02/09, 11:25pm
Joint venture accused of hypocrisy
Vevo, a joint venture owned by several major music labels, has been accused of streaming a pirated NFL game at an event the company hosted during the Sundance Film Festival. Attendees were reportedly able to watch a football playoff game featuring the Patriots versus the Ravens, however the video feed was being illegally streamed from the Spanish site TuTele.tv via sports stream aggregator Frontrow.tv.
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01/19, 5:50pm
Anonymous carpet bombs Megaupload opponents
(Update: FBI too) The forced closure of Megaupload and accompanying arrests may have backfired on proponents after Anonymous launched one of its largest attacks ever in retaliation. Multiple statements from the hacking collective confirmed they were responsible for successful denial of service attacks against the websites of the Department of Justice, MPAA, RIAA, and likely arrest instigator Universal Music. All of the sites were partly or completely unresponsive as of early Thursday evening.
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01/04, 11:05pm
US music sees digital finally overcome analog drop
US album sales have grown for the first time in seven years, Nielsen Soundscan reported Wednesday. A three percent increase to 458 million albums in 2011 was helped by digital sales from iTunes and other sources jumping by 20 percent, to 103 million, overcoming a six percent drop in CD sales to 225 million. Single songs themselves grew faster, up nine percent to 1.27 billion songs.
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12/21, 9:05pm
Jobs posthumously honored with Grammy for music
The Recording Academy on Wednesday awarded the late Steve Jobs with a posthumous Special Merit Grammy for his contributions to music. He received the Trustees Award for "outstanding contributions" to music outside of performance. In a statement, the Academy praised Jobs for blurring the lines between technology and art through through iTunes, the iPod, and other fields.
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12/13, 11:45pm
Louis CK shows copy protection not needed
Comedian Louis CK in an update revealed that an experiment in directly selling his Live at the Beacon Theater show online was a runaway success. Although it cost $170,000 to self-direct and produce the video, the DRM-free, $5 video had made $250,000 in just its first 12 hours. By Tuesday, Louis had more than doubled that amount and managed $200,000 in pure profit.
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12/12, 12:45pm
Megaupload to join fight against SOPA bill, more
Following the blockage of a YouTube video on Friday at the request of the RIAA and IFPI, cloud-storage service company Megaupload has stated it will sue Universal Music for prompting what it sees as a wrongful takedown. Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom requested YouTube reinstate the music video, dubbed Mega Song, while Universal asked to pull it again. The video in question was a promotional one for Megaupload and included P Diddy, Will.i.am, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Macy Gray, Chris Brown, The Game, and Mary J Blige. TorrentFreak learned.
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11/15, 10:25pm
Trade group demands access to sales records
The Recording Industry Association of America has sent a cease-and-desist letter to ReDigi, threatening to sue the company over its marketplace for "used" digital tracks. The trade group demands that ReDigi shutter its operations, erase references to RIAA member artists from its site, "quarantine" current digital copies and provide access to sales records.
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11/11, 6:45pm
RIAA unhappy with Google stance on music app
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) claims that Google is refusing to pull MP3 Music Download Pro (free, Android Market). The app is the fifth most popular free app on the Android Market and offers the ability to “search and download free music & lyrics.” According to RIAA, the app is being used to promote the illegal distribution of copyrighted music.
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10/14, 7:30pm
E-mails tie copyright officials to RIAA deal
E-mails made available thanks to the Freedom of Information Act (pdf) and unearthed by Wired reveal high-ranking Obama administration officials were actively involved in secret negotiations between Hollywood, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and ISPs. The three sides were found collaborating on plans to disrupt web access for users who are suspected of violating copyright law. The e-mails included executives and lobbyists from the likes of companies like AT&T and Universal Music, among many others.
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08/22, 7:00pm
RIAA tries again to raise Thomas fine
RIAA labels' attorneys on Monday appealed a decision to lower the fines against Jammie Thomas-Rasset over allegedly pirating songs. The music group claimed that Judge Michael Davis "erred" in determining that just making a song available through a peer-to-peer network didn't count as active distribution, letting him lower the total fine from as much as $1.92 million down to $54,000. Lawyers also disagreed with the notion that the original penalty violated due process rules.
