[IP] US judge strikes down live music bootleg law
Begin forwarded message:
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 25, 2004 12:11:04 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] US judge strikes down live music bootleg law
Reply-To: dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
US judge strikes down bootleg law
A judge has struck down a law which bans the sale of bootleg recordings
of live music in the United States.
Judge Harold Baer Jr, sitting in New York, dismissed charges against a
Manhattan-based record dealer which had been brought under the law.
He said the law could not stand because it placed no time limit on the
ban - unlike the limits placed on books or recorded music releases.
Prosecutors said they were "reviewing the decision" the judge made.
A federal grand jury indicted Jean Martignon in October 2003 for
selling "unauthorised recordings of live performances by certain music
artists through his business".
But Judge Baer said US law unfairly granted "seemingly perpetual
protection" to the original performances.
US law defines bootlegs as being recordings of the original
performances, as opposed to copies of already released music, such as
live albums, which are dealt with under piracy legislation.
The Recording Industry Association of America criticised the judge's
ruling.
"It stands in marked contrast to existing law and prior decisions that
have determined that Congress was well within its constitutional
authority to adopt legislation that prevented trafficking in copies of
unauthorised performances of live music," spokesman Jonathan Lamy said.
Story from BBC NEWS:
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/music/3689580.stm>
Published: 2004/09/25 13:11:45 GMT
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