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Tenenbaum Offers $21 Counter Offer to the RIAA
Convicted file-sharer argues that actual damages caused by illegally downloading 30 songs on KaZaA was $21, that being 70 cents for each song record labels would have received if he purchased the music from Apple’s iTunes. Joel Tenenbaum was found guilty of copyright infringement for illegally downloading 30 songs on KaZaA this past August, and was fined a total of $675,000, or $22,500 p/song. His attorney, Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson, has already decided to appeal the verdict on the grounds that downloading music without a copyright holder’s permission qualifies for “fair use” exemption from copyright laws, and that if an individual file-sharer is not proven to have caused actual losses that they can’t be held liable for damages.
Continue reading »etc: Vivendi faces $4 billion in damages after a jury found Big Four record label liable on 57 counts of misleading investors.
Vivendi faces $4 billion in damages after a jury found Big Four record label liable on 57 counts of misleading investors. Read More: Bloomberg/BusinessWeek
Continue reading »Dunstone vows to bash Tories on filesharing laws
And the record labels can shove their partnerships TalkTalk boss Charles Dunstone has promised to continue his firm’s campaign against laws meant to reduce illegal filesharing under a Conservative government, despite being friend of David Cameron.…
Continue reading »‘Piracy Isn’t Killing Music’ Radiohead’s Guitarist Says
In an attempt to take a stand against the labels, several well known artists including Radiohead formed the Featured Artists Coalition last year, a lobby group that aims to end the extortion-like practices of record labels and allow artists to gain more control over their own work. Radiohead and others are unhappy with the fact that the labels, represented by lobby groups such as the RIAA and IFPI, are pushing for anti-piracy legislation without consulting the artists they claim to represent. Radiohead, who used BitTorrent to leak one of their songs, went as far as being willing to show up as a witness against the RIAA in court.
Continue reading »RIAA Digital Music Price-Fixing Case Reinstated
Judges note, among other things, that record labels didn’t dramatically lower their prices for online music as compared to physical CDs despite the fact that they “experienced dramatic cost reductions in producing” it. It’s been an open secret that record labels have long colluded with one another to ensure maximum profits with limited competition and consumer choice. A group of plaintiffs has taken the RIAA to court over the matter, and after initially having to watch the case dismissed at the District Court level back in 2008, has now convinced a three-judge panel at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate the case.
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