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07/22, 3:40pm
Thomas-Rasset filesharing case still ongoing
The long-running court cases of file-share Jammie Thomas-Rasset against the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is still making news, this time from Ars Technica. Federal Judge Michael Davis on Friday said she lied in her trial testimony and that her "past refusal to accept responsibility for her actions raises the need for strong deterrence."
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07/20, 11:45pm
Judge approves class-action status
US District Jude Loretta Preska has allowed a class-action lawsuit against RIAA music labels to continue forward. The lawsuit, which accuses major labels of conspiring to fix prices for digital music distribution, will be pursued under the Sherman Act to explore potential antitrust violations of federal law. Similar antitrust actions under New York state law will also be investigated, as well as other claims related to consumer protection and unjust enrichment.
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07/07, 6:45pm
Some US ISPs confirm copyright alert plans
Internet providers on Thursday formally revealed their pacts with the MPAA and RIAA to curb piracy. The new strategy (below) used by AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Verizon, and others will first send "educational messages" to an Internet account if a music or video producer sends a notice of an alleged copyright infringement. If a content producer detects another incident, the notice will require a click through receipt that will prove they had received a warning and which could theoretically be used to sue the account holder for knowingly ignoring any warnings.
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07/06, 11:20pm
Nielsen sees first recovery in US music in 7 years
Nielsen SoundScan on Wednesday reported the first increase in American album sales since 2004. Total album sales in the US for the first half of 2011 were up one percent year-to-year to hit 155.5 million. Pure digital sales were growing faster at 660 million individual tracks, up 10 percent, and 221.5 million album equivalents, a boost of 3.6 percent.
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06/23, 10:05am
ISPs may take graduated response under RIAA heat
American Internet service providers were reported late Wednesday as near giving into pressure from the MPAA and RIAA into adopting a graduated response system to alleged piracy. AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, and others are believed to be near deals that could be made public in July that would toughen responses with each successive discovery. The White House as well as the National Cable and Telecommunications Association were claimed by CNET to have helped broker the deal.
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05/12, 7:50pm
LimeWire ends lawsuit with 105m settlement
LimeWire on Thursday agreed to pay $105 million as part of its lawsuit settlement in what may be the last chapter in the company's history. The payout comes a quick week after a trial to determine the amount that should be paid to music label owners such as Sony, Vivendi, and Warner. The former peer-to-peer company said only that it was glad to be rid of the lawsuit.
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03/30, 7:40am
Analysts see digital music past CDs in 2012
Digital music should overtake CDs in the US for the first time next year, Strategy Analytics said in a new study. It expected CDs to continue dropping a steep 40 percent from $3.8 billion in revenue for 2010 to just $2.7 billion in 2012. Digital, led mostly by iTunes, would keep growing and just edge past the physical medium to hit $2.8 billion.
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03/25, 10:55am
Judge allows controversial measure to proceed
DC-based US Copyright Group has won a ruling that will allow it to proceed in a case against thousands of people alleged to have shared files illegally. The decision by Federal Judge Beryl Howell will require ISPs to turn over the identities of thousands of users who have engaged in P2P file sharing. This is the first time that a subpoena for the identities of thousands of people alleged to have shared files illegally has been granted.
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03/23, 10:35am
Demise of dominant P2P site leaves a vacuum
A new study by NPD Group found that illegal file sharing has dropped dramatically since a lawsuit shut down Limewire last year. The Recording Industry Association of American had sued parent company Lime Wire and its CEO Mark Gorton for copyright infringement, claiming that the peer-to-peer site encouraged pirating. The study found that after October 2010, when the service closed, the percentage of Internet users downloading music via P2P services dropped almost in half.
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03/08, 2:00pm
LimeWire agrees to settle music publisher suit
LimeWire on Tuesday said it had reached a settlement deal with major music publishers that had sued it for alleged piracy in June of last year. The two sides reached a secret deal that would see the lawsuit dismissed without the possibility of its return. The publishers, including those representing EMI, Sony, and Universal, had wanted as much as $150,000 per song and would have made it impossible for LimeWire to pay them back.
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01/10, 11:50am
Supreme Court drops review of digital music suit
The US Supreme Court later on Monday declined to review a lawsuit accusing RIAA music labels of price fixing for digital music. Officials cleared the lawsuit to go ahead after an appeal brought back the case, which had initially been dismissed in 2008. No comment accompanied the decision to uphold the appeal and the case.
