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Marie Lindor vs the RIAA

p2pnet.net News:- Marie Lindor, the Brooklyn mother and home health aide who's never in her life used a computer and whom the Big Four Organized Music gang tried to gag, is again demanding that an RIAA suit claiming she distributed music online be dismissed.

The Big Four, Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal, accused of price fixing and bribery in the US, claim every one of their hundreds of millions of customers, including children, is a potential "criminal" and "thief" bent on robbing the labels of what's rightfully theirs.
Read more of the article on p2pnet.

Jeremy deBeer reports that Sony BMG Canada has settled several Canadian class action lawsuits over the inclusion of the rootkit in dozens of CDs. The settlement, which must still be approved by a Canadian court, features similar terms to those found in the U.S., including the right to cash compensation or music downloads. The settlement site features a full list of the affected CDs including Canadian artists such as Sloan, Our Lady Peace, and a Canadian Idol compilation.

While it is good to see that the Canadian legal issues will be put to rest, the reverberations from the Sony rootkit case will last well beyond the December deadline for filing a claim. The Sony case will be remembered as a classic illustration of how the use of DRM can pose a security and privacy threat, how the use of copy-controls puts the recording industry at odds with both its customers and artists, and why the reputational risk associated with using DRM far outweighs any potential (and largely illusory) benefits.
source: Michael Geist

p2pnet.net News:- Bad News for the Big Four Organized Music family: its sue 'em all efforts notwithstanding, the new Finnish copyright law, which went into effect at the beginning of the year, "has done little to cut down illegal downloading of music," says Helsingin Sanomat.

"Only just over ten per cent of respondents to a fresh survey published on Wednesday reported that they had reduced illegal downloading from file sharing networks," it says.

Only about one in 20 said they'd, "stopped using the peer-to-peer networks altogether".

"Executive director Antti Kotilainen of the Anti-Piracy Centre in Finland, CIAPC, admits that illegal downloading from the Internet continues to be a problem," says Helsingin Sanomat.

"The problem is substantial. There are around 150,000 active users of peer-to-peer networks in Finland."
Source: p2pnet
Also see:New copyright law has done little to stop illegal downloading of music

New Russian anti-p2p laws

p2pnet.net News:- Amendments aimed at cracking down on digital pirates in Russia went into effect today.

The new additions make it illegal to share copyrighted material online.

Until today, there was no law in Russia that protected copyright holders from internet piracy.

The new anti-piracy law, which allows sentences of up to five years in prison, puts online piracy on a level with other forms of copyright infringement and is seen as an important factor in determining if Russia can join the WTO.
The present amendments were ratified back in 2004, but content providershad until today to acquire the appropriate licenses, and register their activities. However, only a handful of content providers actually took the time and effort to go legit.

As the Kommersant notes:

Experts estimate that 97 percent of music spread in Russian Internet now is still piratic, and many mp3 websites sell western music to western customers. Legal Internet market is estimated at less than $1 million per year, while the turnover of just one of the major illegal Russian websites, offering some 850,000 of musical tracks for 12—15 cents, reaches up to $25—30 million, according to different estimates.

Russia president Vladimir Putin, and other world leaders, discussed piracy earlier this year at the G8 summit in Petersburg.
Source: p2pnet

Also see: From Internet to Jail
Amendments to Russian law, destined to put an end to uncontrolled downloading of books, videos, and music from the Internet, come into force today. According to these amendments, works published on the web will be protected by the law in the same way as those published on paper, CD, or DVD. It means the owners of pirate websites might be punished by up to 5 years of imprisonment.

And also read another related article:Russia Toughens Internet Piracy Law to Meet WTO Entry Terms.

Allofmp3 vows to continue despite tougher copyright laws

A few weeks ago I proclaimed that Allofmp3.com would give up it's current business model by September 1st. Turns out I was wrong - for now, at least. But things are changing in Russia, at least when it comes to the letter of the law. Russia toughened it's copyright law back in 2004, but a few key amendments were delayed to take effect today.
Read more of the article @ p2pblog.

Apple settles another lawsuit

Having resolved a patent dispute with Creative Technology over the iPod's user interface, Apple Computer has reached a settlement regarding the iTunes interface with a music store owner in Vermont. In 1996, David Contois filed a patent for a "computer system and method for controlling a media playing device." In 2005, he took Apple to court over its iTunes software. In July, the judge in the case issued a ruling that "favored some of Contois' positions over Apple's," and that was apparently enough for the company.
source: arstechnica

30 Days of DRM - Day 16: System Repair (Circumvention Rights)
From Michael Geist
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With news this week of a Canadian settlement of the Sony rootkit case, it is worth revisiting the admonishment that case elicited from Stewart Baker, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary of policy. As noted earlier this series, Baker reminded the recording industry that "it's very important to remember that it's your intellectual property - it's not your computer. And in the pursuit of protection of intellectual property, it's important not to defeat or undermine the security measures that people need to adopt in these days."

Baker's focus was on keeping personal computers secure. There is another related concern associated with DRM and personal computers - taking steps to avoid system damage or malfunction as well as repairing products that have suffered damage from DRM. These unintended consequences are an inevitable result of widespread DRM use. There are dozens of DRM products and there will be instances of harm to some computer systems (computer systems broadly defined to include personal computers, handheld devices, DVD players, and other similar products). Canadians must surely have the right to protect and repair their personal computers, whose value far outweighs the cost of the product that can be the source of harm or damage. Consistent with a recommendation by the Australian Parliamentary review committee, Canadian anti-circumvention legislation should include a right to circumvent to avoid damage or malfunction, as well as to repair, computer systems.

