There is quite an astounding comparison to be made here with Novell-Microsoft
(or even SCO, albeit more remotely).
Universal Music sues MySpace over music copyrights
,----[ Quote ]
| Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, said on
| Friday it filed a lawsuit against popular social networking site
| MySpace for infringing copyrights of thousands of its artists' works.
`----
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061117/tc_nm/media_universal_myspace_dc
Allow me to explain why it is so similar to the Novell/SCO strategy.
Firstly, Microsoft uses its dominant position (monopoly) to pressure smaller
companies.
Microsoft Universal deal sure to be challenged
,----[ Quote ]
| It looks to us like this payment might be construed as an abuse of
| dominant position, and might get challenged, certainly in countries
| in Europe. You cannot be in a dominant position and ask for money
| for something that doesn't involve the sale of your product. If
| Universal tries this with Apple, Steve Jobs would, we are sure,
| have no qualms in cutting it out of a huge amount of existing
| music revenue.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/16/ms_universal_zune_deal/
Now it makes 'source code' allegations without being specific (the
so-called 'criminal' does not violate the T&C).
Microsoft's war waged with FairUse4WM
,----[ Quote ]
| In September, Microsoft filed suit against the hacker(s) responsible
| for one such DRM-stripping program, FairUse4WM, purportedly created
| by the now notorious Viodentia. Other such programs reportedly target
| the DRM protections of the iTunes Music Store and AllOfMP3, among
| others. What will become of Microsoft's lawsuit? What does this have
| to do with "fair use" and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
| (DMCA)? What follows is a brief overview in two parts. In the first,
| we'll discuss current issues surrounding fair use with regard to the
| DMCA, and in the second we'll approach Microsoft's legal actions
| against Viodentia for FairUse4WM.
`----
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/13/microsofts-war-waged-with-fairuse4wm/
See how it stresses everybody out, the customers included.
A Legitimate Reason to Hate the Zune (And Microsoft Too)
,----[ Quote ]
| Here's the situation: Microsoft has agreed to pay a portion of
| the profits from the sales of the Zune to a record company
| (Universal) because the Zune will undoubtedly be used to
| store unpurchased songs.
|
| [...]
|
| Here it is important to remember a few simple things. The
| money goes to the Universal, not to the artists.
|
| [...]
|
| Microsoft's move sets a bad precedent and turns all consumers into
| thieves without evidence.
`----
http://www.applematters.com/index.php/section/comments/a-legitimate-reason-to-hate-the-zune-and-microsoft-too/
"It's time to get paid for it", says Mr. Greedy. Never mind the fact that a
huge number of bands make their music freely available on the Net (thanks,
Net neutrality). That's most likely a majority of the music played by people
it they _at all_ use their players as 'repositories'.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, QOTSA, T.I. Rock For Zune
,----[ Quote ]
| "These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all
| know it," UMG chairman/CEO Doug Morris says. "So it's time to
| get paid for it."
`----
http://billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003380831
Microsoft made up some allegations. It was _not_ being specific. It could not
identify what was stolen and, if so, how it was stolen.
Microsoft sues over source code theft
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft has filed a federal lawsuit against an alleged hacker who
| broke through its copy protection technology, charging that the
| mystery developer somehow gained access to its copyrighted source code.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6119892.html
It's clearly flawed by design. DRM has no prospects as it frustrates the
customers.
QTFairUse6 Updated Hours After iTunes7 Release
,----[ Quote ]
| "Mere hours after iTunes 7's release, QTFairUse6 has received an update
| which enables it to continue stripping iTunes songs of their 'FairPlay'
| DRM. Some features are experimental but at least it's proof that the
| concept still works."
`----
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/13/1354252&from=rss
This has the adverse effect.
MPAA: Frustrated Consumers Will Pirate
,----[ Excerpt ]
| The MPAA's Brad Hunt outlined some of the ways the MPAA is working
| to standardize content protection controls in the age of digital
| home networking. But he also acknowledged that piracy is the
| consumer's answer to the content industry's inability to provide
| a simple digital-rights-management solution.
`----
http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20061016/tc_zd/191502
Make up some figures to change the law and get the governments to write laws
which ban DRM 'abuse'. Gain sympathy using lies...
Piracy figures are inflated say criminologists
,----[ Quote ]
| A draft report by the Australian Institute of Criminology says
| copyright holders are making up piracy figures in order to sway
| governments to their side.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35580
The court is skeptical. It sounds funny.
,----[ Quote ]
| A US court is forcing the Recording Industry of America to explain why
| it charges people it catches pirating $750 a single rather than the 70
| cents they flog them to retailers for.
|
| In the case UMG v. Lindor, Judge Trager has allowed Ms Lindor, who the
| RIAA claim is a pirate, to challenge the $750 a track it wants in
| damages.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35669
PJ linked to the following today:
'Imagine that you are a file-sharer. You download songs to your computer for
your personal use. You think of it like recording songs from the radio. Now
imagine that a plaintiff sues you for downloading the one song to which she
holds a registered copyright. Suppose the plaintiff knows that her monetary
loss caused by your conduct is exactly one dollar. At trial, this plaintiff
can elect to recover statutory damages for copyright infringement and
thereby receive a guaranteed $750 in damages, all but one dollar of
which would be noncompensatory in nature.... Now suppose that you
have...accumulated some four thousand songs.... you are now liable for at
least three million dollars in statutory damages to a plaintiff who has
suffered four thousand dollars in monetary harm. At this point, a
"suspicious judicial eyebrow" might be raised. - J. Cam Barker, Texas Law
Review - Texas Law Review'
http://www.ilrweb.com/viewILRPDF.asp?filename=83TexasLRev525
DRM clearly has no prospects, says someone in the music industry. It's
customer abuse.
Big labels are f*cked, and DRM is dead - Peter Jenner
,----[ Quote ]
| Few people know the music industry better than Peter Jenner. Pink
| Floyd's first manager, who subsequently managed Syd Barrett's solo
| career, Jenner has also looked after T.Rex, The Clash, Ian Dury,
| Disposable Heroes and Billy Bragg - who he manages today. He's also
| secretary general of the International Music Managers Forum.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/03/peter_jenner/
meanwhile, Bill Gates carries on talking to governments as he tried to change
the law to favour his policies and personal interests (nothing humanitarian,
forget about charity and philanthropy).
,----[ Quote ]
| "A source that deals with the company said unofficially that Gates
| proposed Microsoft's Digital Rights Management technology as a national
| standard to fight piracy at the governmental level."
`----
http://www.kommersant.com/p719683/r_528/
|
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