EMI Sues Beatles Usurper Off the Net

blackest_k sends along a Wired piece on EMI's successful suit to get Beatles music off the Net. Here is the judge's ruling (PDF). "A federal judge on Thursday ordered a Santa Cruz company to immediately quit selling Beatles and other music on its online site, setting aside a preposterous argument that it had copyrights on songs via a process called 'psycho-acoustic simulation.' A Los Angeles federal judge set aside arguments from Hank Risan, owner of BlueBeat and other companies named as defendants in the lawsuit EMI filed on Tuesday. His novel defense to allegations he was unlawfully selling the entire stereo Beatles catalog without permission was that he — and not EMI or the Beatles' Apple Corp — owns these sound recordings, because he re-recorded new versions of the songs using what he termed 'psycho-acoustic simulation.' Risan faces perhaps millions of dollars in damages under the Copyright Act. And copyright attorneys said his defense was laughable and carries no weight."

Comments

Re:Maybes its a good time for them to get on iTune

[commodore64_love]

>>>1 - Not every person on Earth benefits from public domain music.

This isn't the 1950s. In today's world even isolated tribes have access to solar-powered radios (give by UNESCO and other charitable organizations) so they can access the world's music or news via AM shortwave. Some, like the Amish, may voluntarily choose not to participate in this global culture, but the access is still there if they want it.

>>>2 - The Beatle's copyrights do not funnel every penny made off of sale of their music to the surviving band members.

Thank you for supporting my viewpoint that copyright has been hijacked. It's meant to benefit the originators of the idea, not suits that were not even born when the songs were first created.

>>>You'd be a greater help to the cause of copyright reform that would make that happen by sticking to reality

And you'd be helpful if you stopping this pointless in-fighting.
All you are doing is nitpicking my original statement,
like a shrew