Re: Performers' Right in Sound Recordings

>David McConville writes:
>
>Also, the statement that "communicating music through the Net always
>involves reproduction" is simply not true, at least not according to
>current case law involving transmitted material. We're transmitting
>packets of information in REAL-TIME, just like a cable or DSS system.
>We're not storing the music and making it available via anonymous FTP.
>Therefore, it seems that the same laws governing off-air signals should
>govern digitally transmitted material when the transmissions are
>real-time.
>

What happens to a signal sent through such a Net radio? My understanding is that, "real-time" or not, the recipient ends up with a copy of the transmitted data. IMHO, *that* is the difference between analog and digital transmission.

Now, you make a persuasive case that maybe we shouldn't be prohibiting each and every instance of such "copying" in the new digital world. It so happens that I agree with you. But I fear that *our* position is the one which would require a change in the law.

Mark Lemley
Assistant Professor
University of Texas School of Law
mlemley[_at_]mail.law.utexas.edu Received on Fri Dec 30 1994 - 15:53:59 GMT