Hey, Big Five — Copyright This!
	found on: IDG written by Prairieman, edited by Tim (Plastic) [ read unedited ] posted Wed 19 Jun 12:11pm
		"Who saw this one coming?" asks Prairieman. "A class action lawsuit has been filed against the five major record labels for manufacturing and distributing defective or dysfunctional compact discs. Of course those CD's in question are those that copyright protected. The suit also includes the fact that the Big Five do not tell consumers which CDs have said protection. This marks the first such suit against the five companies filed by consumers since the whole copyright/piracy issue became so annoying. The music industry spokesmen called the suit "frivolous" and that basically lawyers would sue anyone for money. So, is this the first real shot by consumers in the digital war? Or is this merely a legal scuffle that will be found in favor of the Big Five?"

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show almost all: 25 commentsbest: 7 comments by oldest first (ignore threads) newest first highest scores first oldest first newest first (ignore threads)

1.  Scenarios   by Smallest       at Wed 19 Jun 12:31pm score of 1.5 funny     They RIAA is found guilty and has to label all future CDs as being "non-computer compatible". Sales on these titles fall off. Or, CD-ROM drive manufacturers will figure out what it takes to get around whatever it is that makes these CDs unplayable on their drives (wether it's a hardware or software issue); this assumes they can do this without running afoul of the DMCA; since it could be technically seen as a way around a copy protection system. If the DMCA turns out to be an issue, CD-ROM makers can assert that their products are used as the primary means of playing music CDs for a large number of people (like me, who plays CDs all day long at work) and therefore the CDs really are defective. Then, burned by the majors, the masses turn to independent labels and, ten years too late, Unrest's "Make Out Club" becomes the top ten hit it was supposed to be. .sig .sgi .gis .gsi .isg .igs   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

15.  Re: Scenarios   by Frizzle Fry       at Thu 20 Jun 8:50am score of 1   in reply to comment 1     I doubt that putting little warning labels on cd cases about computers will hurt sales very much. Especially if they start doing this to all cd's (which they will eventually), in which case most people will just get used to those little stickers and think nothing of them. My other car is a cdr   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

2.  Pot, Meet Kettle.   by HerbieTheElf       at Wed 19 Jun 12:40pm score of 5 brilliant     In a statement, Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America Inc. (RIAA), called the class action suit "frivolous," adding that "the plaintiffs' bar has sunk to a new low, filing a lawsuit over practices that most U.S. companies have not even engaged in so that they can stake out their claim to class action attorneys fees." And this is somehow more disgusting than the record companies - who are mu$ic's version of slave-driving Southern Plantation owners - who use the courts as their napalm to obliterate the little gnats that buzz around their disgustingly large piles of money? Excuse me, Mr. Sherman, whilst I go work up the ability to even begin to feel sorry for you. Live by the sword, die by the sword, you Napster-killing bastards... "You never ask questions when God's on your side." -- Bob Dylan   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

10.  Re: Pot, Meet Kettle.   by gramiq       at Wed 19 Jun 1:45pm score of 1 funny   in reply to comment 2     yesssss!! someone used my word!   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   16.  Re: Pot, Meet Kettle.   by jbrooks       at Thu 20 Jun 9:27am score of 1   in reply to comment 10     Kudos, to you good person. I modded up the original post in which you staked your claim, so there you go. You now have the honored equivalent of the guy on /. who first used M$ for Microsoft. Cheers, then. Hey Ian, we're gonna kill ya! Opa!   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   21.  Re: Pot, Meet Kettle.   by Anonymous Idiot       at Fri 21 Jun 3:58pm score of 0.5 informative   in reply to comment 10     Some links: Mu$ic vs Moola Mu$ic Store Mu$ic Take The Mu$ic Biz Whore Test And this found in a Google cached page. "mu$ic S:\ sinceritybird \ interior \ 593 December 11 2001 I think we should start making an effort to separate, categorically, pop music that is popular because lots of people naturally like it (I hesitate to say "easy listening"!) and pop music that is popular because record companies want to make money so they hire crap and they pay huge amounts of $$$ to get airplay and advertizing etc etc etc and it's all studio crap and the artists only ever mime when they are "live" etc etc. OK? so, henceforth, pop music shall be a term reserved for popular music, au naturel. and money making rubbish will be known as "money music" or "mu$ic". thankyou."   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   23.  Re: Pot, Meet Kettle.   by stephenzr       at Fri 21 Jun 8:36pm score of 1   in reply to comment 2     its true. having worked for a couple biggies, like emusic and mp3.com, (and then finally being acquired by Vivendi/Universal), i also claim that these record execs are the pol pot of entertainment. and aren't we all surprised that Gateway is the only pc manufacturer(save apple) who endorses buring "your" music. CHAW HA!   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   26.  Re: Pot, Meet Kettle.   by superstringtheory       at Sat 22 Jun 11:56am score of 1   in reply to comment 2     Excuse me, Mr. Sherman, whilst I go work up the ability to even begin to feel sorry for you "My heart will go on" tear, tear for the monopolistic, fascist bastards:P "What if this is as good as it gets?" - Melvin Udall   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

