Televised RIAA Hearing Adjourned, Briefs Scheduled 72
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "After the lower court adjourned the hearing scheduled to be televised in SONY BMG Music v. Tenenbaum, in order to give the appeals court time to determine the RIAA's petition for a writ of 'mandamus or prohibition', the appeals court set a briefing schedule. Apparently expecting amicus curiae briefs to be submitted, the appellate court set January 29th as a deadline for filing of amicus briefs. One commentator opines that 'the last thing Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG RIAA attack lawyers want is for people to see them live and in full, glorious color', while another noted Judge Gertner's observation that the arguments raised by the RIAA in the appeals court, relating to the manner of administering the broadcast, had never been raised in the lower court."
Re:Go Judge! (Score:5, Interesting)
Gertner noted that the decision did not limit streaming to the Berkman Center's Web site, saying RIAA also is free to subscribe to the CVN recording and to make it available to the public at a Web site of its choosing, provided that the group observes conditions already set by the court, including streaming unedited material. Gertner's effectively saying "You can stream it yourselves too, assholes!"
yes she is
which pretty much negates all of the RIAA's objections to a biased venue for hosting the stream, doesn't it?
Indeed it does
Easy and just solution (Score:4, Interesting)
They should make the RIAA host copies of the proceedings that people can get as torrents.
Re:mafia enforcers (Score:5, Interesting)
Someone explain to me exactly how the riaa and their like are not the exact same thing as the mafia? And how have we not slapped them all in jail under the RICO laws yet? They sure seem like the exact same thing to me... About the only real diffrence i see at all is the real mafia has some sense of honor and respect. And thats really stretching it.
Well this writer on Dow Jones Market Watch [blogspot.com] agrees with you.
Re:mafia enforcers (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't think the RIAA thinks they are staying within the law.
They view the law as something that must be molded to their desires, and care not if it protects all evenly.
Re:New arguments? (Score:3, Interesting)
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't that mean the court will refuse to hear the claims, then the riaa WILL present them to the lower court, which will then reject them, THEN the riaa will appeal that decision. Essentially amounting to at least 6 months of ridiculous nonsense to settle a few bogus claims?
arguments raised by the RIAA in the appeals court (Score:1, Interesting)
"arguments raised by the RIAA in the appeals court ... had never been raised in the lower court."
If this is a writ of prohibition how is it relevant?
Re:mafia enforcers (Score:5, Interesting)
I have attended several meetings with RIAA executives specifically concerning tactics to prevent piracy among teenagers. I have proposed a marketing model that actually engages piracy in a way that benefits the musicians and labels more than simply selling the music. Nobody bought it. One particularly ignorant turd said something to the effect of "we're not turning this undustry upside-down just because some brats are stealing from us." I compared him to someone refusing to leave their home with a forest fire approaching. End of conversation.
They blame them brat kids for the industry tanking, instead of realizing that it's their fault for failing to adapt. They have been presented numerous options to address the problem, they refuse to make the necessary changes. They curse their luck as they piss into the wind.
A closer comparison would be the tobacco industry. Just be thankful that music doesn't kill anyone.
Re:mafia enforcers (Score:3, Interesting)
The mafia label is just too cool for them. I say we give them back the pirate label, and we call ourselves the mafia. After all, pirates kill, rape, steal, and completely destroy people and goods. And the mafia, the real mafia at least, does very little violence and enables the international distribution of gray market goods.
Re:Go Judge! (Score:5, Interesting)
That is a cover for their real objections to the stream itself. It's like saying, "I don't like cherries" when offered Cherry Pie but the real reason is that it makes your ass fat.
I forget the specifics, but some woman was representing Sony's interests and said on the stand that ripping a cd (simple media shifting) was exactly the same as stealing.
That's the real reason they don't want it televised. They have enjoyed a vague understanding of copyright and the exact nature of the agreement between the copyright holders and the public at large. Most people have never really understood just what it was that they bought. There has been no clear and explicit statement in laymens terms of just what rights people have to the intellectual property they bought on some continually degrading piece of plastic with grooves, magnetic tape, or piece of plastic that is all shiny. Even less so when there is nothing physical that you can pick up, just all of your music in a laptop or computer.
When the RIAA lawyers, and any Big Media interests testify what their real feelings are regarding our rights, most people would be scathingly pissed off and rightly complain that was not the deal they understood when they bought the music in the stores and later online.
No, No, No. They want to litigate in private where only the smallest tiniest slice of America ever gets to see them present their arguments, since they know their customers would object and the customers are always right .
Re:mafia enforcers (Score:3, Interesting)
Umm, So Dante, when you left the meeting, were you advised to not look backwards so that you could escape the bowels of Hell unmolested?
No, I looked backwards, to let them know I would be back. They then torpedoed my other projects. I didn't suffer from it, but others did. I'll never make that mistake again.
There is a word that is feared by everyone in the music industry that can't live up to their promises: guarantee. Watch out for that word. It's going to pop up in weird places in the next year.
Re:But that isn't their problem (Score:3, Interesting)
.. and, of course, after their "value add" of editing out the bits they don't like ..
I like the judges blunt hint that they're welcome to do their own thing with the material IF CONDITIONS ARE OBSERVED. I have the feeling she's got these guy's measure, which is why their current SCO-esque objection strategy is liable to spectacularly backfire.
One can only hope for additional sanctions, because without it it'll only be one case lost against the profit of thousands. Sure, the game is over but if they get to keep the illegal coin it will does not send a message to other legal system gamers that abuse is no longer a tolerated strategy.
IMHO there is a need for judges to start thinking about what to do to clock back the systematic abuse. It is destroying (umm, no, already has) the reputation of the US legal system. Having said that, it's a screaming mess in the UK too who have the added problem that they have full jails so jailtime is probably by invitation now. And the guy who caused this shortage can thus not be locked up either :-/
OK, back to topic. I think this recording needs to be published and maybe sold on CD on a site where you can also donate to whatever effort is set up to go after the RIAA *MEMBERS* for the previous cases as they appear to have been mainly based on misdirection of judges and public. And the RIAA should not be allowed to act as shielding device - there is no way the members can claim they didn't know or were not involved in the strategy and decision. That should have been clear after the first babies and dead people were sued.
It's cleanup time.