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Monday, October 29, 2007

"If there's a bustle in your hedgerow ...

Don't be alarmed now.
It's just a spring clean for the May Queen."

Just what the hell does that mean? I've wondered for more than 30 years.

But my real questions is, if Zep really still owns the rights to their music who sold Cadillac the rights to use it in their commercials?

From Rock Gods to Ringtones

Posted by Alan Wexelblat

As you've no doubt seen by now, the remaining members of Led Zeppelin have finally agreed to release their complete collection on iTunes, along with a special purchase item that bundles all 141 tunes. Verizon Wireless will also be offering Zep ringtones.

The band has famously refused most prior commercial uses of their music, with one amusing exception: Jack Black begged them for the rights to use "Immigrant Song".

Posted by: Send an e-mail to Terry Frazier Terry Frazier at 10:19 AM  | Permanent Link  | Trackback URL | 
Categories: Copyright, Music


Thursday, August 31, 2006

Need Creative Commons Counsel

My friend Matt Mower is doing some interesting stuff with digital identity over at PAOGA. The company's mission is to give us - you, me, the 'consumer', the real person - control of our data. Data that is now spread across, on average, nearly 1,000 different computer systems around the world. It's a big challenge. A revolutionary idea. An idea that needs to be championed and pushed and grown.

PAOGA is almost ready to beta test an early version of their PAOGAPerson persona management system. They'd like to work with Creative Commons to develop appropriate licensing for this application. It seems clear that there is a need for licensing. After all, the whole purpose of controlling our own data is to control the how and where of its use.

But so far Matt's inquires to the CC organization in London have gone nowhere. Can anyone offer assistance or a good CC contact?
Posted by: Send an e-mail to Terry Frazier Terry Frazier at 12:00 AM  | Permanent Link  | Trackback URL | 
Categories: Business & Finance, Copyright


Thursday, November 24, 2005

RIAA President Cary Sherman on Sony/BMG DRM-Spyware

RIAA President Cary Sherman during an online chat with college newspaper reporters:
There is nothing unusual about technology being used to protect intellectual property. You can't simply make an extra copy of a Microsoft operating system, or virtually any other commercially-released software program for that matter. Same with videogames. Movies, too, are protected. Why should CDs be any different?

The problem with the SonyBMG situation is that the technology they used contained a security vulnerability of which they were unaware. They have apologized for their mistake, ceased manufacture of CDs with that technology,and pulled CDs with that technology from store shelves. Seems very responsible to me. How many times that software applications created the same problem? Lots. I wonder whether they've taken as aggressive steps as SonyBMG has when those vulnerabilities were discovered, or did they just post a patch on the Internet?

One other thing to point out: The music industry has been more permissive about copying of its copyrighted product than virtually any other industry. How many burns are you allowed of a movie? None. How many of a videogame? None. You get the idea. Even the CDs with content protection allow consumers to burn 3 copies or so for personal use. The idea is not to inhibit personal use, but to allow personal use but discourage (not prevent, you can never prevent) copying well beyond personal use.
Mr. Sherman, Microsoft doesn't give Windows away over the air, for free, to anyone who cares to listen. Microsoft doesn't infect customers' computers with software expressly designed to be invisible, undetectable, and non-removeable. Microsoft doesn't (yet) rampantly ignore the intellectual property rights of its customers in the drive to protect its own.

That's what spyware companies do, and SonyBMG infected millions of computers with DRM-spyware. That you are either too stupid to grasp this, or too disengenuous to admit it, confirms again that you and your industry simply cannot be trusted to define personal use, or set the rules for any sort of intellectual property law in this country.

Repeat after me: DRM-spyware. DRM-spyware. DRM-spyware. DRM-spyware. DRM-spyware. DRM-spyware...
Posted by: Send an e-mail to Terry Frazier Terry Frazier at 5:43 PM  | Permanent Link  | Trackback URL | 
Categories: Copyright, DMCA, Music, RIAA
Terry W. Frazier
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