All promotional CDs are forever the property of Universal Music Group and giving or throwing them away are “unauthorized distributions,” according to a brief filed by UMG. In a lawsuit filed in federal court, UMG claims that ownership rights to promotional CDs, typically sent to DJs, reviewers, and others in the music business to generate hype for new releases, are expressly retained by the label. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is taking up the fight against this absurd position in UMG v. Augusto.
copyright
RIAA Pockets Filesharing Settlement Money, Doesn't Pay Artists Whose Copyrights Were Infringed
By 3.17.08
None of the estimated $400 million that the RIAA received in settlements with Napster, KaZaA, and Bolt over allegations of copyright infringement has gone to the artists whose copyrights were allegedly infringed. Now the artists are considering suing the RIAA.
After Further Review, NFL Decides Churches Will Be Allowed To Host SuperBowl Parties
By 2.22.08
The league has said that organizations that host public viewings of its games on television screens larger than 55 inches violate its copyright. Sports bars are exempted. Last year, the league sent letters to two churches advising them of the policy.
Church Planning A SuperBowl Party? Don't Tell The NFL
By 2.1.08
“There is a part of me that says, ‘Gee, doesn’t the NFL have enough money already?'” said Steve Holley, Immanuel’s executive pastor. He pointed out that bars are still allowed to air the game on big-screens TV sets. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
"Family Friendly" Movie Censors Were Running Porn Business
By 1.31.08
According to the Provo, UT Daily Herald the founder of “Flix Club” a defunct company that edited swearing and nudity from films and resold them as “family friendly’ versions, has been arrested on charges that he and another man paid two 14-year-old girls for sex. Police also said that the men may have been using the “family friendly” video business as a front for producing porn.
Diane Von Furstenberg Sues Target For Copyright Infringement
By 1.25.08
“Defendants’ infringing dresses are ‘wrap’ dresses made of materials designed to look like silk jersey, a style consumers and the general public have come to associate with DVF,” the complaint said.
By 1.15.08
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Why J.K. Rowling should lose her misguided copyright lawsuit against the author of a Harry Potter reference book. [Slate via BoingBoing]
Ford: Photos Of Your Car Are Copyright Infringement
By 1.14.08
Well, this seems misguided. A group of people who are members of the “Black Mustang Club” wanted to take some pictures of their cars and make a calendar using CafePress. Turns out, CafePress refuses to publish pictures of Ford cars due to claims of copyright infringement:
Procter & Gamble Sues Over Shampoo Bottle Infringement
By 1.8.08
Procter & Gamble has filed a lawsuit against a California company, claiming that it stole the design for their Herbal Essences shampoo bottle molds.
RIAA Sends Out Fake News Clip To TV Stations
By 12.21.07
The RIAA wants you to know that everyone loses with pirated products, so they’ve put together a fake news story and sent it out to TV stations around the country—maybe it will show up on your cash-strapped local news over the next few days, if you’re lucky. We’re torn, though, on posting this because it’s being leaked (promoted?) heavily by the video news release (VNR) company that produced it—we want you to scoff at it with us, but keep your bullshit “stealth marketing” sensors up.
Article Recounts Sony's Rootkit Debacle In Detail
By 12.18.07
Remember Sony’s cringe-inducing copy protection scheme a couple of years ago, where they secretly installed rootkits on millions of customers’ PCs and then pretended it was no big deal? (“Most people, I think, don’t even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?” — Thomas Hesse, Sony BMG’s President of Global Digital Business.) There’s a new article (PDF) about to be published in the Berkely Technology Law Journal called “The Magnificence of the Disaster: Reconstructiong the Sony BMG Rootkit Incident.” It’s a very detailed and entertaining read that examines the conditions that led Sony BMG “toward a strategy that in retrospect appears obviously and fundamentally misguided.”
Congress Wants To Up Copyright Infringement Penalties
By 12.7.07
The usual gang of RIAA-funded suspects have introduced a bill that would boost US intellectual property laws and the penalties that go along with them, and allow the U.S. government to seize computers, says Ars Technica.
RIAA Told To Provide Breakdown Of Expenses Per Each Downloaded Song
By 11.27.07
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, a Brooklyn judge made a defendant in an RIAA lawsuit very happy when he ordered the RIAA to document the actual expenses incurred per downloaded song.
J.K. Rowling Sues To Stop Publication Of Fan-Written Potter Reference Book
By 11.14.07
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling takes a dim view of independently authored reference books, it seems. She’s joined a lawsuit to stop the publication of a fan-written reference book based on a website that she herself admitted to using while fact checking her writing.
New Bill Would Cut Financial Aid To Schools Who Don't Police P2P, Sign Up With Napster
By 11.12.07
Ars Technica is reporting that there is a provision in a massive new education bill that would punish schools that don’t police p2p traffic on their networks by cutting federal financial aid. In addition, the bill requires that schools offer an industry approved alternative to file sharing, such as Napster or Rhapsody.
By 11.6.07
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Apparently, T-Mobile has trademarked the color magenta and has even sued one other company over their use of the color in an advertisement. Um, what? In other news, we’re looking into trademarking kitty cats and science. [ColourLovers]
By 10.30.07
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Google’s motion to dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by American Airlines has been rejected. American Airlines claims competitor’s advertising is being “triggered” by their trademarked search terms, such as “AAdvantage.” [ComputerWorld]
