In light of last week's events, the following new article by Professor
Shubha Ghosh is quite timely: "MP3 v. the Law: How the Internet Could
(But Won't) Become Your Personal Jukebox".
http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/ghosh-2000-07-p1.html
In it, Professor Ghosh traces the history of copyright protection for
music from 1908 through Friday, and he makes the following observations,
among many others:
- "The law cannot hold in check the forces of open distribution
and access made possible by the new music and upcoming video
technologies."
- "[T]the use of MP3 permits more than time shifting. It allows
the playing of whole songs repeatedly and the compilation of
a whole medley of songs for redistribution and public
performance."
- "The court was wrong in not finding fair use in the MyMP3.com
case."
- "[P]erhaps in the long run, the legal system, whether through
courts or legislatures, will converge on a model that has seemed
to work for jukeboxes, a system of licensing administered either
as a compulsory license scheme or as a voluntarily negotiated
license scheme."
Douglas M. Isenberg
Attorney @ Law
Editor & Publisher, GigaLaw.com
Legal columnist, Internet World magazine
GigaLaw.com: "Legal Information for
Internet and Technology Professionals"
http://www.GigaLaw.com/
<disenberg[_at_]gigalaw.com>
Received on Mon Jul 31 2000 - 13:07:12 GMT