] The overall technology is designed to plug into other
] software or services and identify songs that are being
] swapped on a network, sources familiar with the company
] say. In a peer-to-peer network, a piece of software using
] Fanning's technology would have to get authorization from
] Snocap before downloading a song, for example.
]
] Sources said Snocap itself is not a filter, although some
] in the record industry see it as proof that existing
] file-trading networks can have copyright-friendly filters
] applied to them, blocking unauthorized transmissions.
] Services that use Snocap's technology will not be allowed
] to have pirated material swapped alongside the authorized
] versions of songs.
]
] Snocap itself will offer a range of different services to
] record companies and other customers, including the
] creation of a "warehouse" of authorized music that can
] help "seed" peer-to-peer networks with content.

Snocap is coming around the bend, and it can only be a good thing.

Will "warez client" soon imply only UI style? I wouldn't count on it..

Music rebels seek to tame P2P | CNET News.com

] File-sharing companies that beat back an entertainment
] industry lawsuit now face a potentially stronger foe: the
] industry's lobbyists in Washington.

Swinging from one branch to another... The Olympics are going on.. Think uneven bars and government.

] Mitch Bainwol, chief executive of the Recording Industry
] Assn. of America, said Friday that "there's nothing
] inherently wrong" with file sharing as a distribution
] system, "other than in most applications it's been
] hijacked and morphed into a use that's destroying
] the creative process."

The use of the word "hijacked" implies the current industry folks had some active enterprise making an economically successful use of distributed p2p technology that evil pirates have pillaged. Arrrr.. And not to harp on semantacs, but it also connects to other more nefarious things in a shameless attempt to make the issue more emotional.

P2P is not destroying the creative process, but its certainly redefining the environment in which the creative process takes place, to an ends which in the short term is disruptive. I don't think anyone that is versed in the issues pertaining to IP these days that will disagree with that.

] "The fact is, the entertainment industry … they bring
] aggressive cases, and they litigate them vigorously,"
] Bridges said. "And start-ups often can't stand the
] burden of litigation itself."

Arrr.. Watch for them cannons at the mouth of the harbor..

Again, a common theme of this decade comes up: Fear. If you were a wise successful fiscally conservative investor, would you sail into those foggy waters? Certainly not alone you wouldn't.. That's team sport. The sparks of innovation on the other hand usually are not.

The beat of the distributed information market goes on.

File-Share Firms Face Tough Fight in Senate

] The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that
] Grokster (along with other vendors of decentralized P2P
] systems) is not liable for the copyright infringement of
] its users. Today's decision upholds a lower court
] decision, which had been appealed by a group of music and
] movie companies.
]
] The Court largely accepted Grokster's arguments, finding
] that although the vast majority of Grokster users are
] infringers, Grokster itself cannot be held liable for
] that infringement.

About damn time, because this lawsuit was bogus. It would be like the suing the Dept of Transit, because stolen goods are transported on their roads.

P2P is not a crime. Piracy is a crime. Don't stop emerging technology because some people might use it for crime, and its nice to see the courts agreeing with that. We have come along way since 2600 -vs- MPAA.

Freedom to Tinker: Grokster Wins in Appeals Court

] The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has announced an
] "anti-piracy" site, with a kids' mascot ferret, and a
] contest to call it a name.
]
] The BSA weasel creature reminded me of something I'd seen
] before. Something shady, disreputable, criminal. Finally,
] I remembered! The BSA weasel looks like he's a member of
] a criminal gang in Walt Disney Comics, the "Beagle Boys":

via BoingBoing.

Infothought: BSA Weasel == 'Beagle Boys'

] The two brothers who created the fantastic "This Land"
] parody -- sending up President Bush, Senator Kerry, and
] the current state of American democracy to the tune of
] "This Land is Your Land" -- have been threatened with a
] copyright lawsuit.

I like what Guthrie had to say about it:

] "This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright
] # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught
] singin it without our permission, will be mighty good
] friends of ourn, cause we don't give a dern. Publish it.
] Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's
] all we wanted to do."

Could that be construed as explicit licensing, a la Creative Commons?

EFF: This Land isn't your land

] The Electronic Frontier Foundation is spoiling for a
] fight, and on Wednesday it named the top 10 patents it
] wants killed, or at least redefined.
]
] The EFF said all 10 patents are in some way illegitimate
] and are being used to limit free expression.

Wired News: EFF Publishes Patent Hit List

] Meeting notes for the 11th meeting of the WIPO Standing
] Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, 7 June 2004
]
] These notes were collaboratively written by:
]
] Cory Doctorow, EFF
] Wendy Seltzer, EFF
] David Tannenbaum, UPD
]
] Note: These notes were written quickly, in the heat of
] the session, and there may well be some errors and omissions.
] They are by no means verbatim, but on the whole they are a
] comprehensive record of the meeting.

WIPO: The First Day

] If people are to get into the habit of owning an awful
] lot more music, then it is essential that playlists drive
] the model, not albums. Customers want "type" or "genres"
] of music to sit together to create mood. They do not want
] all of a recording artists' work played in one block, and
] they don't want to be forced to buy it that way either.
] And what seems ridiculous to us is that all music,
] regardless of age, should be charged at the same rate.

Yet another article showing how the RIAA refuses to acknowledge that the world of music buying and listening has changed.

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Music biz waves axe at goose that laid golden egg | The Register

Lessig's new book is out.

I'm only about 30 pages into it, and its what you'd expect from Lessig. Mickey Mouse has already made his appearance, been weaved into the context of doujinshi, and I think there is about to be a Kodak moment. This has that "listening to myself rant" feel to it. This book appears to have the goal of describing what I keep calling "remix culture", and the intellectual property issues that effect it.

I'll should have more to say about it when I'm done..

Update: Decided to give a copy of this book to a friend of mine who's birthday is today. I can't be expected to produce 360+ pages of rant anytime soon. The book will serve him well. :) Take note, I downloaded the book, and I wound up buying a copy for someone else..

Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig

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