Lawyers sue, men plunder; Sydney Morning Herald, 11/2/09

Sydney Morning Herald; Lawyers sue, men plunder:

A throwaway line in a television quiz show was the prelude to a multimillion-dollar court battle that could change the way musicians go about creating music, writes Joel Gibson.

"The courts have been reluctant to interpret copyright law too heavily against new works, she said, for fear of stymying creativity - but the music industry will be anxiously awaiting the outcome of this case.

''It does create uncertainty about how people can reference other songs … It means you can never have a thought or write a song without looking over your shoulder. Musicians would have to start retro-fitting their songs with some kind of analysis.''

McKeough said the protection of creative works had to be balanced by the knowledge that ''nothing is truly original, there are so many songs in the world''.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/music/lawyers-sue-men-plunder/2009/11/01/1257010103921.html?page=4

NewYorkMusicCopyrght.org: A Copyright Resource for New York Musicians

NewYorkMusicCopyrght.org: A Copyright Resource for New York Musicians:

http://nymusiccopyright.org/

Press Release from Public Knowledge, 10/27/08:

Public Knowledge today opened a new Web site dedicated to copyright issues as they affect musicians. The site, NYMusicCopyright.Org, is funded by a grant from the New York State Music Fund.

“This new site is dedicated to helping musicians understand a very complicated copyright landscape,” said Gigi B. Sohn, Public Knowledge president and co-founder.

On the site, users will find an introduction to copyright.

There are also sections on:

Music licensing
Sampling
Alternative methods of distribution
Remedies for copyright infringement
Device makers and infringement
Internet service providers and infringement
Peer-to-peer technologies
Digital rights management
Orphan works

“We hope musicians and those interested in the music industry will take advantage of this exciting new resource,” Sohn said."

http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1810