Free Republic

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a bill that would give the Attorney General the right to shut down websites with a court order if copyright infringement is deemed “central to the activity” of the site — regardless if the website has actually committed a crime. The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) is among the most draconian laws ever considered to combat digital piracy, and contains what some have called the “nuclear option,” which would essentially allow the Attorney General to turn suspected websites “off.” COICA is the latest effort by Hollywood, the recording industry and...

MINNEAPOLIS, - A Minnesota mother was ordered by a jury to pay $1.5 million to the Recording Industry Association of America for illegally downloading and sharing 24 songs. Jammie Thomas-Rasset was ordered to pay the sum, $62,500 for each illegally downloaded song, by a Minneapolis court after two previous convictions were thrown out on appeal, the New York Daily News reported Friday. Thomas-Rasset was ordered to pay $222,000 following a 2007 trial but the decision was declared a mistrial upon appeal. She was next ordered to pay $1.92 million in a June 2009 trial, but the judge lowered the amount...

A federal jury found Wednesday that Jammie Thomas-Rasset, of Brainerd, must pay $62,500 per song — for a total of $1.5 million — for illegally violating copyrights on 24 songs. This was the third jury to consider damages in her case, and each has found that she must pay — though different amounts. And after each time, the single mother of four has said she can't pay. "I can't afford to pay any amount. It's not a matter of won't, it's a matter of 'I can't,'" Thomas-Rasset said Thursday. "Any amount that I pay to them is money that I...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday granted the music industry's request to shut down the popular LimeWire file-sharing service, which had been found liable for copyright infringement, the company said. The ruling requires LimeWire to "disable the searching, downloading, uploading, file trading and/or file distribution functionality, and/or all functionality of the software," according to LimeWire.

ASPEN, Colo.--The Recording Industry Association of America said on Monday that current U.S. copyright law is so broken that it "isn't working" for content creators any longer. RIAA President Cary Sherman said the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act contains loopholes that allow broadband providers and Web companies to turn a blind eye to customers' unlawful activities without suffering any legal consequences. "The DMCA isn't working for content people at all," he said at the Technology Policy Institute's Aspen Forum here. "You cannot monitor all the infringements on the Internet. It's simply not possible. We don't have the ability to search...

There may be an FM radio in your next cell phone whether you want it or not. The National Association of Broadcasters is lobbying Congress to stipulate that FM radio technology be included in future cell phones. In exchange, the NAB has agreed that member stations would pay about $100 million in so-called performance fees to music labels and artists. Radio stations would be required to pay performance royalties on a tiered schedule with larger commercial stations paying more than smaller and non-profit stations. The agreement is part of a compromise between the NAB and the Recording Industry Association of...

Around 700 IP addresses implicated in the Hurt Locker BitTorrent downloads lawsuit have been released. They’re part of the public record so it’s not like these addresses were surreptitiously acquired or anything like that. One interesting observation: none of the IP addresses belong to Time Warner, the one ISP that’s putting up a fight. Hmm?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports that both organizations--along with a few others--want to take the file-monitoring process a huge step further by infiltrating consumer PCs and deleting the infringing content off their hard drives. How? Through "anti-infringement" spyware developed and enforced by the government.

Ah, the RIAA blog. It's a never-ending source of entertainment. In the past, they've tried (and failed) to address some of my arguments directly, but as someone noted, one of their recent posts again appears directed my way (not just me, but a few others as well). In it, the RIAA tries to suggest that alternative business models can't possibly work. Since many of the arguments the RIAA tries to debunk sound sorta like the arguments I make, it seemed worth responding -- especially given how badly out of context the RIAA takes them in an effort to convince itself...

Measuring the exact cost of intellectual property theft is difficult, even for the government entities assigned to measure such activities.   There are a few facts though: China dominates the counterfeit world; digital reproduction technology is making counterfeit movies and music recordings commonplace and the counterfeit industry hurts the overall US economy. Those are but a few of the results of a look by the US Government Accountability Office at what the theft of intellectual property means to the US.  Critics have long said the US needs to do something to put a crimp in the over $200 billion counterfeit and...

The RIAA and MPAA have submitted a plan to the Office of Intellectual Property Enforcement. It's basically a plan that they want the government to enact, and it's terrifying. Here are some of the lovely things that they're calling for: * spyware on your computer that detects and deletes infringing materials; * mandatory censorware on all Internet connections to interdict transfers of infringing material; * border searches of personal media players, laptops and thumb-drives; * international bullying to force other countries to implement the same policies; * and free copyright enforcement provided by Fed cops and agencies (including the Department...

