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A Hard Rain's A Gonna' Fall With New Digital Copyright Bill
April 28, 2006
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"Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except over technology."
-- John TudorWhile our politicians were busy calling for new investigations into oil companies record profits, they were also working on drafting new legislation to make the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) stronger than before. (See story below ' Congress Readies Broad New Digital Copyright Bill')
The 24-page bill will (if passed) expand the penalties for copyright infringements far beyond what anyone expected. It's a setback for opponents who have been trying to convince Congress to scale back the original components of the DMCA and allow "fair use" to include bypassing certain copy protection for personal use.
But beyond that (and I highly recommend you read the article below), the bill will boost criminal penalties in a variety of ways and it will try to legislate that which cannot in reality be legislated, technology that already exists today, and technology that will be developed tomorrow. (Maybe I should've put the opening quote above here instead of up there)
While I wholeheartedly support copyright protection and think that there should be severe penalties for pirating proprietary software, video, and audio content, there also should be some sense of rational thinking when it comes to what one can or cannot do with duplicating that content for personal use. (And again, to see just how deep the new bill will go, please read the story)
Right now the entire "fair use" issue is stalled in a subcommittee somewhere inside the Capitol building and if the new DMCA bill is passed, it will probably die "on the floor."
Back in February, I wrote the following in the newsletter:
"There's a whole lot more about the DMCA you should know about it and I recommend you spend some time at http://www.anti-dmca.org/ regardless of what side of the fence your own because the issue is not at all one that can be viewed in black and white. Just spending a little time at the site will have you shaking your head and saying "What?!" out loud.
And:
New Rule (With apologies to Bill Maher): If you work for the RIAA or some other organization that is trying to change the definitions of what constitutes "fair use," use the same words when pulling out your credit card and paying for that alleged "business lunch" you're having and see if the words are applicable when you submit your expense report."
Take a few minutes and do the homework. Read about what's in this new bill regardless what side of the fence you're on. It's your tax dollars hard at work " inside the beltway " in D.C.
"Titanic" Director: Digital Cinema Will Save Biz
LAS VEGAS - "Titanic" director James Cameron, warning that Hollywood is "in a fight for survival," wants the movie industry to offer films in digital 3-D to counteract declining sales and rampant piracy.
"Maybe we just need to fight back harder, come out blazing, not wither away and die," Cameron said during his keynote address Sunday at the National Association of Broadcasters' Digital Cinema Summit.
"D-cinema can do it, for a number of reasons, but because d-cinema is an enabling technology for 3-D. Digital 3-D is a revolutionary form of showmanship that is within our grasp. It can get people off their butts and away from their portable devices and get people back in the theaters where they belong."
Read more about it by clicking here.
Judge Orders Record Labels To Turn Over Documents
A U.S. federal judge has ordered major record labels to turn over privileged documents after finding they may have used misleading information to convince the government to abandon a major antitrust probe.
The ruling late on Friday from U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel in San Francisco came out of a dispute over which documents Vivendi Universal Music Group and EMI Group should be forced to release in a lengthy copyright battle over Bertelsmann's investment in music-swapping service Napster.
Prosecutors in 2001 began investigating whether music labels secretly worked together to use two joint ventures, MusicNet and Pressplay, to discourage digital downloading and protect CD sales by fixing digital music distribution terms.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Skype Strikes Deals With Music Publishers
Skype, the free Internet calling service owned by eBay, has struck deals with three major music publishers to distribute hundreds of thousands of songs as ring tones.
The agreements, announced Tuesday, are with EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Warner/Chappell Music. Skype also signed a deal with the MCPS-PRS Alliance, a U.K.-based organization that collects license fees and distributes royalties generated from recorded music.
Skype's new license agreements allow the company to distribute ring tones from Warner Music Group artists. Skype users can use the ring tones on their PCs or smart phones running Skype software for playback when they receive incoming calls.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Bill Seeks Music Royalties For Satellite Downloads
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would require satellite radio companies to compensate the music industry for downloads, industry and congressional sources said. The legislation, by U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and majority leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., is aimed at compensating copyright holders as satellite radio services become distribution services.
The "Perform Act," or the "Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music Act of 2006," would require satellite, cable and Internet broadcasters to pay fair market value for the performance of digital music. Additionally, the bill would require the use of readily available and cost-effective technological means to prevent music theft.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Yahoo's Free Software Turns PC Into DVR
Yahoo has released a beta version of software that turns a PC into a digital video recorder. The software, Yahoo Go for TV, is free to download. After the software is installed, people plug their computer into their television's video and audio input connections. The computer can then record and play back shows on the TV just like with a standalone DVR. Consumers can also play DVDs, music, photos or other downloaded content.
The cost of a few cables and TV tuner card, in comparison with the hundreds of dollars being shelled out for DVD players or DVRs, could lure consumers away from DVR competitors like TiVo. And many industry leaders see TV-computer combinations as the portal for reaching consumers.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Studios, RIAA Target Student Piracy
The advocacy organizations for the film and music industries on Thursday unveiled their latest initiative aimed at staunching piracy on university computer networks. To launch the initiative, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) sent letters to presidents of 40 universities in 25 states informing them of piracy problems on their schools' local area networks and asking for immediate action to stop it.
