Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Grooveshark moves to dismiss for failure to state a claim

In the RIAA's case against Grooveshark, Arista Music v. Escape Media, Grooveshark and several other defendants have moved to dismiss the amended complaint for failure to state a claim.

Memorandum of law of defendants Escape Media, Samuel Tarantino, and Joshua Greenberg in support of motion to dismiss amended complaint for failure to state a claim



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In Arista v Escape Media, Grooveshark's employee defendants move to dismiss

In Arista Music v. Escape Media, five of the Grooveshark employees named as defendants in the amended complaint have moved to dismiss, on the ground that they are not subject to jurisdiction in New York.

Memorandum of law in support of jurisdiction defendants' motion to dismiss amended complaint

[Note: You may wonder why the RIAA added employees, of limited means. My guess is that they know that these individuals do not have strong financial resources, and are unequipped to defend themselves in a federal court litigation, so the RIAA wants to try to extort testimony from them against the 'deep pockets', by making a deal with them in which they are given a release in exchange for their 'cooperation'. Testimony obtained under such extortionate circumstances would have no probative value, and is probably unethical, but the RIAA has gone that route in the past. Some of the same lawyers who have used that tactic for the RIAA in the past are representing the RIAA in this case. If I were the judge, I would blow my stack. -R.B.]



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Monday, February 20, 2012

Kenny Rogers accuses Capitol Records of failing to account for digital music sales

Tip of the hat to Roy Gordet, Esq., and Digital Music News for bringing this lawsuit to our attention.

In a new lawsuit filed in federal court in Nashville, Tennessee, singer Kenny Rogers has filed suit against Capitol Records, accusing it, among other things, of failing to properly account for royalties owed to him from digital music sales.

Complaint



Commentary & discussion:

Digital Music News

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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Tenenbaum files petition for certiorari in US Supreme Court

In SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, defendant has filed a petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.

Petition for certiorari

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Tenenbaum responds to motion to strike, asks Court to allow RIAA to respond to reply briefs

In SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, defendant has filed a response to the RIAA's motion to strike his reply briefs,in which he asks the Court to allow the RIAA to respond to the arguments in his reply briefs.

Tenenbaum response to motion to strike

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Reuters: DOJ run by former RIAA lawyers seeks $5 million in budget to help RIAA/MPAA

Interesting Reuters article:

Justice Dept seeks to bolster IP enforcement team

WASHINGTON | Mon Feb 13, 2012 4:00pm EST

(Reuters) - The Obama administration on Monday proposed hiring more prosecutors to pursue intellectual property crimes in the new budget as the entertainment industry pressures the Justice Department to crack down on copyright infringement and counterfeiting.

The overall proposed 2013 budget for the Justice Department was flat, $27.1 billion in discretionary spending, with officials shuffling funds to address the biggest priorities since there is little appetite in Congress to increase spending in light of recent $1 trillion-plus deficits.

Still, the Justice Department asked Congress for $5 million to hire 14 new employees, including nine attorneys, to focus on intellectual property crimes. Last year, the administration sought $3 million for six new hires but Congress refused....
Complete article


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Associated Press sues news aggregator for copyright infringement

Hat tip to Wendy Davis at Online Media Daily for alerting me to this case. - R.B.

Associated Press has sued a news aggregator, Meltwater News, for copyright infringement and "hot news" appropriation.

Complaint

Commentary & discussion:

Online Media Daily

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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Court declines request to schedule deadline for amicus briefs in Capitol Records v ReDigi

In Capitol Records v. ReDigi defendant ReDigi had requested that the case management plan for the case include scheduling for amicus curiae briefs; the Court declined to include such a provision.

Letter of Morlan Ty Rogers to Court re case management plan
Letter of Richard Mandel to Court re case management plan
Order ruling on case management plan
Case management plan

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In Capitol Records v ReDigi court denies premotion conference re Rdio termination of service

In Capitol Records v. ReDigi, ReDigi requested a premotion conference due to the shutoff of its 30-second clip streaming service by Rdio, Inc.; the Court denied the requested conference.

Letter of Ray Beckerman requesting premotion conference re Rdio shutoff
Order denying premotion conference

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RIAA moves to strike Tenenbaum's reply briefs

In SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, the RIAA has filed a motion to strike defendant's reply briefs.

RIAA motion to strike defendant's reply briefs

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Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Amended decision filed, & interlocutory appeal denied, in Capitol v MP3Tunes

In Capitol Records v. MP3Tunes, the Court has issued an amended decision granting and denying summary judgment motions, and adhering to its prior rulings, and has denied Capitol Records' motion for certification of an interlocutory appeal.

October 25, 2011, decision granting and denying summary judgment motions
January 9, 2012, decision denying Capitol Records' motion for certification of interlocutory appeal

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Transcript of oral argument in Capitol Records v ReDigi

Below is a link to the February 6, 2012, oral argument in Capitol Records v. ReDigi:

Oral argument February 6, 2012

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Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Capitol Records opposes Google motion in Capitol v ReDigi; says it's not really challenging cloud storage or space shifting

In Capitol Records v. ReDigi, plaintiff's counsel have filed a letter opposing Google's request for leave to file an amicus brief.

In their letter they state that they are not challenging cloud storage or space shifting.

Plaintiff's counsel's February 1, 2012, letter to Court opposing Google request

Commentary & discussion:

Slashdot


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