Of all the songs Whitney Harper of San Antonio downloaded from online file-sharing networks, the one that could best sum up the college student's situation now is Hanson's “Save Me.” A federal appeals court that covers Texas has ruled the 22-year-old must pay a total of $27,750 to five music companies for 37 copyrighted songs she accessed through Kazaa and similar sites when she was a teenager. Last week's opinion by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower ruling that awarded the five recording companies $200 for each of the songs. The appeals...

Musicians and recording studios sent a letter to Capitol Hill this morning blasting broadcasters' latest advertising campaign. The letter, sent to all members, is the latest jab in a long-running battle over royalties. The music industry wants broadcasters to pay singers and performers a royalty for playing their songs on the air. Broadcasters call the royalty a "tax" and say airing the music is free promotion for the artists. Currently, only songwriters receive royalties. But as the music industry struggles more than ever to recoup costs in the midst of plummeting CD sales, singers and bands say they deserve a...

Chet Baker was a leading jazz musician in the 1950s, playing trumpet and providing vocals. Baker died in 1988, yet he is about to add a new claim to fame as the lead plaintiff in possibly the largest copyright infringement case in Canadian history.  His estate, which still owns the copyright in more than 50 of his works, is part of a massive class-action lawsuit that has been underway for the past year. As my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes, the infringer has effectively already admitted owing at least $50 million and the full claim...

Country’s National Assembly passes draft law that kills illegal downloaders’ internet accessThe French National Assembly has passed one of the toughest laws against internet piracy that the world has ever seen.Under the new legislation, backed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, illegal downloaders of games, music and movies will be sent two warnings - first by email and then by recorded delivery. Following these cautions, the offender's details will be passed to a judge – who now has the power to cut off Internet access and issue heavy fines or even prison sentences.The law was narrowly passed by 285 votes to 225....

Can't stop the (free) music Why last month's $675,000 judgment against a BU student won't stop people from downloading songs illegally By Joseph P. Kahn Globe Staff / August 25, 2009 iTunes wasn’t around yet, and David Tanklefsky was in the eighth grade when Napster, the now defunct music file-sharing website, became the must-go destination for computer-savvy music fans.

New York, NY (AHN) - A judge has ordered a graduate student to pay a total of $675,000 (404,000 pounds) after he was found guilty of illegally downloading songs from a shared music Web site. Joel Tenenbaum, the 25-year-old Boston University student, has pleaded guilty of the charges of downloading and distributing 30 songs. He will be paying $22,500 per song to four record labels for willfully infringing on the copyright of the songs by bands, including Green Day, Incubus, Nirvana and Aerosmith. The U.S. District Court jury could have ordered him to pay a maximum of $4.5 million in...

Jury Awards $675,000 in Music Downloading Case BOSTON – A federal jury on Friday ordered a Boston University graduate student who admitted illegally downloading and sharing music online to pay $675,000 to four record labels. Joel Tenenbaum, of Providence, R.I., admitted in court that he downloaded and distributed 30 songs. The only issue for the jury to decide was how much in damages to award the record labels. Under federal law, the recording companies were entitled to $750 to $30,000 per infringement. But the law allows as much as $150,000 per track if the jury finds the infringements were willful....

ASCAP Makes Outlandish Copyright Claims on Cell Phone Ringtones EFF Argues Phones Ringing in Public Do Not Violate Copyright Law New York - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged a federal court Wednesday to reject bogus copyright claims in a ringtone royalty battle that could raise costs for consumers, jeopardize consumer rights, and curtail new technological innovation.Millions of Americans have bought musical ringtones, often clips from favorite popular songs, for their mobile phones. Mobile phone carriers pay royalties to song owners for the right to sell these snippets to their customers. But as part of a ploy to squeeze more...

According to CNET, the RIAA has emerged victorious in their case against Usenet.com for wholesale copyright infringement. Filed back in 2007, the RIAA took particular issue with the outfit's ads promising "access to millions of MP3 files" for the monthly $19 payment. While the advertising was bad enough, the case was made substantially easier for the RIAA thanks to the fact that Usenet.com was destroying evidence on hard drives, often supplying incorrect information -- and even sent several employees to Europe to prevent them from testifying. In a statement, the RIAA lauds the courts for taking action against Usenet.com's "egregious...