The organizations say that college students are increasingly using programs such as Direct Connect and OurTunes to trade music across their schools' LANs without having to send or receive files across the public Internet.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Congress Readies Broad New Digital Copyright Bill
For the last few years, a coalition of technology companies, academics and computer programmers has been trying to persuade Congress to scale back the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Now Congress is preparing to do precisely the opposite. A proposed copyright law seen by CNET News.com would expand the DMCA's restrictions on software that can bypass copy protections and grant federal police more wiretapping and enforcement powers.
The draft legislation, created by the Bush administration and backed by Rep. Lamar Smith already enjoys the support of large copyright holders such as the Recording Industry Association of America. Smith, a Texas Republican, is the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees intellectual-property law.
Read more about it by clicking here.
HIP-HOP TODAY, GONE TOMORROW
LL Cool J urging fans to be financially responsible in his speech at the Hip Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment. "The biggest misconception probably comes from the hip-hop community itself ... that the money lasts forever. You have to do the right thing with it," he said. (Yeah, like put it in the bank and forget about the bling-bling, which don't mean a thing, after the dead presidents are gone)
MAYBE HE SHOULD CALL IT THE 'BUMPER CAR TOUR 2006'
Just a week after hitting three parked cars, George Michael announcing he'll tour Europe for the first time since 1991 to mark the 25th anniversary of his carer. The 25 Live trek kicks off in Madrid on Sept. 27 and wraps up in Great Britain in November.
THE DOWN-LOW ON THE DOORS DOWNLOADS
The Doors plan to soon unveil previously unreleased concert footage from 1967 to 1970 via digital downloads using technology by Savvis and Basecamp Productions, the companies announced. The distribution method will be similar to that used by the rock group Pearl Jam, which uses the combined technology to make its music available for purchase and download an hour after its concerts end.
PASSING
Phil Walden, whose Macon, Ga.-based Capricorn Records launched the Allman Brothers Band and became known as "the citadel of Southern rock" in the 1970s, has died. He was 66. In a career that began when he started managing Otis Redding and booking shows for other R&B artists in the late '50s, Walden launched Capricorn Records in 1969.
THERE'S A SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE
Producers of a pay-TV seance claiming to have contacted John Lennon via a technique called Electronic Voice Phenomenon, which supposedly picks up voices from beyond via radio and TV broadcast signals. The show's participants claimed the late Beatle's spirit told them, "Peace...The message is peace." ( Meanwhile, viewers who paid $9.95 to watch the seance on In Demand Monday, claim the voice actually cackled derisively and exclaimed, "Suckers!" )
IDOL PHONES LIGHT UP BIGGER THAN EVER
47.5 million votes cast on American Idol this week, setting a record for a non-finale episode.
COMING SOON!
- Godsmack, IV (4/25)
- Tool, 10,000 Days (5/2)
- Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam (5/2)
- Jewel, Goodbye Alice in Wonderland (5/2)
- Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium (5/9)
- Paul Simon, Surprise (5/9)
- The Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldiers (5/16)
2006 Industry Conferences
Date Name Location MusExpo 2006 April 30-May 3, 2006 Los Angeles, CA Streaming Media East 2006 May 23-24, 2006 New York, NY Home Entertainment 2006 June 1-4, 2006 Los Angeles, CA
Quotes of the week
"Those two give love a bad name."
-- Charlie Sheen, giving 'Entertainment Tonight' his Bon Jovi-themed take on pictures showing his estranged wife Denise Richards kissing rocker Richie Sambora (who's currently in the midst of his own divorce from Heather Locklear)."When I was writing, I genuinely believed each word was my own."
-- Kaavya Viswanathan, the Harvard University sophomore caught Crimson-handed plagiarizing passages from two novels by New Jersey author Megan McCafferty, talking to Katie Couric on the 'Today" show." 'U.S. Weekly' reported Britney Spears is pregnant again. Good. Her baby boy will have someone to go to therapy with."
-- Jay Leno.
NARIP Information
NARIP (The National Association of Record Industry Professionals) promotes career advancement, education and good will among record executives. To find out more about this great organization, how you can join or attend their events, just go to: www.narip.com.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
YET MORE PROOF THAT OUR NATION'S TEACHERS DON'T EARN ENOUGH: Deland, Fla. -- A first-year teacher was suspended for five days without pay after offering students extra credit for bringing in paper cups from a Wendy's restaurant that he could cash in for a free plane ticket. The Volusia County school district found Scott Keatley, 23, guilty of unprofessional conduct and determined he exploited his relationship with students for personal gain. He was suspended Tuesday night.An internal school investigation found that Keatley, who teaches social studies, gave students extra credit toward their final grades if they brought in specially marked cups being offered in an AirTran Airways promotion.
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