songs
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 »‘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 »Convicted File-Sharer: DRM-Free Tracks on KaZaA to Blame
Tenenbaum’s attorney argues in request for retrial that Joel Tenenbaum and other music listeners could not get “exactly the songs they wanted, in exactly the format they wanted” until the music industry did away with DRM in 2007, and that the availability of DRM-free tracks on Napster and KaZaA” contributed substantially to their immense public appeal.” Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson has formally filed a motion for a retrial in the case of convicted file-sharer Joel Tenenbaum. Tenenbaum was found guilty of copyright infringement for illegally sharing 30 songs this past August and was fined $22,500 p/song for a total of $675,000. Tenenbaum’s attorney is arguing that Tenenbaum and other music listeners could not get “exactly the songs they wanted, in exactly the format they wanted” until the music industry did away with DRM in 2007, meaning that the time frame he can claim a fair use extension should be extended from 2003, the birth of iTunes, to 2007.
Continue reading »BlueBeat Beatles tracks gone for good after judge’s beatdown
We now have the full legal theory behind BlueBeat.com’s attempt to sell remastered Beatles tracks online for a quarter each. It’s so odd that the federal judge overseeing a music industry lawsuit against the site decided he didn’t even need to hold the hearing scheduled for tomorrow. Instead, he blasted BlueBeat’s “psycho-acoustic modeling” defense and extended his temporary injunction into something more permanent.
Continue reading »Bizarre legal defense after EMI sues over Beatles MP3 sales
When the news broke earlier this week that the so-famous-you’ve-never-heard-of-it BlueBeat.com was both streaming and selling The Beatles remasters —and for 25¢ a track—we speculated that an entertainingly weird legal theory was at the root of this behavior. We just had no idea how weird it was.
Continue reading »