This is a phrase I hear all too often.  For some reason, this has been ingrained into our heads throughout the years…  The idea that doing something wrong is fine if you do less of something that is wrong is preposterous to me.  That is like thinking that speeding in your car is OK if you only go 10 miles over the limit rather than 15… speeding is speeding and copyright infringement is copyright infringement.

The proper legal term for this is “de minimis” use.  Or in the long form latin, “de minimis non curat lex” -meaning the law does not care about trivial things.  This is in fact a common defense to a law suit (much like it’s more overused big brother Fair Use).  This is not a RIGHT… but a DEFENSE.  There is a big difference in these two words.

De Minimis VS  Infringement

photocopying a… [Read More]

Much can be said about the ever-changing business of music since the so-called “copyright wars” began, but one thing is certain: ordinary music users are much more copyright conscience than they’ve ever been. There are now entire colleges, such as Belmont University’s College of Entertainment and Music Business, dedicated to the education of music business and copyright law. Major record labels are partnering with music-streaming companies like Pandora and Spotify to perpetuate alternatives to illegal file sharing. Even a federal district judge in New York awarded DMX, a leading provider of commercial music services, the right to pay lower and variable performance licenses to BMI based on direct licensing arrangements with certain publishers.

I think everybody can remember the first time they heard about Napster. It was the shot heard round the world: “I can download music for free?” was everybody’s reaction, in so many words. Music… [Read More]

Digital copyright laws changed again after the Electronic Frontier Foundation won three major and two minor new exemptions to the old DMCA. The three major exemptions affect iPhone owners, video remixers, and eBooks without an audio version. The minor exemptions effect gamers and people using computer programs with dongles. These rulings could affect the way people listen to music, and make music too.

Apple released a statement about the decision to “legalize” jailbreaking iPhones saying that it still violates the end-user license agreement and will void the warranty. Users that have already ran out of their Applecare might choose to Jailbreak for cloud music services like Grooveshark, which is currently not allowed in the US. Of course there are tons of Apps users could enjoy, like GV Mobile which allows users to utilize Google Voice rather than their carrier. If you already started jailbreaking your phone and want ideas of… [Read More]

After being sued by the RIAA, Limewire wants to relaunch its brand as another streaming service that aims to directly compete with Spotify. The service will sync with iTunes and mobile devices all to the cloud. The launch looks like it will be near the end of the year.

But this is all hypothetical, really. Limewire is using this as a defense to remain open for a bit longer. The outcome of the first lawsuit doesn’t look like the company can even exist with infringement costs of $1 billion floating around along with an asset freeze. After this RIAA case is over, Limewire is just beginning with another lawsuit filed by 8 music publishing companies.

In general it looks like there is no end in sight for the legal problems facing cloud services. Google hasn’t made a lot of ground with their cloud based music endeavor, Apple can’t get a… [Read More]

Recently after reading the blog of my friend, John Mackey (one of the most talented young composers for band I have ever known) I learned of the plight that so many composers and songwriters go through facing internet piracy.  So often, because of the size and bulldog tactics of the R.I.A.A. we think of piracy only in terms of lost CD sales and missing download revenue.  There is an entirely different side of the coin.  The writers and composers of the music contained therein are also missing their monies derived from these sales… this is a quite unfortunate by-product of the loss of recorded music sales.  Even more disturbing though is the growth of sheet music “sharing” sites that facilitate the piracy of their actual written work.  Not being a composer or publisher myself, this is an area of the business I hadn’t thought of in terms of… [Read More]