RIAA: Copyright Holders Make it Difficult to Replicate OiNK, What.CD
RIAA pres Cary Sherman says the failed sue-em-all campaign was really a success because it was "constantly generating dinner conversations about what you may or may not do with your computer." He also doubts that legal music stores will ever have the selection of music that P2P offers because of the complexity in trying to get permission from various copyright ... Continue Reading
Thu September 02 2010
Falsely Accused UK File-Sharers Urged to Sue for “Harassment”
UK law firm Ralli is urging those that have been "bullied" by ACS: Law with threatening letters and demands for compensation for alleged copyright infringement to come forward and be included in a group action they are pursuing.
Lawyers at UK law firm Ralli are trying to round up support from file-sharers that have been "bullied" by ACS Law with threatening ... 3 comments | Read More
Wed September 01 2010
Scam Artists Use HADOPI to Steal Users Money
News has surfaced that warning letters, allegedly from HADOPI, are being sent to an untold number of French citizens who are accused of copyright infringement. The problem? Neither HADOPI nor rights holders actually sent those e-mails.
It seems that HADOPI can't catch a break. After a series of revelations ranging from questions over where the money ... 0 comments | Read More
Pirate Bay Documentary Reaches Fundraising Goal
Filmmakers working on a documentary about the BitTorrent tracker site, The Pirate Bay: Away From Keyboard (TPB: AFK), reach their goal of $25,000 to pay for renting a studio and film editor to create a "observational, character driven film about three guys whose hobby homepage became the embryo of a global political movement."
A pair of Swedish filmmakers have managed to ... 0 comments | Read More
ZeroPaid Interviews Russell McOrmond 2 – Canadian Bill C-32 (Part 3 of 3)
We have been interviewing Russell McOrmond. The interview is in three parts. Parts 1 and 2 are already available. We now conclude our three part interview.
We have been interviewing Russell McOrmond in a three part interview. In part 1, we discussed the complexity of Bill C-32, copyright terms and anti-circumvention provisions. ... 0 comments | Read More
Tue August 31 2010
HADOPI – Three Strikes Letters ‘Imminent’
After all the problems with the famed French three strikes, Security General for HADOPI, Eric Walter, has publicly commented that the letters are coming out imminently.
It was during an online public question and answer period in La Tribune that Walter said (Google Translation) in answer to when the letters are coming that they "always said she would not ... 1 comment | Read More
ZeroPaid Interviews Russell McOrmond 2 – Canadian Bill C-32 (Part 2 of 3)
We are currently in the process of interviewing Russell McOrmond, a well known observer of Canadian copyright and policy consultant. You can read part 1 here.
In the previous part of our interview, we discussed the complexity of copyright, the length of copyright and anti-circumvention provisions found within Bill C-32. We continue with our interview:
ZeroPaid (ZP): A ... 1 comment | Read More
Metal Band Blasts U2 Band Manager’s Criticism of P2P
Gama Bomb frontman Philly Byrne is "stunned" that Paul McGuinness believes implementing a "three-strikes" regime to punish illegal file-sharer is less worse than suing them in court being that both are a prosecution of the "very people artists rely on." Endorses the idea of free content as a "route to profit," and says that the "freely distributed album is the ... 6 comments | Read More
ZeroPaid Interviews Russell McOrmond 2 – Canadian Bill C-32 (Part 1 of 3)
About two years ago, we interviewed a Canadian consultant to discuss various issues surrounding copyright. It was a fascinating interview and here making his return is Russell McOrmond for a second interview.
Russell McOrmond has always had interesting insights in to Canadian copyright as it impacts technology, creators, consumers and businesses. Over three months before Bill C-61 ... 2 comments | Read More
Mon August 30 2010
ACTA Officials Firm on September Completion Time
Earlier this month, we noted that officials working within ACTA are saying that September is when the negotiations will be finalized. Another report has surfaced that seems to confirm these intentions.
ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) has had quite a roller-coaster of a ride over the years it was being negotiated. Negotiations started as far back as 2007, ... 4 comments | Read More
Don Henley: “Eliminate or Drastically Limit Safe Harbor Provision”
Famed Eagles singer says that without fixing the current Safe Harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) copyright holders are "left with the unjustifiable and oppressive burden of constant policing" practically every site on the Internet, and complains that digital music retailers "bullied" the record industry into getting rid of DRM.