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12/03, 5:00pm
LimeWire to shut down permanently
LimeWire on Friday explained that its cancellation of music store plans was a full shutdown of the company. The company planned to close its New York office at the start of 2011. It didn't mention any follow-up companies or projects in a statement to AllThingsD.
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10/27, 11:10am
LimeWire admits installing secret isolation code
LimeWire late Tuesday said that it had secretly installed a 'cut-off' switch in its peer-to-peer client to accompany the court-mandated withdrawal of its app. After a rumor from PCMag, company representative Tiffany Guarnaccia acknowledged to CNET that a summer update had given LimeWire the ability to isolate clients from the Gnutella network, rendering the app useless. It had also changed its update policy to both patch automatically and to refuse to open if a user wasn't running the latest version.
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10/26, 5:20pm
LimeWire pulling peer-to-peer app
LimeWire today agreed to stop offering its peer-to-peer file sharing client after an unsuccessful attempt to fight a lawsuit win by RIAA labels from last spring. The company said the move was "not our ideal path" but said it would both remove the option to download the client and improve the filtering where it can. It didn't say how or if it could stop users from running copies they already have.
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10/22, 3:45pm
Jammie Thomas-Rasset in court again next month
In a series of trials that dates back to 2007, Jammie Thomas-Rasset will once again go in front of a judge to appeal the damages in the copyright infringement ruling against her by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The trial is due to take place on November 2, despite lawyers' attempts to get the judge to again slash the damage award, last set at $54,000 down from $1.92 million.
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08/17, 4:25pm
NAB and RIAA would require FM in return for bill
The NAB and RIAA have proposed a compromise for a bill that could theoretically force all portable media devices to include FM radios. Under a yet to be formal suggestion for the Performance Rights Act, they would allow $100 million in performance royalties a year but would demand FM chips in MP3 players, smartphones and many other devices. Supporters have argued to Ars Technica and to legislators that forced radio would provide "more music choices."
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07/25, 10:40pm
Court says cracking DRM OK if purpose is legal
A new court ruling on Friday could set a legal precedent that allows bypassing digital rights management (DRM) for fair use purposes. New Orleans circuit Judge Emilio Garza found that GE hadn't violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by using hacked security dongles to repair uninterruptible power supplies from MGE UPS Systems as the goal itself was legal. While a jury fined GE $4.6 million for breaking copyright and misusing trade secrets, Judge Garza determined the DMCA hadn't been broken, as using hacked items by itself didn't constitute violating protection at the same time.
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07/14, 6:35pm
RIAA paid $64m over three years to get $1.4m
Ray Beckerman, the New York lawyer famous for fighting the recording industry's many lawsuits against what it alleges are illegal downloaders, has exposed what he says is a major financial flaw in the RIAA's business plan. On his blog, Beckerman found that the actual damages paid back were well below the actual legal expenses. Between 2006 and 2008, over $64 million was spent tracking customers but only extracted $1.36 million in successful lawsuits or settlements.
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07/09, 6:15pm
Judge in Tenenbaum case reduces damages by 10x
Boston Judge Nancy Gertner today ruled that the $675,000 in damages levied in the Joel Tenenbaum piracy case was illegal. An order from the legislator called the penalty "unconstitutionally excessive" and cut the penalty to $67,500. It violated the 14th Amendment's rule against depriving anyone of property without due process of law, according to the decision.
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07/07, 1:15pm
RIAA vs Thomas-Rassett case fails at arbitration
The now three-year old RIAA versus Jammie Thomas-Rasset case has resurfaced after a failed third attempt at arbitration. Music labels are complaining about having to cover the costs of the third meeting. The judge, Michael Davis, had ruled that an arbiter, or Special Master, oversee the meeting and the plaintiff (RIAA) cover his payment, at $400 per hour.
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06/17, 9:50am
Group demands $150K per download
Eight music publishers have sued Limewire for copyright infringement. David Israelite, chief executive of the National Music Publishers’ Association, said his organization decided to pursue its claim after record companies won a similar lawsuit last month. The publishing group is claiming damages of $150,000 per download, the same as the record industry sought.
