----- Forwarded message from Dave Farber <[email protected]> ----- Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:38:19 -0400 From: Dave Farber <[email protected]> Subject: [IP] Today's WTF moment....RIAA: U.S. copyright law 'isn't working' Reply-To: [email protected] To: ip <[email protected]> FF35F7C4-AF32-11DF-BE80-953CB9A70387:
Begin forwarded message: > From: Richard Forno <[email protected]> > Date: August 23, 2010 7:21:44 PM EDT > To: List Infowarrior <[email protected]> > Cc: Farber Dave <[email protected]> > Subject: Today's WTF moment....RIAA: U.S. copyright law 'isn't working' > > > If you look up "chutzpah" in the dictonary, you'll find the RIAA. You can't > make this stuff up!!! > > August 23, 2010 2:48 PM PDT > RIAA: U.S. copyright law 'isn't working' > > by Declan McCullagh > > http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20014468-38.html > > ASPEN, Colo.--The Recording Industry Association of America said on Monday > that current U.S. copyright law is so broken that it "isn't working" for > content creators any longer. > > RIAA President Cary Sherman said the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act > contains loopholes that allow broadband providers and Web companies to turn a > blind eye to customers' unlawful activities without suffering any legal > consequences. > > "The DMCA isn't working for content people at all," he said at the Technology > Policy Institute's Aspen Forum here. "You cannot monitor all the > infringements on the Internet. It's simply not possible. We don't have the > ability to search all the places infringing content appears, such as > cyberlockers like [file-hosting firm] RapidShare." > > The complex--and controversial--1998 law grew out of years of negotiations > with broadband providers, Internet companies, and content industries. One key > section says companies are generally not liable for hosting > copyright-infringing materials posted by their companies, as long as they > follow certain removal procedures, once contacted by the owner. > > In response to a question from CNET, Sherman said it may be necessary for the > U.S. Congress to enact a new law targeting intermediaries such as broadband > providers, Web hosts, payment processors, and search engines. > > The RIAA would strongly prefer informal agreements inked with intermediaries, > Sherman said: "We're working on [discussions with broadband providers], and > we'd like to extend that kind of relationship--not just to ISPs, but [also > to] search engines, payment processors, advertisers." > > But, Sherman said, "if legislation is an appropriate way to facilitate that > kind of cooperation, fine." > > Lance Kavanaugh, product counsel for YouTube, disagreed that copyright law is > broken. "It's our view that the DMCA is functioning exactly the way Congress > intended it to," he said. > > The United States leads the world in the creation of innovative new Web > ideas, Kavanaugh said, in part as a result of the compromises made when > drafting that law: "There's legal plumbing to allow that to happen, to allow > those small companies to innovate without [the] crushing fear of lawsuits, as > long as they follow certain rules. Congress was prescient. They struck the > right balance." > > Last week, the RIAA and a dozen other music industry groups called on Google > and Verizon to crack down on piracy, saying in a letter that "the current > legal and regulatory regime is not working for America's creators." > > Sherman acknowledged on Monday that YouTube is now doing a fine job of > filtering and removing copyright-infringing videos. But, he said, Google > "could stop filtering tomorrow and have no liability," as long as its YouTube > subsidiary replied promptly to notifications. > > And, he suggested, it could do far more: "If you enter in 'Beyonce MP3,' > chances are, the first thing you'll see is illegal sites." > > Disclosure: McCullagh is married to a Google employee not involved with this > topic. ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=125750&id_secret=125750-5bb6cf56 Unsubscribe Now: https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=125750&id_secret=125750-6876700a Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com ----- End forwarded message -----
