Server operators who happen to have songs on their servers that are distributed illegally will have to pay the fine of 20000 Euro ($28000) per song: at least in Germany according to the district court in Hamburg. Private downloaders get it much cheaper though. They only have to pay 6000 Euro for the first song, 3000 for the second, 1500 for the third and 600 for all remaining ones. A cheap bargain don’t you think ?
Rootkits: Sony does it again
I would have never thought that a company like Sony would not learn from its mistakes especially after the first rootkit debacle which was a major public relations fiasco for Sony. The first rootkit was placed on several audio CDs that were distributed in 2005 and led to a $6 million settle case in the United States. While the rootkit was intended to make it impossible (albeit ineffectively) to copy music from the CDs it was effectively used by producers of malware, trojans and spyware to hide their code from antivirus software.
Why WGA and DRM will fail
We had two reports last week that gave us the reason why DRM and WGA will fail in the long run. The first story was about Google Video who sold videos with DRM and closed down their service leaving everyone who purchased those videos standing in the rain because it will not be possible to play those videos after Google Video shuts down.
Why DRM is not consumer friendly
I just read an interesting article at Arstechnica by Ken Fisher who was commenting on the termination of Google’s commercial Video service. The termination takes effect in just two days which would not be a big problem if the users who bought or rented videos from the service would still be able to play their purchased videos after that date.
DRM Free Music from iTunes hides account info
Many users were quite happy when Apple announced that they would be selling drm free music at their iTunes online store. It would finally be possible to make one purchase and be able to play the music in your car, mp3 player, computer and other devices. Prices for the drm free music were set higher than for music with drm which did not get the bad feedback that I expected it to get.
Forbes: Why Web Pirates Can’t Be Touched
I’m always a bit worried when a respected news magazine tries to report about topics like Piracy for instance. Most of the time the articles are a bunch of assumptions taken from official biased sources like the RIAA to come to the conclusion how badly piracy affects businesses. Now it is Forbes trying to tell us why web pirates can’t be touched and it begins – who would have thought about that – with The Pirate Bay. They come to the conclusion that The Pirate Bay is shielded by Sweden’s lax copyright laws and international immunity. I personally think that it is a matter of perspective. The laws might be lax from the standpoint of an American company but tight for a Swedish one.
Want to sell used CDs ? Identify yourself !
Some states in the land of the free are pushing new legislations which have the purpose to curb the sale of stolen goods but affect you, me and your local used record store more seriously. Let us take Florida as the prime example how things can get really out of control. Stores who sell used CDs have to apply for a permit. Once a customer comes in they have to take his fingerprints (!) and get a copy of one of their documents that can legally identify them.
