Copyright & Media Update – 8/12/16

August 14, 2016

David Lowery’s Major Class-Action Lawsuit Against Spotify Fights to Change Modern Music Industry

BY MARK YARM: At 55, Lowery has become better known for his musical activism than his recording history. He’s a sharp-tongued critic of how Silicon Valley makes money off musicians, and perhaps the most vocal and high-profile artist currently advocating for musicians’ rights. A music business professor at the University of Georgia since 2011, Lowery has very publicly feuded with the music-tech community, often via the blog he co-founded, the Trichordist, which champions an “ethical and sustainable internet.” READ MORE…

Dept. of Justice Slams BMI’s Protest of Licensing Changes

BY ED CHRISTMAN: In a letter to Judge Louis Stanton, who presides over the rate court that determines what performance rights organization (PRO) BMI can charge for various uses of its members’ work, the U.S. Dept of Justice (DOJ) has responded to BMI’s challenge of its interpretation that the consent decree requires the performing rights organization to license songs on a “full-works” basis… “Just five months ago, BMI told this Court that its licenses provide “immediate access to the more than 10.5 million works in BMI’s repertoire,” according to the DOJ letter. READ MORE…

Government Arrests Founder of Illegal File-Sharing Website

BY CATRINA DENNIS: It was only a matter of time. The “Most-Visited Illegal File-Sharing Website” on the internet, Kickass Torrents, took a major blow today when its founder, Artem Vaulin, was arrested today in Poland on charges of copyright infringement. Despite living in Ukraine, the U.S. is looking to extradite Vaulin back to the states, where he’s charged with a criminal complaint by the U.S. District Court in Chicago. The site offers free torrents that contain files for popular movies, TV shows, software, and countless other digitally-produced pieces of copyrighted material, which the U.S. says totals out to over $1 billion dollars’ worth of an infringement. READ MORE…

Music Industry’s New War Is About So Much More Than Copyright

BY DAVID HOLMES: Taylor Swift has “declared war” on YouTube. Or at least that’s how some have characterized the open letter signed by Swift, U2, and around 180 other artists last month, calling on lawmakers to reform the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, or DMCA. The DMCA, says the letter, “is broken and no longer works for creators.” The letter takes aim specifically at Section 512 of the law, which gives user-generated content platforms “safe harbor” from liabilities related to copyright infringement. READ MORE…

About Christian Copyright Solutions: CCS’s quest is to help churches and Chris tian ministries “do music right.” CCS is an expert on church music copyrights and our primary focus is providing licensing and clear educational resources to churches, as well as representation, administration and advocacy for copyright owners. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

Categorized in: , , , , , , , , ,