Don Henley, the famed Eagles singer best ... 14 comments | Read More
S Dakota ISP Refuses to Comply With “Hurt Locker” Lawsuits
Midcontinent Communications doubts that the Washington DC court where the mass BitTorrent lawsuits was filed even has jurisdiction over the midwest-based ISP, and refuses to comply until the film's producers produce a "valid subpoena from a court with subpoena power."
Another ISP is fighting back against the ridiculous efforts by the producers of the Academy Award-winning movie “The Hurt ... 0 comments | Read More
Sun August 29 2010
Exclusive: Creative Commons Monitoring Czech Copyright Developments
Last Thursday, we broke the story that the Czech government was drafting a copyright bill that would legally gut the usability of Creative Commons. Since then, we've asked Creative Commons what their view on the situation was.
It's becoming the draft copyright bill heard around the world. The draft suggests that the government is preparing a bill ... 3 comments | Read More
Sat August 28 2010
ZeroPaid Interviews Renaud Veeckman – The Man Who Trademarked HADOPI
Earlier this month, we noted a development where a French citizen managed to trademark HADOPI faster than the government. Now, we have the great opportunity to interview the man himself who did it.
His name is Renaud Veeckman and his name is quickly becoming more and more recognizable around the world. When the French government was putting ... 4 comments | Read More
French National Assembly Liable for Gross Negligence in HADOPI?
Normally, we wouldn't make fun of a website for being insecure, but we can make an exception in this case. It turns out, the website for the French National Assembly is vulnerable to an iFrame hack. This means that anyone with enough web coding skill could use the site as a launching pad for copyright infringement - leaving ... 0 comments | Read More
RIAA Record Label Founder Says Internet Not Music’s Enemy
Just shortly after Stevie Nicks said that the Internet has destroyed rock, the founder of Elektra Records, an RIAA record label according to RIAA Radar, says that music has a bright future and the internet is not the enemy.
There's a fascinating article over on CNet which shows that Jac Holzman, founder of Elektra Records and helped ... 5 comments | Read More
Fri August 27 2010
Tech Groups Line Up to Oppose Mandatory Cell Phone FM Tuner
Says plans for the RIAA and NAB to press Congress to mandate FM chips in portable electronic devices are not "about public safety but are instead about propping up a business which consumers are abandoning as they avail themselves of new, more consumer-friendly options."
Outrage is growing as more people learn of plans under ... 4 comments | Read More
Tenenbaum Appeals Reduced P2P Fine, Says $67,500 “Equally Insane”
Convicted file-sharer Joel Tenenbaum was originally ordered to pay record labels $675,000 in damages, and even though it was reduced to $67,500 for being “unconstitutionally excessive," he says that even the reduced amount it "equally insane" and that it "only sounds reasonable because it was so much before."
Last August Joel Tenenbaum was found guilty of copyright infringement for illegally ... 0 comments | Read More
Thu August 26 2010
Czech Gov’t Drafting Copyright Bill to Legally Gut Creative Commons, Chop Creators Royalties By Nearly Half
If you ever thought that no one would ever actually legally attack Creative Commons and, if they did, you'd hear about it, consider this the article you "hear about it". A draft copyright bill from the Czech Republic has leaked online and it may be one of the most disturbing copyright bills ever created.
One of the key aspects of ... 9 comments | Read More
Radio Pres: Forced Cell Phone FM Tuner is “Pro-Consumer”
National Association of Broadcasters executive vice president Dennis Wharton blasts critics for using usual "Washington-style tactics" that are "long on exaggeration, rhetoric and factual inaccuracies," and cites evidence of a growing radio audience as proof that "cell phone subscribers deserve access to radio's free service." Says opposition is a "simple case of anti-competitive behavior."
Last week I mentioned how reports ... 9 comments | Read More
UK P2P Warning Letters “Falling Behind Schedule”
Open Rights Group reports that Ofcom is having a tough time developing a code of practice delineating how ISPs will be forced to comply with the Digital Economy Act, meaning that the required December deadline will continue "to cause error and uncertainty" and will fail "to give proper reassurance about the effect on our fundamental rights."
This past April ... 1 comment | Read More
