Re: "CD manufacturers were sued, and lost..."

Well there is a lot wrong so far and a little right. First, at least in the story and in the case of Negativland (no e there), there has been no suit against CD pressing plants. There were threats of possible suits, based on a thin claim of contributary infringment, by RIAA. The result of the RIAA "informational letter" is that CD pressers became the gatekeepers of intellectual property and the interpreters of the law. Negativland and its lawyers say that this amounts to prior restraint--highly likely. They claim that courts, not CD pressers or RIAA, are the proper gatekeepers--I'd prefer it that way. They claim that RIAA "guidelines" are little more than threats and have no legal basis--right again as far as I can read. They claim that the "guidelines" amount to an attempt to create law by establishing habit and custom of use--right-o. They claim that their own work is parody, if you've heard it you would agree, and is protected speech as supported by Campbell vs Acuff-Rose--their parodies are much funnier and easier to dance to.

For more on the Negativland side see http://www.negativland.com/ and specifically http://www.negativland.com/riaa

For a complete view of their problems with Island Records and SST Records concerning their U2 parody see their book "FAIR USE: The Story of the Letter U and the Numeral 2" (can be ordered from http://www.negativland.com/nmol/negbooks.html comes with an audio CD)

Enjoy Culture Hacking and Collage as Cultural Commentary, P

                             Paul Jones
Certified Black Helicopter Pilot *** Unwitting Dupe of One World Gov'ment
http://sunsite.unc.edu/pjones/     The Unix Web Server Book (Ventana 1997)
  pjones[_at_]sunsite.unc.edu   voice: (919) 962-7600     fax: (919) 962-8071 
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