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06/07, 3:55pm
LimeWire to operate for at least two more weeks
At a hearing on Monday, US District Judge Kimba Wood gave LimeWire lawyers two weeks to respond to a motion filed on Friday by RIAA that would close down the music service. RIAA, which represents the music industry, won a copyright infringement lawsuit against LimeWire. A request from a Lime Group lawyer for two more weeks was denied. When LimeWire responds, RIAA gets two weeks for a response, but Judge Wood can rule anytime after the response.
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05/14, 11:15am
Editorial: LimeWire win more harm than good
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has claimed victory against LimeWire after a years-long battle. Earlier this week, a US District Court ruled that the file-sharing site was responsible for causing copyright infringement through its service.
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05/12, 4:30pm
RIAA wins copyright lawsuit against LimeWire
A lawsuit that dates back to 2006 has been settled, with a federal court judge finding file-sharing service LimeWire liable for copyright infringement. The judge ruled in favor of the RIAA and its member labels that LimeWire's parent company engaged in 'unfair competition' and induced copyright infringement.
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04/23, 2:05pm
MPAA didn't provide government with data sources
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) may have presented inaccurate information to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding the economic impact of unauthorized file sharing. At the same time, the MPAA refused to reveal how it came up with some of the numbers in its piracy statistics. One major statistic the MPAA was caught red-handed at involves the 2005 claim that 44 percent of unauthorized file sharing comes from universities.
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04/15, 3:45pm
MPAA and RIAA hope users turn in themselves
The MPAA and RIAA have sent a response to the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator that would call for software to spy on users for potential piracy. Answering a request for comments, the music and movie studios would like antivirus software to include tools for "managing copyright infringement" and block or report copyrighted material it finds.
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03/09, 8:50am
Studios wanted iTunes LP, got little sales
The creation of iTunes LP was largely the result of major label pressure on Apple, a series of telling leaks has revealed. Music industry contacts claim that the 'deluxe' albums were a necessary part of the same deal that also forced variable song pricing in exchange for an all DRM-free catalog. The RIAA member labels, not Apple, wanted to resuscitate album sales and thought the bundle of special features would achieve the goal.
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01/22, 5:55pm
Judge says RIAA demands unrealistic
Judge Michael Davis in a decision today shrunk the $1.92 million penalty against Jammie Thomas-Rasset for her alleged music copyright infringement. The change stops short of exonerating Thomas-Rasset but asks a much lower $54,000 in total for the 24 shared songs, or $2,250 per song. In the ruling, Judge Davis also accused the music labels that began the case of asking for a disproportionate sum of money; the requested amount has to "bear some relation" to what was actually lost, he said.
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01/20, 3:25pm
Verizon first major to disconnect for piracy
Verizon today admitted that it has disconnected some users whose connections have repeatedly been seen carrying pirated material. The provider's spokeswoman, Bobbi Henson, wouldn't say how many or after how many notices but said Verizon has "cut some people off" in small numbers. It had already been sending notices on a wider level since April and for the RIAA in particular since November.
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01/13, 2:05pm
Appeals court OKs suit vs major music studios
A Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York today reinstated an antitrust lawsuit accusing EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner of illegal price fixing for digital music. Putting aside a dismissal from October 2008, Judge Robert Katzmann said there was enough evidence to "plausibly suggest" that the music labels might try to keep download prices artificially high through collusion.
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12/24, 3:55pm
RIAA knows ISP notices ineffective
The Recording Industry Association of America's ISP piracy warning deals are nothing but a public relations front, industry sources claimed yesterday. While the music label group had initially suggested it would have a deal that would disconnect repeat offenders, the purported insiders say labels wanted a "scarecrow" that would spook pirates even though the threat of disconnection couldn't legally be enforced. The aim, according to CNET, was primarily to replace the tactic of suing individual customers with an approach that still implied punishment.
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11/13, 4:00pm
Verizon will warn users, won't cut off
The RIAA confirmed late Thursday that Verizon has agreed to test notices of alleged copyright infringement to its subscribers. Each notice, which is relayed to Verizon first, will alert downloaders that they're believed to have pirated material and that the act is illegal. The warnings should already be enroute to customers, but it's unknown when the trial would stop.
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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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