07/20, 12:30pm
RIAA declares DRM dead
Long-time proponent of digital rights management (DRM) protection for music files, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has finally acknowledged that DRM has become obsolete, according to a recent report from TorrentFreak. DRM prevents buyers of digital music tracks from copying them to other devices in an attempt to curb illegal copying. But now, with major music retailers abandoning the format to appease the wishes of the paying public, RIAA chief spokesman Jonathan Lamy says the protection's death is now a matter of fact.
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07/06, 11:50pm
Thomas fights RIAA damages
Following an unsuccessful legal battle against the RIAA, Jammie Thomas-Rasset has asked a federal court for a new trial or a reduction of the $1.92 million in damages she was recently ordered to pay, according to CNET News. The defense lawyers have argued that the recent judgment is disproportionate to the crime, with approximately $80,000 placed on each of the 24 copyrighted songs she is accused of illegally sharing.
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07/02, 6:25pm
RIAA defendant to appeal
Jammie Thomas-Rasset plans to appeal the recent court decision ordering her to pay $1.92 million in a case involving the RIAA. The legal battle has followed several twists, with the initial filing only leading to damages totaling $222,000 before the decision was thrown out. The federal jury present for the retrial, however, tacked on another $1.7 million.
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06/24, 3:00pm
RIAA Forced Settle
RIAA member Universal Music Group this past weekend was forced to settle a music file sharing lawsuit it had filed against New Hampshire resident Mavis Roy. The label dropped its case after evidence provided by anti-piracy snooping firm MediaSentry was successfully challenged by the defense's expert witness Dr. Sergey Bratus. Among other key problems with the data, the defense pointed out that Roy didn't own a computer at all at the time of the supposed infringement and that it wasn't until a letter appeared that she was aware of any possible action.
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06/19, 10:55am
Thomas guilty in retrial
The long-standing legal battle between Jammie Thomas-Rasset and the Recording Industry Association of America closed another chapter, as the federal retrial found the defendant liable for willful copyright infringement, with the jury ordering her to pay a whopping $1.92 million in penalties. According to a Thursday Ars Technica report, the total damage award of $1.92 million was more than a $1.7 million increase from the amount awarded in the first trial. Thomas-Rasset was found to infringe on 24 copyrights held by the four major record labels, with each infringement costing the defendant $80,000.
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05/22, 1:30pm
RIAA filesharing money
Lawyers are now challenging some of the basic tactics of the RIAA's campaign against filesharing, reports note. The most powerful allegations have been put forth in the defense of college student Brittany English, whose pro bono lawyer, K.A.D. Camara, has asked courts to declare RIAA damage requests unconstitutional. The group has asked for unreasonable statutory damages in a ratio as high as 150,000:1, according to Camara, and moreover used the potential judgments to bully individuals into settlements. The RIAA should be made to return the $100 million or more it has accrued through illicit methods, Camara insists.
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05/12, 2:35pm
France Approves 3-Strikes
The French National Assembly today approved a modified version of the three-strikes law meant to combat online piracy. Following an earlier rejection of an initial version, the government body voted 296-233 in favor of the bill, which would send two warnings to users caught allegedly trading illegally copied media and require that Internet providers disconnect users after a third offense.
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05/06, 4:40pm
RIAA still filing lawsuits
Despite announcing back in December that it would stop suing individual file sharers and use ISP monitoring instead, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is still filing such lawsuits, says a Tuesday TechDirt article. Not only is it going against what it said before, but RIAA lawyers are claiming the Association never made such a statement in a letter to Congress.
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04/24, 4:35pm
RIAA case held for appeal
A recent lawsuit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on behalf of Arista Records against 16 students at the Albany Campus of the State University of New York is being put on hold while an appeals court investigates what happened in the lower courts. An appeal by one of the unnamed 'John Doe' students, identified only as #3, was granted (PDF) by an appeals court on Wednesday, the result of which could set a precedent in the way RIAA performs its ex parte lawsuits on individuals who have no knowledge of being sued until they can no longer file an appeal.
