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Australian Court Doubles CD Importers' Fines
anti-fsck writes "Australia's Full Federal Court today upheld a lower court's decision that music labels Warner Music and Universal Music had engaged in anti-competitive practices in the .au CD market by threatening retailers who imported cheaper CDs. The court also doubled the labels' fine - and the fines for senior label executives - to more than $A2 million. w00, cheap CDs at last? Now if we can only get US-zoned DVDs legalised as well ..." Another reader notes that the U.S. government is busy trying to get Australia to change its laws to increase the profits of U.S. record companies.
Second, although the Australian court decision is couched in the guise of "copyright law," it's no different in effect from protective tariffs or import taxes.
This raises the question why Australia didn't just enact an import tariff on compact discs equivalent to 100% of the price of an Australian-made CD.
"Obviously, I'm not an IBM computer any more than I'm an ashtray" (Bob Dylan)
IANAL, but executives can be held accountable, e.g. corporate manslaughter where AFAIK bosses can be held personally accountable for unsafe working conditions.
o rate_manslaug hter.htm
google'd:
http://www.mhcinternational.com/corp
CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER
There is nothing new in the notion that industry and commerce have had hands in the deaths of customers, employees and their neighbours. Regardless of whether the reasons were driven by negligence or by incompetence, the net effect was that next to never were companies or their top managers held accountable by the courts.
Changes may well be on the way. The UK Government (May 2000) is now in consultation about the size and shape of corporate manslaughter or corporate killing charges. Prospectively unlimited fines are in view. There may be prison sentences for culpable directors. And the field of vision will cover all enterprises, to include public sector organizations, rather than the private sector only.
Enactment of legislation will take many months. The implications are clear even now. In addition to the moral responsibility which ought always to have been present, there are legal, cost and reputation reasons why managers should take action.
'Turnbull' requirements are already focussing attention on internal controls within the organization. Social audit and social reporting skills are increasingly needed by top managers. Above all, organizations will do well to look again at their values and their codes of conduct, whilst making sure that the needed educational processes are in place and working.
Americans only like free markets and capitalism when it works in their favor. When it doesn't, they enjoy getting their government meddling with tolls and taxes and what not.
They still have steel-tolls, right?
They're not capitalist, they're as socialist as the rest of us (in Europe) -- it's just that they're either too stupid to see it, or in denial.
Is it me or is the U.S. the ONLY country not "Beating Back" the abusiveness of it's own corporations and government. (This should get me tag as a terrorist by saying this, in a country were supposedly we have a 1st amendment right to freedom of speech!).
Yes I do live in the U.S., yes I do think it is corrupt from the top levels of our goverment down to the corporations.
It seems just about every other country in the world is smacking the U.S. corporations that are trying to screw everyone, but for some strange reason WE CAN'T!
Look what kind of crap we are having to fight:
1) SCO - 'nuff said!
2) MPAA/RIAA - take away our rights to fair use, and to mayn other things to list.
3) Our Goverment - Took away our 4th amendment with the Patiriot act and allow law enforcement agencies free reign in what they do. All in the name of "terrorism".
What they don't want you to know is that our damn goverment KNEW about 911 on August 20th. THe Israil (sp?) Massad warned our governemt about a terrorist threat and of massive amounts of terrorists (about 200 I belive) comming into this country. There was even an article about it in the Jeruselum Post's website not long after 911. (Any of our Israli brothers want to confirm this?)
That's right your own government let it happen, why you say??? Think about what they have been able to do with that "terrorist threat" that they are using to try and scare us with. The patriot act, now talk of the patriot act II. Patriot Act - that is a damn slap in the face to the TRUE patriots that gave their lives for this country to be what it is today! I being former military am ASHAMED of our government right now!
The Truth is a Virus!!!
Who'd have thought? CDs honor the traditional price elacticity of demand for commodity goods: don't rip off your punters and they'll buy your product.
5 8767.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/31
In my opinion, a thriving gray market -- where consumers seek out cheaper products/services in other districts/countries -- is evidence of a healthy, competitive global economy.
Sincerely,
Vergil
Insects and Grafitti Photos
I say, if it weren't for Australian justice and anti-trust regulations, those two corporations would still be ripping off consumers. Yet, most of our countries are engaged in WTO negotiations which compell countries to get rid of those "embarrassing regulations" in the name of so-called "competition" and "fairness". I'm not saying we need more regulations; just that the existing ones need to be upheld.
Do you see where "competition" stands when corporations agree on pricing to rip off their consumers? What about "fairness" if the existing regulations are cancelled ?
(Robot slams door open:)
IP droid: `By using the words "fairness" and "competition", you just infringed on Trademark #AE6521 by corporation SueMyAss Inc. We'll see you in court, sir.'
In Soviet Russia, our new overlords are belong to all your base.
[fx: reads downthread] Oh dear... The problem here is that different people see different things when they read. When you or I read 'socialist', we see someone who wants the community as a whole owning and controlling industry, and the social and political organisation that goes along with it. Or something along those lines.
But when many Yanks read 'socialist', they seem to see "Filthy! Subversive! Pinko! Dirty! Commie! Bastard! Atheist! Traitor! Die! Die! Die!" instead. Which kind of makes informed political debate rather difficult.
Ceterum censeo subscriptionem esse delendam.
Everyone seems to act like the US is the only government that tries to protect its business interests, but all governments do...Look no further than France/Russia's real motives for supporting Iraq all these years
Of course, governments pursue thir own interests, and those of their citizens. Most of the time, that's a reasonable way to act. The annoying thing about the US government, is that it expects everyone else to act to further US interests, and seems surprised and offended when they don't.