Sony BMG Targets DRM Provider for Settlement Damages — pdf [via Freedom to Tinker]

Sony BMG Music and BMG Music are suing two of the companies involved with the label’s ill-fated effort to place DRM protections on its CDs.

Amergence Technologies, formerly SunnComm International, and its sales agent MediaMax Technology, were served with a summons from Sony BMG seeking damages related to the class action lawsuits the labels settled last year related to its CD copy protection initiative.

Russian court acquits music site owner — pdf

A Russian court on Wednesday acquitted the former boss of music download Web site www.allofmp3.com of breaching copyright in a case seen as a key test of Russia’s commitment to fighting piracy.

[...] “The prosecution did not succeed in presenting persuasive evidence of his involvement in infringing copyright law,” said the judge Yekaterina Sharapova.

The letter written in response to a book store’s demand for “payola” to stock books is well worth a read: A&R dumps books

I have to say that my initial response on reading your letter as to how you propose to “manage” your business in the future was one of voluble hilarity, I literally burst out laughing aloud. My second response was to note the unmitigated arrogance of your communication, I could not actually believe I was reading an official letter from Angus & Robertson on an Angus & Robertson letterhead.

My reply to you will perforce be a lengthy one. I hope you will take the trouble to read it, you may learn something. Then again, when I look at the level of real response we have had from Angus & Robertson over the past six or so years, I somehow doubt it.

Lawsuits May Illuminate Methods of Spy Program — pdf

Tomorrow, a three-judge panel will hear arguments on whether the case, which may provide the clearest indication yet of how the spying program has worked, can go forward. So far, evidence in the case suggests a massive effort by the NSA to tap into the backbone of the Internet to retrieve millions of e-mails and other communications, which the government could sift and analyze for suspicious patterns or other signs of terrorist activity, according to court records, plaintiffs’ attorneys and technology experts.

Later: Appeals court may let NSA lawsuits proceed

A Campaign Undeclared, Not Invisible

Mr. Thompson, a Republican, has been able to set up what looks like a stealth campaign on the Internet because federal election laws and enforcement have failed to catch up with the surge in campaigning in cyberspace. As a result, he has been able to promote his positions and raise money through his Web site, all while technically remaining a noncandidate.

And that status enables him to remain on television on “Law and Order” reruns without NBC facing demands from other candidates for equal time. It exempts him from the more rigorous rules on reporting donors that declared candidates must adhere to.

Another control advantage of the closed network: Cellphone Concert Promotions

The modern mobile phone — equipped with camera, Internet access and more — has proved to be a liability for some performers, like Akon and Beyoncé, whose regrettable moments were captured by fans and then immortalized on YouTube and similar sites. But for the fans themselves, mobile phones are becoming as important an accessory as an all-access wristband. Beyond using them to record a short souvenir, they are becoming a ticket to everything from free ringtones to V.I.P. treatment.

[...] Even when there is no fee, the service comes at a price: fans must give their phone numbers to marketers. And purists — and some artists — disapprove of fans pecking out text messages or snapping pictures during performances. Still, the arrival of a new generation of phone-based activities could add a new twist to live events at a time when rising ticket prices have discouraged many concertgoers.

See Turow’s Niche Envy for more details.