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04/09, 9:55am
France Rebuffs Piracy Law
France's National Assembly on Thursday voted down a proposed law that would have required Internet providers cut off subscribers after three detected instances of pirating music or videos. The decision was made through an unusual 21-15 vote after the majority of the Assembly's 577 representatives avoided the session. The French administration hasn't commented on the rejection other than to say a modified version is due within a few weeks.
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03/25, 4:15pm
Comcast, Cox partner RIAA
Following today's earlier news of AT&T issuing notices to subscribers on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America who are allegedly involved in illegal file sharing, Comcast and Cox have announced they too are informing Internet users of any potential illegal activities. At the same Leadership Music Digital Summit where AT&T broke its news, Comcast senior VP Joe Waz said the provider has issued two million notices to its clients. Sources at the event said provider Cox is also actively partnering with RIAA on informing and discouraging its customers of their illegal activities.
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03/25, 1:30pm
AT&T issuing piracy notice
(Update with AT&T response)
Telecommunications provider AT&T has confirmed it is working with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) by issuing cease and desist notices to subscribers whose accounts have allegedly been involved in illegal file sharing. CNET reported on Tuesday that AT&T senior executive Jim Cicconi broke the news at a digital music conference in Nashville. Both AT&T and Comcast were named as partners in RIAA's fight back in January, which switched from suing file sharers to issuing notices via Internet service providers. The association has other ISP partners, but has not yet named them.
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03/02, 11:30am
RIAA staff cuts deepen
The recent budget cuts that have the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) cutting its staff are more pronounced than initially expected, says a Friday Hypebot report. Due to an increased number of people purchasing digital songs online, the RIAA's role of suing individuals for illegal file sharing is reduced, with the music labels that fund the organization cutting the budget significantly.
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01/28, 9:30am
ATT and Comcast Help RIAA
Both AT&T and Comcast should be the first Internet providers to give in to the RIAA's monitoring program, according to sources speaking with CNET. Three separate contacts allege that the respective DSL and cable providers have tentatively agreed to forward warnings when the RIAA believes its songs are being shared illegally and would volunteer to punish repeated offenders. These could include user-specific traffic throttling and even suspension or a permanent disconnection after multiple alleged infractions.
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01/20, 4:15pm
Dutch study file sharing
A study commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs has just concluded that the net economic effects of file sharing for music, movies and games are positive. The resulting 142-page report, put together by research company TNO, doesn't narrow the results to strictly illegal content but argues that, as consumers save money on unnecessary purchases and spend it on more wanted content, they save much more in wasted spending than music production companies lose.
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12/19, 4:55pm
RIAA budget cuts coming
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is due for significant budget cuts as the major labels backing it will reduce costs and cut down on initiating file-sharing lawsuits, say industry insiders according to a Friday CNET report. Earlier today, it was announced RIAA will stop its years-old practice of suing individuals for sharing pirated music and other copyrighted materials. With this move, the RIAA's role will be largely reduced, and insiders believe the budget cuts will be announced at the Association's upcoming annual budget review.
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12/19, 8:25am
RIAA Drops Lawsuit Tactics
The RIAA today delivered a partial change in stance on Friday by revealing that it will drop its longstanding campaign of suing individual users it alleges have pirate music. The representative group for major music labels says the decision comes after recognizing that its previous approach made people aware of file sharing as a problem but that it was ultimately not very effective in halting the problem outright. Although the number of users has remained constant, the amount of files traded has gone up, the RIAA claims.
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12/18, 1:30pm
RIAA breaking court orders
Members of the RIAA may be violating court orders in one of the latest lawsuits directed against filesharers, reports say. Motown, Universal and BMG are involved in a case dubbed Motown Records vs. John Doe, targeting a number of anonymous students at the University of Southern California. The university has been ordered to provide the names of a variety of students in the case, making it possible to extract compensation should blame be assigned.
