U.S. to Russia: Allofmp3.com closes door on your WTO chances
,----[ Quote ]
| Meanwhile, Russia's hopes of entering the WTO by the end of the year are
| evaporating. Think of the WTO as an exclusive club, one that Russia
| desperately wants to join.
`----
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9768658-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
More recent examples of extortion at the bottom.
RMS on the ethics of non-free art
,----[ Quote ]
| Within that context we can characterize the Free Culture movement not so much
| as a movement for restoring a certain state of ethics (in the same sense as a
| Free Software movement), but a state of balance that can benefit culture more
| than restrictions. However, perhaps more than anything else it is a movement
| against the copyright extremes supported by the big entertainment industry.
|
| Elsewhere Richard has mentioned that the minimal freedom everyone should have
| with digital works is non-commercial sharing. Current default draconian
| copyrights don't allow even that much.
`----
http://www.libervis.com/article/rms_on_the_ethics_of_non_free_art
Related:
Music industry attacks Sunday newspaper's free Prince CD
.----
| The eagerly awaited new album by Prince is being launched as a free
| CD with a national Sunday newspaper in a move that has drawn
| widespread criticism from music retailers.
|
| The Mail on Sunday revealed yesterday that the 10-track Planet
| Earth CD will be available with an "imminent" edition, making it
| the first place in the world to get the album. Planet Earth will go
| on sale on July 24.
|
| "It's all about giving music for the masses and he believes in
| spreading the music he produces to as many people as possible,"
| said Mail on Sunday managing director Stephen Miron. "This is the
| biggest innovation in newspaper promotions in recent times."
|
| The paper, which sells more than 2m copies a week, will be ramping
| up its print run in anticipation of a huge spike in circulation but
| would not reveal how much the deal with Prince would cost.
|
| One music store executive described the plan as "madness" while
| others said it was a huge insult to an industry battling fierce
| competition from supermarkets and online stores. Prince's label has
| cut its ties with the album in the UK to try to appease music
| stores.
|
| The Entertainment Retailers Association said the giveaway "beggars
| belief". "It would be an insult to all those record stores who have
| supported Prince throughout his career," ERA co-chairman Paul Quirk
| told a music conference. "It would be yet another example of the
| damaging covermount culture which is destroying any perception of
| value around recorded music.
|
| "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince should know that with
| behaviour like this he will soon be the Artist Formerly Available
| in Record Stores. And I say that to all the other artists who may
| be tempted to dally with the Mail on Sunday."
|
| High street music giant HMV was similarly scathing about the plans.
| Speaking before rumours of a giveaway were confirmed, HMV chief
| executive Simon Fox said: "I think it would be absolutely nuts. I
| can't believe the music industry would do it to itself. I simply
| can't believe it would happen; it would be absolute madness."
|
| Prince, whose Purple Rain sold more than 11m copies, also plans to
| give away a free copy of his latest album with tickets for his
| forthcoming concerts in London. The singer had signed a global deal
| for the promotion and distribution of Planet Earth in partnership
| with Columbia Records, a division of music company Sony BMG. A
| spokesman for the group said last night that the UK arm of Sony BMG
| had withdrawn from Prince's global deal and would not distribute
| the album to UK stores.
`----
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2114557,00.html
Net radio "compromise" hinged on DRM adoption
,----[ Quote ]
| As we reported Friday, the looming royalty crunch on Internet radio that
| would have begun today (July 15) was narrowly averted last week by a
| temporary reprieve from SoundExchange. Now it appears that a lasting
| compromise is indeed possible, but such a compromise will likely mean
| mandatory DRM (Digital Rights Management) for Internet radio.
`----
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070715-net-radio-compromise-hinged-on-drm-adoption.html
Mom Sues Universal Music for DMCA Abuse
,----[ Quote ]
| The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit today against Universal
| Music Publishing Group (UMPG), asking a federal court to protect the fair use
| and free speech rights of a mother who posted a short video of her toddler
| son dancing to a Prince song on the Internet.
`----
http://www.linuxelectrons.com/news/general/10869/mom-sues-universal-music-dmca-abuse
An Oregon Woman's Lawsuit against the RIAA, Alleging Racketeering and Malicious
Prosecution
,----[ Quote ]
| however, that the RIAA is, at a minimum, very foolish to press suits
| for purported file-sharing against unlikely defendants like Andersen -
| who alleges that she came forward with solid proof of her innocence.
`----
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/ramasastry/20070628.html
Grandmother targets RIAA ‘investigators’
,----[ Quote ]
| Taking a page out of Tanya Andersen’s book, Hurricane Rita survivor
| Rhonda Crain is also targeting the RIAA practice of using
| unlicensed ‘investigators’ in its bizarre sue ‘em all marketing
| campaign.
`----
http://www.p2pnet.net/story/12674
Class Action Initiated Against RIAA
,----[ Quote ]
| The amended complaint seeking class action status (PDF) sues for negligence,
| fraud, negligent misrepresentation, federal and state RICO, abuse of process,
| malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress,
| violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, trespass, invasion of privacy,
| libel and slander, deceptive business practices, misuse of copyright law, and
| civil conspiracy.
`----
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/17/1728225&from=rss
|
|
