Universal sues MySpace
"If you give a mouse a cookie" - Hot off the Zune deal, Universal wants more...and sues MySpace.
The announcement came literally hours after MySpace made a press release regarding a new copyright protection campaign. The new update to the site would make its users more aware of copyright violation, and make it easier to remove offending material. The tools were designed partly for the copyright owners directly, so that they could easily report any infractions.
Of course, Universal is sueing MySpace for its past stance on copyright, which was that it is expressly forbidden to post copyrighted content, but up to the user to actually do. To pad damages further, the company says that MySpace not only condoned but facilitated piracy, because the site forced users to convert video and music into a standard format before uploading.
Universal Music expects that each violation should be worth around $150,000 USD.
So there you have it. Give an RIAA member a little money, and they'll go sue someone. At least it's not a dead guy's heirs this time. Got a thought on the suit? Tell us about it in our forums.
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So we can see the back of the whining emo kid/goth wannabe myspaces then - sounds good to me.
So long MySpace :(
I don't understand why they are not taking the same approach as with YouTube, instead of killing the service with one large hammer fist, could they not implement some sort of content checking functionality?
Of course, this is assuming they just don't want to kill off any existing models that may interfere with the Zune to be released Marketplace? ;)
rupbert
:(
asside from that... I don't like myspace, however, I would hate for it to be shut down, that would cause a sudden rush of internet dependant ingrates to suddenly flood the entire internet with pictures of their nipples... Rather than just myspace.
That would be the vroominator 3000
One of the reasons I avoid myspace like the plague is how everyones myspace...space has 3 music and video streams going all at one. So whenever you open a new page you get bombarded with sound.
If it gets rid of this, or even myspace itself, then I won't be missing anything at all.
cant
remove
MySpace
what would all the Emo's do??? its nice to keep them all in one place, it keeps them away from the rest of us :S -- dang! ;p
Or, actually, two days ago according to Digg. Either way it's been the WEEKEND and some of us actually do other things in that time. If you heard it before that then good for you but no need for the snarkyness
but seriously, the RIAA is just after more money to improve their own lives whilst destroying other peoples. i dunno how "Tom" is gonna pay for this or even if he is..
how much content exactly is there on myspace O,o.. jesus, theyre truely screwed
-ed out
Everyone knows these lawsuits are just greedy attempts to steal money. The fact is the internet, or even a single site as large as myspace, is impossible to police. no site of such size should be expected to be aware of a million pages that get changed ten thousand times a day, theres not enough manpower available to monitor every change to every webpage immediately as they are changed. If copyright is being infringed, the copyright holder should contact the site and ask it to be removed. if it is not removed then they should ask for an injunction or whatever to have the site shut down. but all this asking 150,000 per violation is stupid and it should be thrown out of court and they should be fined for wasting the courts time on frivolous lawsuits.
btw, in most all cases where no profit is made, I have trouble with mpaa/riaa/whoever saying money is owed them for copyright infringement. If they had their way, we would all pay for everysingle time we even remembered a song, much less actually played it on our computer. If I'm not selling pirated material for profit there are few circumstances where I think any legal action should be taken. something like a myspace page is more like an advertisement displaying someones personality and some copyright material may be necessary in order to convey a persons thoughts or feelings. Kind of like those collages they had us do in school where they required kids to use copyright images from magazines to convey something.
No, just use other means to support your bands:
DONT buy online music, buy CDs/DVDs.
Go to gigs and buy merchandise.
reminds me of the somewhat forgotten employment of the "if what you play on your instrument is recognisable, you owe us" policy that MPA implemented in public areas. I'ts as though they're trying to completely dry the world out of all that is fun and creative. And turning music from an art form into a buisness opportunity where millions can be had at the expense of people who appreciate music. If i want to play some pink floyd on my guitar, it shouldnt be my head on a plate.. not that i can get any tabs anymore :(
suppose i farted to the rhythm of a Metallica song, would i be in debt
actually i hadnt . but this is probably due to actually visiting that site about 5 times in my life (and only to check out bands) and assumed it was similar to a profile site i used to use "facewhore" recently dubbed "profilenation" which was payed for and run by one man. So heh, learn something new each day i guess :D even if it does sound like a master conspiracy plan
They are now being sued.
Am I the only one not surprised by this? I think I am going to patent breathing so that everybody has to pay me royalties for living!
-ed out
What's illegal about that? Is it because the store will have a copy remaining on the machine they ripped the disc on?
:?
*Great podcast btw
I'll buy theyre merch and Ill pay to see them play live... but something that theyve recorded and sold... then personaly I think what they sold for money isnt theres anymore.. If someone shares it with the world using their computer then they should be proud, not money grabbing. Think of the bands that have become successful thru online distribution - NO - think of every band out there.. I havnt got the money to buy all their material so why should I be denied their music?
Thats just my weird take on things