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10/13, 4:50pm
Bush Signs PRO IP Act
US President George Bush on Monday signed the PRO-IP Act into law, increasing the federal government's attempts to crack down on copyright violations and other intellectual property infringement in the country. The Act will bring in a cabinet member dedicated to improving copyright protection and also increases punishments for both basic copyright violations as well as physical counterfeits.
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10/02, 4:30pm
EMI case dismissed
MP3Tunes announced on Thursday that the Recording Industry Association of America’s copyright infringement lawsuit against its CEO, Michael Robertson, was dismissed by New York District Judge William H. Pauley III. The lawsuit against MP3Tunes will proceed as planned, however. The lawsuit, headed up by EMI Music and 14 other music RIAA-supporting labels alleges that MP3Tunes infringed on copyrights as it offers an online music storage service, allowing users to upload their music collections and access them from virtually anywhere.
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09/25, 10:30am
Mistrial in RIAA Thomas
Minnesota US District Judge Michael Davis today dismissed a Recording Industry Association of America victory in its controversial anti-piracy case against Jammie Thomas, declaring a mistrial. The move at least temporarily eliminates the $220,000 fine demanded by the music label representatives for claims that she pirated 24 songs by making them available through the KaZaA file sharing service. The call for a retrial comes after Judge Davis reversed his position and said a jury was no longer required to consider hosting songs enough of a legal grounding to find against Thomas.
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09/18, 12:00pm
RIAA Punishing Defense
The RIAA has filed a motion (PDF) in an attempt to silence an outspoken lawyer defending the targets of its anti-piracy lawsuits. Calling many of his actions "overzealous," the American music industry group accuses New York attorney Ray Beckerman of frustrating its attempts to sue Marie Lindor and other defendants for allegedly sharing music online and violating individual music labels' copyrights.
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08/15, 7:05pm
Dell to add stereo inputs
Dell on Friday made attempts to clarify the lack of stereo input into its laptops, hoping to dispel rumors that the RIAA forced it into a particular position. Dell blogger Lionel Menchaca reveals that the decision to exclude stereo audio was due to Windows Vista's tentative system requirements early on in its launch. As a result of customer complaints, Dell is re-instating stereo audio input into future laptop, beginning with the Studio 15 and Studio 17 models.
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08/14, 5:20pm
RIAA ruling sets precedent
The newest development surrounding the long-lasting case of one Tanya Andersen and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), sees the single mother turning the tables on the RIAA, countersuing, and winning. Fearing the worst, the RIAA offered Andersen a $30,000 settlement, which she refused, then upped it $60,000 to the same effect before being ordered to pay nearly $108,000 by a judge and setting a precedent.
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08/05, 1:35pm
Judge May Retry RIAA Case
A ruling in favor of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) may be overturned and set a precedent for file sharing, according to remarks made by the presiding judge in the case. District Judge Michael Davis now expresses doubts over a decision which fined defendant Jammie Thomas $222,000 for allegedly trading 24 songs through KaZaA, arguing that a closer review of the US Copyright Act used as the foundation of the case suggests that a retrial may be necessary. The Act requires actual proof of an illegal transfer rather than the simpler act of exposing the content through a public folder. Without the former evidence, the previous decision against Thomas may no longer hold weight, according to Judge Davis.
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07/08, 10:45am
RIAA Limiting PC Stereo In
The American music industry may be pressuring Dell and other computer manufacturers to disable stereo recording support in an artificial attempt to discourage piracy, say accounts from users. Users of Dell systems with SigmaTel chips in particular claim to be only allowed single-channel recording out of the box and are told that an official solution that restores stereo input will cost $99; Gateway and (in Europe) Packard Bell systems with the audio hardware are also said to be affected.
