Tag Archive for 'Intellectual Property'

Sony-BMG Uses Pirated Software

Published on April 3, 2008 in Blog. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

Spotted on: Ars Technica

The major labels are very outspoken about the evils of piracy, and aggressively pursue those who chose to download music and not pay for it. That being the case, there is great ironyin the fact that up to 47% of Sony-BMG’s software is pirated.

Recently, a tech support call for a program called Ideal Migration (a Windows server management tool) was made by a Sony BMG employee, and the product code given was pirated.

The ensuing drama included a seizure of some of Sony-BMG’s assets.? Paul Henry, The CEO of the maker of the software, was quoted as saying “I think piracy is linked to the policy of a company. If the employee has the necessary funding to buy the software? he needs,? he will. If this is not the case, he will find alternative ways, as the work must be done in one way or another.”

Bottom Line: A company that is using pirated software should not be surprised when their products are pirated.

Artist Turns to BitTorrent when his Music is Pirated by iTunes

Published on March 12, 2008 in Blog. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Spotted on: TorrentFreak

An interview with the Flashbulb about his recent calamity with iTunes, and putting his album up on BitTorrent. It turns out iTunes is selling his albums without permission, and not paying royalties.

The Flashbulb (Benn Jordan) has been releasing albums for 14 years, the last 5 have included various commercial endeavors. The label deal he has is a 50/50 split, but he hasn’t been seeing the money. Benn says he has no agreement with iTunes to sell his music, and many of his fans have told him they bought his music there. When he investigated the issue further, his label asked him to drop it, and his calls went unreturned.

Here’s a great quote from Benn: “Who’s the pirate I should go after? A kid who downloads my album because it isn’t available in non-DRM format and costs $30 on Amazon? Or a huge multi-billion dollar corporation that has been selling thousands of dollars worth of my music and not even acknowledging it?”

Benn is being labeled in the press as pro-piracy, but his true stand is that people buy what they like. “What I’m promoting is the artist’s freedom to choose what can and can’t be done with his/her music, and more importantly, the listener’s freedom to do what he/she wants with their own computer, MP3 player, or internet connection.”

Benn makes a poignant case that the RIAA has spent so long dictating people’s taste and choices that they are now threatened by the opportunity for people to choose the music they want. He suggests that “music will be judged by it’s content again and will be subjected to it’s own Darwinism.”

Bottom Line: Where are all those billions in album sales really going?

Music Royalty War Escalating

Published on February 21, 2008 in Article and Blog. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Spotted on: Hollywood Reporter

“Music publishers, the record labels and digital music distribution outlets began a three-way legal wrestling match Monday over just how much songwriters and the publishing houses should get paid for digitally delivered music.”

At stake in this debate is mechanical royalties for internet streams. Major labels, Apple, and Yahoo want the royalty rate for artists to be lowered. The big publishing houses are currently promised nine cents a song, a figure that often gets negotiated lower, and the consortium against them wants that rate moved to 8%. Apparently, publishing revenues are up, while major label revenues are down. The Digital Media Association is upping the ante, pushing for the royalty rate to be dropped to 4%.

On the other side of the fence, the National Music Publishers Association wants the rates raised to 12.5%.

The driving concern here is the financial ‘burden’ that paying these royalties puts on the large companies that offer music. The claim is that streaming media should be treated like terrestrial radio.

Bottom Line: Without content, there is nothing to stream.

RIAA Pushes Bill to Expand Criminal Penalties for Copyright Infringement

Published on January 31, 2008 in Blog. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Spotted on ArsTechnica

The RIAA wants to expand copyright law, with the apparent intention of having more technicalities to prosecute.? The new law on the table is for album compilations.? Specifically, having each track count as separate count of infringement.

Goggle’s top copyright lawyer was quoted saying the parties pushing this bill have an “unslakable lust for more and more rights, longer terms of protection, draconian criminal provisions, and civil damages that bear no resemblance to the damages suffered”.

Bottom Line: Fining someone upward of $9,000 for a track with a value of a dollar may not be fair, but lawmakers still seem to align themselves with this kind of enforcement.

The RIAA – Know Your Rights? No, You’re Wrong?

Published on January 4, 2008 in Blog. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Spotted on: YouTube