importance
Unlawful Use of Copyrighted Karaoke Songs Costs Bar $49,000
Royalty-collection group accused Tucson, AZ restaurant of using 14 copyrighted songs over two nights of karaoke without a license. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) , which collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers and music publishers, has been waging a long battle against venues of all sorts to make sure they pay for the privilege of playing copyrighted music to their customers, cover and karaoke songs included.
Continue reading »Verizon to Forward Warnings from RIAA, MPAA
Second largest phone company in the US agrees to forward notices of copyright infringement on behalf of the entertainment industry, perhaps hinting at a sign of things to come as ISPs slowly enter the world of content distribution. Perhaps hinting a sign of things to come, Verizon Communications will reportedly begin forwarding notices of copyright infringement to its customers at the behest of both the MPAA and RIAA. The moves is part of an unspecified “test” that will begin this Thursday, the test probably meaning to determine whether the benefits of helping protect copyrighted – and vis a vis possible future content distribution partnerships – outweigh the costs of angering customers.
Continue reading »P2P Leak Hits Congress
Junior staff member accidentally leaks “Committee on Standards Weekly Summary Report” that details ongoing ethics panel investigations of 33 lawmakers. People involved with sensitive govt information still just can’t seem to realize the importance of keeping it away from contact with file-sharing software. Earlier this year it was reported how a US Defense contractor employee had inadvertently leaked classified military information about Marine One, President Barack Obama’s helicopter, by using a P2P program without realizing that it would allow outside access to top secret data.
Continue reading »Eradicate File-Sharing, Says UK Minister
Stephen Timms It seems that the controversy surrounding the file sharing issue is hotter than ever in UK Parliament. At a Westminster conference on Parliament and the internet, business minister Stephen Timms spoke in favor of the much debated proposals to deal with the online piracy. Timms reminded all about the damages, illegal file sharing has caused to the entertainment industry (and, my God, it suffered!): “All of us must accept that people should not obtain without payment, when others pay,” he emphasized dramatically.
Continue reading »Is AT&T about to clamp down on heaviest iPhone data users?
Yesterday at the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2009 conference, both FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega gave keynote addresses. While Genachowski stressed the importance of developing “sensible rules of the road” for wireless network neutrality, de la Vega strongly urged that wireless networks must be managed , repeatedly suggesting that net neutrality regulation would let a few heavy data users “crowd out the many” on its 3G data networks. de la Vega, who is also the incoming chairman of the CTIA board, spent the majority of his time patting the US wireless industry on its back for being the most competitive, offering the “best value,” and providing more choices that anywhere else in the world.
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