Takedowns without DMCA takedown notices: a hosting company pulls down a user’s posted MP3 song files because the user, an indie record label, can’t produce a copyright registration certificate for them — and never mind that they’re the label’s own material posted with the okay of its artists. (Tamera Bennett, Oct. 20, Gordon Firemark, Oct. 21; via Coleman, Likelihood of Confusion).
“45 years ago, Professor George Wilberforce Kakoma composed what became the Ugandan national anthem. Now, he’s suing the Ugandan government for damages, claiming that it’s breached his copyright by using the song for all these years without paying him any royalties”. (The Stumblng Tumblr, Sept. 25; Frank Walusimbi, “Government sued over National Anthem use”, Sunday Monitor, Sept. 21).
Spot the antecedent of “her” in this lead paragraph from SixShot.com:
A New York judge yesterday (September 22) dismissed a lawsuit filed against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Vibe Magazine over a picture that showed her topless at a party hosted by the Bad Boy mogul.
It reads as if “her” would have to refer to “judge”, but not so: it was hedge fund manager Maria Kristina Dominguez who sued the magazine and music celebrity. The judge threw out her suit, ruling that the “photo was related to newsworthy issues of public interest and Dominguez had no right of privacy while cavorting topless”. More on flasher’s remorse here, etc.
“Former heavyweight boxer Mitchell Rose has filed an $88 million dollar copyright lawsuit against Jay-Z in Brooklyn Federal Court, AllHipHop.com has learned.” Rose says he gave Jay-Z a demo tape in 2001 and that the musician took from it a style of rhyming, a “whispering” delivery, “and even certain lyrics” for which he should owe compensation. “Rose, 39, is also a personal injury lawyer who wrote a book called Mike Tyson Tried To Kill My Daddy.” (Nolan Strong, AllHipHop.com, Jun. 12). While we’re at it, my Manhattan Institute colleague John McWhorter has a new book out entitled “All About the Beat: Why Hip-Hop Can’t Save Black America“.
All-free-speech edition:
The newly composed work tested at 97.4 decibels, so the performance by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra was called off. “The cancellation is, so far, probably the most extreme consequence of the new law, which requires employers in Europe to limit workers’ exposure to potentially damaging noise and which took effect for the entertainment industry this month.” (Sarah Lyall, “No Fortissimo? Symphony Told to Keep It Down”, New York Times, Apr. 20). For more on British and EU workplace-noise rules and their application to Scottish bagpipes, barking police dogs, gunfire during infantry training, military brass bands, and so forth, see Nov. 19, 2005.
“A feud involving the man who sang ‘Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer’ could wind up in court, just in time for Christmas. Elmo Shropshire was sued for breach of contract Monday by a company that claims he interfered in a $1 million-plus deal to sell musical trucks, bobblehead dolls, snow globes and cookie jars featuring characters from an animated show based on the novelty song.” (AP/San Mateo County Times, Nov. 28).
Class action lawyers say the club led fans to buy memberships on the assumption that they’d get an inside track to tickets for performances by the teen phenomenon. Instead, the concerts have proved to be the year’s hottest ticket and fans have been left to buy from scalpers or go without. “The Web site does not guarantee ticket availability, but represents that members who log on shortly after tickets become available will have a good opportunity to get them, according to the lawsuit.” (AP/CNN, Nov. 13). More: Lattman.
A few seconds of musical background, in the form of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy”, was grounds enough for Universal to file a takedown notice with YouTube. (Nate Anderson, “Universal demands takedown of homemade dancing toddler clip; EFF sues”, ArsTechnica, Jul. 25).
Amateur players seeking the chords for commonly played songs are out of luck these days, since the music publishers had a fit of intellectual-property-itis and sent takedown letters to a compilation site. That’s just one of the entries in a compilation by mashable.com, “Death by Lawyer: Ten Cool Sites We Miss“, which also answers the question of why the wonderful Pandora internet radio service is available only to U.S.-based computers (via Katherine Mangu-Ward, Reason “Hit and Run”).
New burdens are being heaped on them by state legislators who appear intent on protecting the interests of the original music providers:
In Florida, the new legislation requires all stores buying second-hand merchandise for resale to apply for a permit and file security in the form of a $10,000 bond with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In addition, stores would be required to thumb-print customers selling used CDs, and acquire a copy of state-issued identity documents such as a driver’s license. Furthermore, stores could issue only store credit — not cash — in exchange for traded CDs, and would be required to hold discs for 30 days before reselling them.
(Ed Christman, “New laws create second-hand woes for CD retailers”, Reuters/Billboard, May 4; Ars Technica, May 7). According to HardOCP, used game CDs are affected by the rules as well. (May 8).
“A federal jury in San Diego [Thursday] ordered Microsoft to pay $1.52 billion to Alcatel-Lucent for violating two patents for a technology used by hundreds of companies that allows users to play digital music on computers, cellphones and other portable devices.” (Alan Sipress, “Microsoft Loses Big In MP3 Patent Suit”, Washington Post, Feb. 23). Washington Post tech blogger Rob Pegoraro (Feb. 23):
Alcatel-Lucent’s patent payday has all the things that patent-abuse critics hate:* “Submarine” patents, invoked years after a contested invention has hit the market? Check
* Claiming ownership of a media format most people use all the time? Check
* A plaintiff that’s failed to commercialize its own alleged invention? Check
* Extortionate royalty demands? Check
(via Kevin Drum, Feb. 23).
“A state senator from Brooklyn said on Tuesday he plans to introduce legislation that would ban people from using an MP3 player, cell phone, Blackberry or any other electronic device while crossing the street in New York City and Buffalo.” (”Ban Proposed On Cell Phones, iPods In Crosswalk”, WNBC, Feb. 7). Comment: TechDirt, Global Nerdy, Bainbridge, Wired blog. A Blog for All rounds up links. Commenter Mike Knowland at Dvorak.org writes, “It won’t be enforced, but when someone gets hit by a car while breaking this law, the driver won’t be 100% at fault anymore.”
Jerome Almon, who owns the Detroit rap music label Murdercap, has sued Canadian officials demanding $900,000,000 over alleged hassles in his attempts to cross the border. Almon, whose musical oeuvre includes works entitled On Ya Neez Bitch and How Stella Got My Backhand, says that although his police record contains arrests only and not convictions, Canadian border control personnel have delayed his entry to the country on dozens of occasions, sometimes for hours. He is representing himself in the suit. (”Detroit rapper sues over alleged Canadian border hassles”, CBC, Jan. 17; Paul Egan, “Detroit record label head alleges harassment against border officials”, Detroit News, Jan. 18; P2Pnet).
“Similar to its cousins the patent trolls, [Bridgeport Music Inc.] and companies like it hold portfolios of old rights (sometimes accumulated in dubious fashion) and use lawsuits to extort money from successful music artists for routine sampling, no matter how minimal or unnoticeable. … Since 2001, Bridgeport’s shotgun approach has led to many dismissals and settlements, but also two major victories. … there’s only one appellate court, the 6th Circuit, that takes the ridiculous position that any sample, no matter how minimal, needs a license.” (Tim Wu (Columbia lawprof), Slate, Nov. 16). Frank Pasquale at Concurring Opinions has some further thoughts: Nov. 21. More on sampling litigation in Ted’s “Overlawyered iMix” post, Aug. 9, 2005, and comments.
Point of Law Volokh
