Posted on 10/04/2011 3:14:11 PM PDT by TennesseeGirl
The Supreme Court let stand on Monday a ruling that a traditional Internet download of sound recording does not constitute a public performance of the recorded musical work under federal copyright law.
The justices refused to review a ruling by an appeals court in New York that the download itself of a musical work does not fall within the law's definition of a public performance of that work.
The not-for-profit American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) appealed to the Supreme Court. It said the ruling has profound implications for the nation's music industry, costing its members tens of millions of dollars in potential royalties each year.(Excerpted) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44761240/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/supreme-court-no-royalties-internet-music-downloads/
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
At issue was a section of the Copyright Act stating that to perform a work means to recite, render, play, dance or act it either directly or by means of any device or process.
"Music is neither recited, rendered, nor played when a recording (electronic or otherwise) is simply delivered to a potential listener," the appeals court ruled."
SCOTUS to Napster, all is forgiven?
Finally, a bit of sanity in the digital domain...
Does that mean “Limewire” will be coming back?
Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™
Yeah, the ASCAP line of reasoning seems a bit weird. Does the shipping of CDs to a Barnes and Noble constitute a performance? Please.
A FReeper for theft!
ML/NJ
I wonder if that women that was sued for 250,000 will get her money back - if she ever paid.
I’m not a lawyer, so I’m confused. Does it mean that downloading any performance (music, video, and so on) is fair game now? I mean, following the judges’ reasoning, the artists are not performing since it’s only a playback of recording.
So please explain how a digital download is a public performance.
I’m dusting off my copy of eMule right now!
ASCAP, /aka/ ASSHAT, has been one of the most asinine bullies in the entire copyright fiasco. The first lie is that ASCAP is really a not-for-profit organization. ASCAP by refusing to acknowledge that the era of music you can hold in your hand is over, has done more to kill the rights of artists than they have ever done to protect them. Had they been thinking forward to a larger audience at a lower cost per unit, they probably would have avoided all this BS.
Now, we need to get those Judicial sticks-in-the-mud to decriminalize computer hacking money out of someone's bank account, right?
>> Finally, a bit of sanity in the digital domain...
> A FReeper for theft!
> ML/NJ
Not everyone on FR is here to help.
We also have trolls, RATs and others who do not prescribe to Freeper thinking.
You’d have to have a digital tap direct to the brain to even give you a chance of appreciating a digital download as a “performance”. Eventually we’ll have that but you won’t like it.
If it were private, you wouldn't know about it. Right?
Duh.
Any person who creates anything is entitled to copyright protection for some period of years. Arguing that:
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;doesn't apply to "digital downloads" is akin to suggesting that the Constitution doesn't provide for an Air Force.
ML/NJ
Seems to me like this is a job for Congress—downloads would be protected by copyright laws if Congress changed the copyright law to reflect this.
So maybe you can explain how under “Freeper thinking” a download is a public performance. This court decision doesn’t say downloads are now free of copyright infringement claims.
They then invest their hard-earned money to record, mix & master that song to professional standards...
Then some stranger puts that song on a file sharing site and lots of people download it for FREE.
Screw the Capitalist who created & recorded the song, RIGHT FREEPERS?
The download doesn’t require paying a royalty as the law is written.
of course one must pay the royalty to play it after downloading it...
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