30 Days of DRM - Day 17: Broken or Obsolete Technology (Circumvention Rights)
From Michael Geist

The inclusion of a right to circumvent in the event that the TPM breaks or becomes obsolete is relatively uncontroversial. The U.S. Registrar of Copyrights has included a specific exception for this situation since 2000 and the Australian Parliamentary Review Committee recommended the inclusion of such an exception this year. The exception reflects the recognition that the continual evolution of technology places the investment that consumers make in entertainment and software products at risk in the event that a TPM ceases to function or becomes obsolete. While products do not come with a guarantee to function forever, the law should not impair consumers who seek to circumvent techologies that are no longer supported and thus create a significant barrier to access to their own property.

The current DVD market provides a good illustration of the potential problem. DVDs have become a huge consumer success story with millions of people accumulating large libraries of favourite movies and telephone shows. As the industry introduces next-generation DVD technologies (Blu-Ray, HD DVD, HVD), the prospect that the current DVD libraries might one day become obsolete becomes a distinct possibility (Blu-Ray manufacturers can include backwards compatibility, but are not required to do so). In future years, consumers with a DVD that contains an obscure TPM could easily find themselves unable to access the content for which they have already paid. Unlocking that content will therefore become necessary and consumers should have the right to do so without fear of breaking the law.

Rather than adopting the DMCA approach - which did not include the right within the statute itself but rather added it during the Registrar of Copyrights tri-annual review - Canada should ensure that this circumvention right is included within the law from day one.
Source: michaelgeist.ca

RIAA loses another p2p case

p2pnet.net News:- The Big Four Organized Music cartel's RIAA tried to extort Oklahoma's Tallie Stubbs into 'settling' in another sue 'em all case.

But she and her lawyer, Marilyn Barringer-Thomson, joined the fast-growing ranks of people who've told the RIAA (Recording Industry Association America), owned by Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG, to poke their lawsuits where they sun doesn't shine, forcing the so-called 'trade' unit to once again cave in.

"So these RIAA (well known and respected record companies) want their case dropped without prejudice and at the same time asking the judge to drop the counterclaim WITH prejudice," posts Alter_Fritz on Recording Industry vs The People.

"Let's hope the judge does not allow this awful RIAA tactic! And rules that Ms. Stubbs is the prevailing party with regards to copyright law and that Ms. Stubbs will get her attorney fees paid by the RIAA.

"Otherwise those (well known and respected record companies) will 'play' this big money vs. average people extortion business for decades!

"It must be possible to fight against them and not accept their 3750$ extortion money if you are not guilty but can't afford a regular lawsuit where THEY must prove your wrongdoing!"

Source: p2pnet

From Michael Geist

As part of a major set of copyright reforms in 1988, Canadian copyright law was amended to allow for the making of backup copies of computer programs. Section 30.6(b), the backup copy provision, is quite narrow, permitting the making of a single backup copy of a computer program "for a person who owns a copy of the computer program," provided that the copy is for backup purposes only and that it is destroyed "immediately when the person ceases to be the owner of the copy of the computer program."

This provision, which has not been tested in the courts, raises the interesting question of whether owning a copy of the computer program refers to owning the copyright in the computer program or owning the physical copy of the computer program. Many commentators believe that it refers to copyright ownership, in which case the provision is relatively meaningless given that most consumer software is licensed and not owned (although the enforceability of licenses that prohibit backup copies would make for an interesting test case).

The provision would be far more useful (and make much more sense) with the latter interpretation, however.
Physical copies of computer data are invariably frail - hard drives crash, CDs become scratched, and data gets corrupted - creating a real need for the right to make a backup to preserve the software program from loss. As part of the copyright reform process, this section should be clarified such that it removes any doubt that consumers have a positive right to make a backup copy of their computer programs and that those rights cannot be waived in the software licensing terms.

There is also a TPM dimension with the backup provision since TPMs can be used to block the ability to make a backup copy, even where the user has the right to do so under the Copyright Act. This issue was just raised by the Australian Attorney General, who is consulting this month on whether to add an exception for the making of backup copies of computer programs. Given the current state of Canadian law, there should be no doubt that a circumvention right to make a backup copy of a computer program is needed.

Source:michaelgeist.ca

p2pnet.net News:- Unrelenting entertainment cartel pressure on Russia is having effect with the country announcing possible jail time, up to five years of it, for "internet pirates".

Basically, the new Russian laws, "make legal the concept of 'notifying everyone' which brings the Internet under the jurisdiction of law," says Kommersant.

"Thus, texts of books or mp3 music files published on the web have the same copyright protection as normal books or CDs, and come under article 146 of the Criminal Code of Russia ('Violation of copyright and allied rights') which allows a punishment of imprisonment for up to 5 years for pirates."

But, the story has Vadim Uskov, "head of law company Uskov and Partners," saying, "If usual sellers of counterfeit goods are not caught on the street, then no one will catch the owners of websites in the Internet where it is hard to identify them."

According to Uskov, Russia needs, "decisive measures, like in China for instance. They put the criminal responsibility for publishing pirate products on Internet providers, so the latter check their websites many times a day."
Source: p2pnet

A new Toronto Star article from Michael Geist not only describes why Canadian Ministers of Education are pushing a copyright proposal that will harm Internet access, but also reveals how a copyright group is seeking to create a new license for Internet content.
Source: The Star

Electronics manufacturer SanDisk is facing a legal fight over its use of popular MP3 compression technology.

German officials seized MP3 players from SanDisk's booth at the IFA show in Berlin after an Italian patents firm won an injunction against the company.

Italian patents company Sisvel alleges that SanDisk refuses to pay licensing fees it needs to playback MP3 files.

SanDisk also faces a lawsuit brought by Sisvel in a German court, but denies that its products infringe patents.
Source: BBC