Recording industry under fire
March 26, 2008 3 Comments
Interesting challenge to the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) anti-piracy suits are being challenged in court:
As it has done with lawsuits against college students around the country, the RIAA offered to settle the case if Ms. Andersen paid a few thousand dollars. But Ms. Andersen decided to fight back in federal court and even countersued, arguing that the way the organization hunts for music pirates is illegal. The RIAA employs a company called Media Sentry to search out copyright infringers.
Did Simon and Garfunkel ever pay royalties to the estate of Peruvian composer Daniel Alomía Robles for El Cóndor Pasa? Did Alomía Robles ever pay money to the Andean Indians who inspired him? The whole notion of paying for music is silly.
If you’re interested in any of the record company suits, attorney Ray Beckermann has a pretty in depth blog covering tons of the cases called Recording Industry vs the People. It’s a good place to look every so often.
Thanks, Steve! I’ll take a look.