German Court Rules Rapidshare Must Diligently Remove Copyrighted Material
By Mike McHugh on 10-02-2008
The Hamburg district court ruled Tuesday that the file-hosting giant Rapidshare has insufficiently attempted to prevent piracy on their site. In a ruling that could sound the death knell for Rapidshare, the site must not only continue to remove copyrighted material from the site, but it must also “proactively check content before publishing it" if the material comes from a user who has past infringements.
Unlike the United States, Germany has no “safe harbor” laws that exempt a website from liability when individual users upload copyrighted materials, providing the site administrators remove infringing content once notified. Such provisions have kept YouTube relatively safe from the snares of lawsuits, but unfortunately the same cannot be said for Rapidshare.
In order to curb piracy as much as possible, Rapidshare uses a hash filter to prevent previously removed material from reaching the site and employs six full-time people to scour the site and remove copyrighted material. The German court, however, determined the filter could be too easily circumvented and the anti-piracy staff was not effective in patrolling for infringements. Rapidshare argued if they were required to check every file individually before it was uploaded to the site, there'd be no way for the business to stay afloat. The court replied in its decision, "A business model that doesn't use common methods of prevention cannot claim the protection of the law." Charming.
If you happen to know German, you can read the court’s full decision here. For everybody else, send off those ZIP files of cat pictures to your gramma and pornographic films to your friends while you can, because Rapidshare might not be there forever.
(Via Ars Technica and P2P Blog .)
Sony Corp Officially Acquires Bertelsmann’s Stake in Sony BMG; Sony’s Brand-Extension Department Hosts Company Picnic Celebration
By Mr P on 10-02-2008
After just four years, Sony BMG is now officially deceased. Sony Corp announced today that is has finally completed the acquisition of Bertelsmann's 50% stake in the Sony BMG venture. Rebranded as Sony Music Entertainment Inc. (SMEI) -- clever name! -- the entirety of its operations are now wholly owned by Sony Corporation of America, a company whose annual sales amounted to $88.7 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, topping TMT's fiscal earnings by what experts might call "a significant margin."
And the cost of acquiring Bertelsmann's stake? Oh, just $1.2 billion. Chump change. Now all Sony has to do is save itself by focusing its leadership and finally settling into manageable roles. And I'd expect increasing crossover between Sony artists and the Playstation console, because as the saying goes, "Money is great!"
Meanwhile, soak in Sony BMG's beautiful website while it's still up. Boy, I'm really going to miss that brand. It really defined who I am as an individual, etc.
There Is a Band that Never Goes Away; The Smiths Launch Another Greatest Hits Collection
By David Nadelle on 10-02-2008
It's one thing to flog a dead horse. It's a whole other matter to scoop up that dead horse's remains, jerky them, then cobble them together repeatedly for a voracious dried meat-eating, music-buying public. Obviously, if the dead horse is beloved British indie-pop band The Smiths, it appears anything is fair play in the repetitious compilation game (and no, don't worry Smiths fans, we would never insinuate that any of you would ever be caught eating horse meat...).
If anyone should be afforded some leeway with flogging its recorded legacy it may as well be The Smiths. In addition to being ridiculously influential, they were a unique brand who tended to treat every record as important, as opposed to putting out singles with throwaway B-sides merely to sell albums. Consequently, many of their greatest songs did not get automatic placement on regularly-released albums. The Smiths also went through unbelievably prolific periods that produced a slew of classic tracks (I seem to recall an old Select Magazine interview with Johnny Marr in which he tells of writing the music for "This Charming Man," "Still Ill," and "Pretty Girls Make Graves" in one night, with Morrissey penning lyrics for all three the next day!). It is worth everyone's time to own at least one Smiths collection and, fully aware of this fact, Rhino will throw its hat into the ring, also knowing full well that Hatful of Hollow, Louder Than Bombs, The World Won't Listen, The Best of The Smiths, Vol. 1, The Best of The Smiths, Vol. 2, Singles, and The Very Best of The Smiths have already been released. The latest rush and a push is called Hang the DJ: The Very Best of The Smiths, and it will be released October 7 in both single- and double-disc versions.
Smiths fanatics will already have everything on these two discs but will undoubtedly pick up the album for the cover art alone. New recruits primed to pray at the feet of Morrissey and Marr will delight in Hang the DJ's indie anthems, including a small smattering of (mostly previously released) curios: the outstanding "Jeane," ("This Charming Man" B-side, later covered by Billy Bragg), "Money Changes Everything" ("Shoplifters of the World Unite" instrumental B-side, later used by Johnny Marr on Bryan Ferry’s "The Right Stuff"), and "I Keep Mine Hidden" ("Girlfriend in a Coma" B-side and the last song The Smiths ever recorded). There are also a number of live tracks, including a cover of "What’s the World" by fellow thoughtful Mancunians James.
These tracklistings aren’t funny anymore:
Disc One:
1. Hand in Glove
2. Reel Around the Fountain
3. This Charming Man
4. What Difference Does it Make
5. Still Ill
6. Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
7. William, It Was Really Nothing
8. How Soon Is Now?
9. Shakespeare’s Sister
10. Barbarism Begins at Home
11. That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore
12. The Headmaster Ritual
13. The Boy With the Thorn in His Side
14. Bigmouth Strikes Again
15. There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
16. Panic
17. Ask
18. You Just Haven’t Earned it Yet Baby
19. Shoplifters of the World Unite
20. Sheila Take a Bow
21. Girlfriend in a Coma
22. I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish
23. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Disc Two:
1. Handsome Devil (Live)
2. Jeane
3. This Charming Man (New York vocal)
4. Back to the Old House
5. These Things Take Time
6. Girl Afraid
7. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want
8. Oscillate Wildly
9. Stretch Out and Wait
10. Meat Is Murder (Live in Oxford)
11. Asleep
12. Money Changes Everything
13. The Queen Is Dead
14. Vicar in a Tutu
15. Cemetary Gates
16. Half a Person
17. Sweet and Tender Hooligan
18. I Keep Mine Hidden
19. Pretty Girls Make Graves (Troy Tate version)
20. Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before
21. What’s the World (Live in Glasgow)