3.  The Scumbags Will Win   by Anonymous Idiot       at Wed 19 Jun 12:40pm score of 1 astute     The scumbags will win because they have the money for more and better lawyers. That's the way the justice system works in America. But consider this: if millions of people don't buy a CD, not even the RIAA can stop them. Think about it. It's you (yes, I'm talking to YOU) who give the record industry the money they use to oppress us. So stop buying their damned CDs. Boycott the record industry. That's their Achilles' heel. Everything they do is highly leveraged and the industry is therefore exceptionally sensitive to declines in sales revenue. The record industry is rotten, decayed from the inside. It's the money from YOU that's keeping it standing, puffing out its thin, shiny shell like an inflatable tent. Remove the constant flow of dollars and it will collapse. So what are YOU waiting for? Use the Internet to spread the word - boycott the record industry. In six months, it will be on its knees. It's either that, or get dicked up the ass by Sony, Geffen and the rest of them, with no Vaseline, for the rest of your life.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

4.  But if sales fall..   by Anonymous Idiot       at Wed 19 Jun 12:48pm score of 2.5 astute   in reply to comment 3     ...they'll point at the current P2P stuff and say "look how it's hurting sales!". Then they'll buy another round of even more ridiculous laws, like the Hollings Digital Rights Management stuff - and then we'll really have something to bitch about... -1 fearmongering   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   24.  Re: The Scumbags Will Win   by stephenzr       at Fri 21 Jun 8:39pm score of 1   in reply to comment 3     No vaseline? at all?   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

5.  Philips should put money where their mouth is.   by Leviathant       at Wed 19 Jun 1:00pm score of 2 informative     A few months ago I'd read that Philips was going to start enforcing the laws regarding their Compact Disc logo. I do not believe that silver platters with music and copy protection should be marketed as "Compact Discs" or CDs if they do not adhere to the Red Book audio standards. Any idea when they're going to start cracking down? They also claimed that their CD copying hardware would be designed to circumvent such techniques. So where do I sign up for this class action suit? Even if we can't battle the behemoth RIAA with any hope of winning, I'll still throw what little weight I've got at it, just because I bought an Aphex Twin double disc that doesn't play in half my CD players thanks to so-called copy protection. I am Leviathant, and I approve this message.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

13.  Sony's gotta come along too...   by Baxter2000       at Wed 19 Jun 7:50pm score of 1.5 interesting   in reply to comment 5     Unless I'm mistaken, Sony owns the other half of that property, and we all know who's got a big media industry to feed. On the other hand, I think a class action based on a non-conforming product based on a known standard which is not as advertised on the box with the clever CD logo could have a chance of getting somewhere. Regime change begins at home.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   17.  OT Re: Philips should put money where their mouth   by cortez       at Thu 20 Jun 12:19pm score of 1   in reply to comment 5     what, drukqs has that stupid ass copy protection? i think i need to write a letter to RDJ. Of course, he'll just laugh and tell me to fuck off... Don't know WTF you want to do with your engineering degree? Ask me about UNH's MS Management of Technology program!   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   18.  Re: Philips should put money where their mouth   by box       at Thu 20 Jun 4:38pm score of 1   in reply to comment 5     Don't worry about not being able to play that copy protected CD. Just make a copy of it and play that. 30 seconds + marker = problem solved. [stupid f'ing music industry..]   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   19.  That's the really, really dumb part about this.   by Leviathant       at Thu 20 Jun 7:35pm score of 1   in reply to comment 18     It wouldn't play in my CD-ROM... but AudioCatalyst could rip it without so much as a stutter. How abso-fucking-lutely stupid is that? I had MP3s of the entire album weeks/months before it came out (album in question is in fact the US release of drukqs by Aphex Twin) and I was swift to pick up the actual 2CD set. I drove about an hour south (to Fell's Point) to pick up the album, and I really couldn't be bothered to drive all the way back down there again just to bitch to a cool store over this stupid so-called copy protected pair of discs. Now I wait a good two weeks before buying any CDs, and check the net to see if anyone has reported copy protection schemes on them. If there's copy protection, they're not getting my twenty bucks. I am Leviathant, and I approve this message.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

