After 10 years, the legal battle over a silly 29-second YouTube video of a baby dancing to a Prince song has hit a dead end, with the Supreme Court announcing this morning that it will not hear arguments in this high-profile copyright case. [More]
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Appeals Court Makes Important Ruling In “Dancing Baby” Copyright Case
By 9.14.15
By now, you’ve probably heard about the “Dancing Baby” lawsuit, involving a botched attempt by Universal Music to have YouTube remove a video 29-second video of a playful toddler because a Prince song can be heard in the background. Today a federal appeals court sided on one important issue with that kid’s mother, who is suing Universal, claiming the music giant overstepped the law by not considering that the background music falls under the umbrella of an acceptable fair use. [More]
8 Years Later, Universal Music Still Defending Takedown Of “Dancing Baby” YouTube Video
By 7.6.15
Back in February 2007, a mother of a young boy posted a short, grainy video of her baby “dancing” around the kitchen while a Prince song plays, barely audibly, in the background. In the eight years since, the video has received nearly 1.3 million views on YouTube — not because it’s a particularly interesting clip, but due to its role in a copyright lawsuit that won’t go away. [More]
Two States Probe Apple Music Over Antitrust Concerns
By 6.10.15
When Apple moved into the e-book market several years ago, the company colluded with the country’s largest book publishers to fix prices and gain a foothold in the market. Now as Apple jumps into the subscription streaming music business, at least two states are asking whether the company may be repeating itself. [More]
Musician Says Universal Music Has Hijacked His YouTube Videos With Bogus Copyright Claims
By 3.17.15
UPDATE: Shortly after posting this story, Mr. Lynne updated his original Facebook note to say that he was eventually able to get UMG to release its claim to his clip via an “Appeal,” which is a step above the “Dispute” process that had failed him earlier. [More]
Report: Apple Sides With Music Labels, Thinks Free Streaming Service Tiers Are Bad
By 3.6.15
Last year, Apple acquired Beats, a company that makes two things that go nicely with media players and smartphones: high-end headphones and a subscription-based music streaming service. While they’re happy to offer a free trial and will be reportedly be pushing the Beats Music app to iDevice users in the future, Apple will not follow competitor Spotify’s lead in offering a free, ad-supported tier. [More]
