“Angela Washelesky, a partner at Reed Smith who heads that law firm’s trademark practice in its Chicago office, called ripping library CDs ‘total and complete copyright infringement. The fine for that kind of thing is $250,000 per copyrighted work. It is amazing to me that people do not know this.'”
Tag: 10.28.09
UK Sets A Date To Cut Off Illegal File-Sharers
“The Business Secretary, speaking at the digital creative industries conference c&binet, said that if the amount of illegal file-sharing taking place in the UK hadn’t dropped by 70 per cent a year on from April 2010 measures to cut off file-sharers’ connections would come into place from July 2011.”
What’s Wrong With Booksellers’ Price-War Complaint
“The ABA does its members no favors by painting them as helpless victims, undone because Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Target are discounting some popular books. Perhaps the ABA should remind itself that the best neighborhood booksellers inspire affection and allegiance from customers that no online superstore can match.”
Latest Google Option: A Music Search
“The new service will be featured within a standard Google search. Just enter the name of the band or musician, then things like bios, videos and images pop up. Google itself is not selling the music.”
Carnegie’s Gillinson Dismissive Of Stagehand-Pay Story
Calling the lavish compensation of Carnegie Hall stagehands “an old story,” executive director Clive Gillinson “declined to say whether he would seek to reduce [stagehands’] earnings in future” but said that “reducing overtime by sharing work with others … would have a negligible effect on costs.”
Impact Of Carnegie Stagehand Pay On Ticket Prices Murky
“Carnegie declined to say what portion of its $70 million budget (down from $84.5 million two seasons ago) was devoted to stagehand costs, and it is not clear how much those costs contribute to, say, a $154 top-price ticket for a Boston Symphony Orchestra concert next week.”
Hollywood Composers Consider Unionizing
“Composers and lyricists are among the few creatives left without a collective bargaining agreement. Services like orchestration, conducting and music performance are covered by American Federation of Musicians (AFM) agreements, but not the act of writing music or lyrics.”
Where Dallas’s New PAC Falls Short (So Far)
“The city fathers and business leaders understand the value that an exuberant arts community has for a metropolitan area, but the urban developers still have not created a vibrant life, as opposed to a lifestyle, in downtown Dallas, where too many shops on Main Street remain boarded up, and where not enough people live.”
France Tries Giving Young People Free Newspaper Subscriptions
“The government Tuesday detailed plans of a project called ‘My Free Newspaper,’ under which 18- to 24-year-olds will be offered a free, yearlong subscription to a newspaper of their choice.” About 60 titles are taking part in the three-year, €15 million project, including Le Monde, Le Figaro, and the International Herald Tribune.