[freehaven-dev] [Fwd: check out the cast-iron cojones on Napster's lawyer]]

["Michael J. Freedman" <mfreed@zeroknowledge.com>]

Mike Shaver wrote to news@zeroknowledge.com:
> 
> Wow, and stuff.
> 
> Mike
> 
> --
> 4431685.83 3280805.75
> 
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Subject: check out the cast-iron cojones on Napster's lawyer
> Date: Tue, 04 Jul 2000 10:35:01 -0700
> To: monkeybutter@jwz.org
> 
> http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2198482.html
> 
>         In its first lengthy legal response to the record industry's
>         attempt to shut down the service, Napster attorneys today said
>         that finding and downloading copyrighted songs for free is
>         protected by law as long as Napster members themselves aren't
>         making money from the recordings.
> 
>         The brief cited a recent federal court case that decided some
>         noncommercial copying of music is protected by law. That extends
>         even to making a song available for thousands of random Net
>         users to download, the company's attorneys say--and that means
>         Napster is doing nothing wrong.
> 
>         ...
> 
>         But Boies also raised a far more ambitious argument that could
>         be hugely damaging for the record companies if it gains legal
>         traction. Citing internal documents he says show the labels have
>         abused their market power to block alternative channels of music
>         distribution, along with an obscure antitrust law, the attorney
>         says the labels have lost the legal ability to enforce their
>         copyrights.
> 
>         "If you use a copyright to achieve an anti-competitive purpose,
>         you lose the rights to them," he said.
> 
>         ...

-- 
"Not all those who wander are lost."      mfreed@zeroknowledge.com