6.  Silver Disks   by carbomb       at Wed 19 Jun 1:03pm score of 1.5 intriguing     I think it will be interesting to see where Philips Electronics comes down on this issue. They have claimed that these copy-protected silver disks are not CD's. Since Philips invented the Compact Disk standard, aren't they receiving money from everyone who licenses this technology? Could they refuse to allow another company to manufacture these disks? -carbomb Shoots flaming balls with report   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

9.  Re: Silver Disks   by ianlkirk       at Wed 19 Jun 1:40pm score of 2 succinct   in reply to comment 6     Same goes for warning labels: Universal's most recent copy-protected release, The Fast and the Furious -- More Music, already ships with a warning sticker on its backside, a pamphlet about copy protection inside, and an offer to return the disk if it doesn't play. Return the disk if it doesn't play. And then what? Get screwed because you can't listen to the music you wanted? And return it? To where!? I haven't met a music store a good long while that will let you return a CD that you've opened already. Hmmm... let me see, I can return this CD and expect a refund in the six months... maybe!   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   11.  Re: Silver Disks   by CalBob       at Wed 19 Jun 1:53pm score of 2 novel   in reply to comment 9     Return disk that don't work. While you are at the music store ask them for the gas money, too. Plus your time for now making two trips. I hate having to return stuff, I really do. Know your toys - John Bell 'Widespread Panic'   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   12.  Re: Silver Disks   by holgate       at Wed 19 Jun 2:09pm score of 2 informative   in reply to comment 9     I haven't met a music store a good long while that will let you return a CD that you've opened already. If you're a Brit, a CD that doesn't work in a CD-ROM which isn't labelled as such should be returnable to the point of sale for an immediate refund under the Sale of Goods Act. And even if it is labelled, it's potentially returnable for being not of merchantable quality (i.e. not of CD standard). (Also, if you're a Brit, you won't have to deal with shrinkwrapped CDs. Joy.) If you're elsewhere, check for your local sales laws.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

7.  Huh?   by fish500       at Wed 19 Jun 1:05pm score of 1 funny     What's a CD? "It's all right, it's ok. There's something to live for" - Uncle Bill   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

14.  See people...   by J Random Loser       at Thu 20 Jun 1:30am score of 1.5 novel     ...this is why you should buy vinyl. Let's see them try to copy-protect that. The tragedy of this world is that everyone has their reasons.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

22.  Already done   by freek       at Fri 21 Jun 5:52pm score of 1   in reply to comment 14     On my 20-year old turntable with it's craptastic needle cartridge, LPs are already copy-protected.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]   27.  Re: Already done   by J Random Loser       at Wed 3 Jul 5:36pm score of 1   in reply to comment 22     Touche. The tragedy of this world is that everyone has their reasons.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

20.  Like this will protect music..   by pavoroyale       at Fri 21 Jun 7:10am score of 2 astute     If you can play it you can record it. Every sound card has a line in, and there will just be more software like this.   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]

25.  Patently untrue?   by Violator       at Sat 22 Jun 3:56am score of 1     I am led to believe that Phillips had a patent on the CD, and that this patent has expired, which is why you are now getting these dodgy 'copy protected' CD's. The trade mark however, is another matter as Phillips will hold that in perpetuity or until the CD becomes obsolescent ala minidiscs...or DVD's we can hope. I agree with the anonymous person; you don't like this BS, then don't buy. The problem is, we who post on Plastic or even on the NEt are but a small market. There will always be the net-illiterate hordes of under-16 schoolgirls (yes, the ones you can't get nekkid pictures of) who will buy this pop mu$ic simply because they have no taste at all and fall for boy bands like gassed beetles. Consistently modded down for being an asshole since 2003   [ ...reply just to this | comment on the story... | next new ]