues Universal for youtube takedown notice (theage.com.au)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Age is reporting that a mother is sueing Universal after they demanded a video of her child dancing to a prince song be taken off youtube for copyright infringement. More here: http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/lets-not- go-crazy/2007/07/25/1185339063767.html To quote the woman's lawyer "Universal's takedown notice doesn't even pass the laugh test,"
Music

Submission + - EFF Backs Mother in Suite Against Universal Music (eff.org)

Submitted by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: "Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is being sued by the EFF for forcing Stephanie Lenz's 29-second recording that shows her son hopping and bopping to the Prince song "Let's Go Crazy." She reports that she put the video online to share with family & friends and describes this as a legal threat preventing her from sharing precious moments with relatives. The EFF sees this as a blatant disregard of fair use and free speech rights that any citizen holds and is asking a federal court to protect it. Universal, at one point seemed to reach a deal with YouTube, although this apparently was not made with the customer in mind, is Universal's "Take my ball and play elsewhere" attitude permanent? I wonder if the artist himself, Prince, will make a public announcement?"
The Internet

Submission + - Test Whether ISPs Are Modifying Your Web Pages (washington.edu)

Submitted by csreis
csreis writes: Last month we learned that "Some ISPs are resorting to a new tactic to increase revenue: inserting advertisements into web pages requested by their end users." Have you wondered how often this is happening? And whether it's happened to you? The University of Washington security and privacy group and ICSI have created a measurement infrastructure to help answer these questions. Please come visit our site and help out with our experiments. In the process, we'll help you figure out if some "party in the middle" (like your ISP) might be modifying your web content in flight. We plan to share our overall results with the public.
Music

Submission + - Pay up for playing CDs (theglobeandmail.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: From the Globe & Mail — http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20070720.whair0720/BNStory/National/home

"Hair salons should pay up before they turn on the tunes for their customers, the organization that collects copyright fees in Canada says. The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, known as SOCAN, is sending letters to salons countrywide reminding them that under Canadian copyright law, they are supposed to pay royalties for playing recorded music on their premises. And that's got some people stickier than a well-coiffed beehive. "Where is that going to stop, as far as extracting money from the consumer?" said Raffaello Marrello, owner of Raffaello Salon in Toronto's Yorkville area, adding that salons already paid for the CDs once, when they bought them. Many salon owners say they had no idea they were supposed to pay to play their background music.

The organization launched public-awareness campaigns to remind people of their obligations."

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