Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    

That's what scares me the most.  Well, almost the most.  Very, very close.
  

    
Reuters is reporting that UMG has announced that it will release
copy-protected CDs beginning next month and that it plans that all of
its CDs will be copy-protected by early next year.  See
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7299321.html>
  

    

  How nice, intentionally defective media that won't play on many
existing players.
  

    

(didn't evilsofa work for UMG?)
  

    

Here's the funny part: some people (like me) won't buy the new CDs.

Not impossibly, music sales will drop.

Who will be blamed? Napster, of course.
  

    

On slashdot there is the frequent assertion that, by making these "copy
protected" CDs, they are no longer compliant with the CD standard. Is this
in fact the case, and if so, is it likely to be made any sort of big deal
of?

Also, a hearty agreement with 80.
  

    

  As I understand this, the supposedly "copy-protected" CDs have burned
into them some deliberate low-level errors that tend to be inaudible
when played through your speakers but which defeat most players that
try to copy the actual bits.  So why not just record the audio?  I guess
they feel that's a lesser problem since it's not a perfect bit-for-bit
copy.  Anyway, the major problem is that there are lots and lots of CD
players that in fact cannot handle so many deliberate errors and just
spit the disc back out at you.

  I'm with y'all -- absolutely no "copy-protected" CD purchases for me.
Whatever happened to "fair use" in all this, anyway?  Sheesh.
  

    
Thanks rob... you make a great straight man....
Jessica, I love your book and urge anyone interested in modern copywrite to
read this book.  It's fantastic.....
Using Bob as the straight man.  Is there something we can grab onto besides
1st use and licence?  In some instances 1st use seems to be better for
everyone until we move it over to electronics.  Is there another way?  the
Act that we must adhere to now is over 30k in pages alone.  we have to
simplyfy, and as you said in my own words... 'make it as simple as possible
so that a child can understnad the rules."
  

    

  Who is "rob"?  Do you mean me?
  

    
typo - sorry rab.
  

    

I notice that vard's "bio" in the introduction mentions "right of publicity."
There's an article in the latest issue of Brill's Content that addresses this
expanding field, which I think is related to the other issues we're talking
about here.

> Celebrities are increasingly invoking the so-called right of publicity to
> prevent others from exploiting their fame. But everyone else's First Amend-
> ment rights are being weakened in the process.

http://www.inside.com/product/product.asp?entity=&pf_ID={EF4B691BCC31-46BB-9DC
8-78E5746FB37E}
  

    

David, that URL returns a "this product could not be found."
  

    

I did a search of Brill's Content for "right of publicity" and got a very
similar URL:

http://www.inside.com/product/Product.asp?pf_id={EF4B691B-CC31-46BB-9DC8-78E57
46FB37E}

But all it yield was a single sentence and an opportunity to subscribe to
Brill's Content for $23.95, or $2.95 to read the full article.  Here's
what you get for free:

Legal Affairs: The New Protected Class 
Celebrities are increasingly invoking the so-called right of publicity to
prevent others from exploiting their fame. But everyone else's First
Amendment rights are being weakened in the process. 
by Adam Liptak 
Brills Content Magazine 

Monday, August 20, 2001 6:40:00 PM 
  

    

Well, certainly nothing in that blurb is news.

But I have not read the article.
  

    
That's the piece, all right.  I didn't realize they were charging for
content.

I'm traveling all day today.  I'll see if I can come up with the full text
and summarize it.
  

    
_The Internet Under Siege_, an article in the December issue of
Foreign Policy Magazine by Lawrence Lessig, professor of law at
Stanford University.
<http://www.foreignpolicy.com/issue_novdec_2001/lessig.html>

I'd appreciate comment.  Especially from Ms. Litman if she's still on
The WELL.
  

    

I emailed with Jessica two days ago but she has not been on the Well for a
couple of weeks.
  

    

  A very interesting article; he's definitely got hold of some
important ideas there.