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05/15, 1:30pm
RIAA hit with legal fees
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) will have to pay $107,834 in legal fees as a result of a failed lawsuit, a US federal judge has ruled. For two years, running until June 2007, the RIAA pursued a case against Tanya Andersen, accusing her of illegal file sharing; that case was dismissed with prejudice however, and Andersen and one of her lawyers were allowed to seek compensation for their defense. At points in the case, as many as six attorneys for Andersen were present in court.
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05/08, 4:50pm
RIAA on DRM Revival
Regardless of the movement towards permanent unprotected downloads in online music, digital rights management (DRM) is likely to persist and may also thrive in the near future, the Recording Industry Association of America said today at a Los Angeles media conference. The music organization's technology head David Hughes observes that nearly all strategies for offering paid music still require some form of copy protection to enforce the license agreements, which are often dependent on set times or play counts.
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01/11, 3:20pm
EMI threatens IFPI, RIAA
Major label EMI may be leaving the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), reports say. Its executives are further said to be engaged in talks with Warner, Universal and Sony BMG, in an attempt to alter the priorities and structure are several trade groups, including the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). EMI sent a letter to IFPI officials for that very reason, claiming that it would abandon its membership unless the organization conformed to EMI's interests. Funding to the IFPI could be cut off by March 31st.
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12/21, 3:25pm
RIAA Fake Video News
The Recording Industry Association of America may be turning to artificial news segments to drive Internet users away from file sharing and other bootleg copies, says a tip provided to Ars Technica. The group, which primarily represents major music labels, is said to have produced a fake news clip -- known in the industry as a video news release -- that it hopes TV stations will use to fill gaps in the networks' news shows and effectively promote its own agenda.
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12/17, 4:35pm
Universal, XM settle suit
Universal Music and XM Radio have settled a lawsuit over a piece of third-party hardware, reports say. The item of contention was Pioneer's Inno player, which is able to record XM broadcasts in addition to playing MP3s; the problem is that it can naturally record Universal artists without permission, something the record label objected to. Under the terms of the settlement, Universal will be the first company signed to a multi-year agreement covering all XM radios with "advanced recording functionality," potentially opening the door to safe recording on many other devices.
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12/11, 2:00pm
RIAA on CD Ripping
Converting music CDs to audio files on a computer is unapproved and therefore illegal, the Recording Industry Association of America has said (PDF) in a brief ahead of a crucial Arizona lawsuit. Hoping to support the arguments from group member Atlantic Records in its complaint against the Howell family, the RIAA contends that ripping CDs leads to "viral" copyright infringement; a single disc can result in millions of copies if shared through a peer-to-peer service, the brief claims.
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12/04, 4:50pm
DoJ supports Thomas ruling
The Department of Justice has come out in support of damages awarded to the RIAA, a brief from the government body suggests. Jammie Thomas, a single mother who was successfully sued by the RIAA for sharing music on Kazaa, and was initially fined $9,250 per song for a total of $220,000. As a part of her appeal though, she challenged the constitutionality of the judgment, noting that the Copyright Act only allows statutory damages between $750 and $150,000. This, Thomas claimed, meant her punishment violated the Due Process clause of the Constitution, particularly since record labels only earn an average of 70¢ on the dollar for each track.
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12/04, 3:00pm
LimeWire lawsuit fails
A lawsuit filed by the owners of the LimeWire file-sharing service has been thrown out of a New York court, writes the Associated Press. The Lime Group had earlier entered a case against a group of major record labels, charging that they were harming Lime through unfair business practices. Specifically, said Lime's lawyers, the labels were refusing to license out music, which Lime had hoped to implement into an above-board pay service. Instead the labels would only deal with Lime if it used an approved filtering system, or if it struck an agreement with the industry-sanctioned iMesh service.
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11/29, 11:40am
EMI Scaling Back RIAA
Music label EMI could weaken the anti-piracy campaigns of both the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the near future by reducing its financial help with both organizations, claims an anonymous insider speaking to Reuters. A recent acquisition of EMI by the private equity firm Terra Firma is known to have triggered a financial review that would reduce the millions of dollars that the label supplies to both groups.
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