Copyleft: the magazine

On the heals of EMI’s decision to offer liberated music downloads, Britain’s The Times Online reported this evening that Amazon.com is looking to open up a DRM-free music store. Apparently, the Web-commerce giant has been schmoozing the major labels for “the past fortnight” (that’s two weeks for all of us in the colonies) and hopes to open up this new download service in May. While early reports that Vivendi Universal was on board appear to have been premature, Amazon would still have EMI’s catalog as well as many of the independents, potentially threatening at least a small portion of iTunes dominance in the world of music downloads. We’ll have to see if this one pans out, but if Amazon gets into the game without DRM, the music download market could quickly become a very different place. More updates as this story develops.

(from The Times Online)

After one of the shorter debates we’ve seen in recent months over fair use, Viacom has settled with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, MoveOn.org, Stanford’s Fair Use Project and Brave New Films (did we miss anyone? no? good.) regarding one or more of their use of footage in a parody film. At the heart of the issue was a short spoof of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report called “Stop the Falsiness” posted on YouTube. The offending film sampled clips of the Report as a commentary on what MoveOn.org and Brave New Films saw as Colbert’s “shrill, partisan anti-bear” extremism. Viacom (the parent company of Comedy Central) originally denied filing the DCMA take-down notice with YouTube to remove the film, which came on the heals with a much larger complaint against Google and YouTube in which Viacom has asked the courts for $1 billion in damages for what it claims are 160,000 “unauthorized clips”.

Viacom, for its part, is playing down the settlement, saying that it is simply applying its rigorous standards for protecting its copyrighted material and this all wouldn’t have happened if someone had just asked them permission first, according to the Associated Press. While we at Copyleft take no official stance on Steven Colbert’s politics, the fact that Viacom has come clean on at least one of its take down attacks. One clip back up on YouTube, 159,999 to go.

(from EFF and AP)

In a move that should surprise no one at this point, the kids over at the Doom9 forums have sent out and new set of apps to crack the AACS digital rights management system. This most recent crack in HD DVD and Blu-ray’s armor is thanks to an exploit using the XBox 360’s HD DVD external drive, which allowed these intrepid hackers to get the Volume IDs of their high definition disks without using the pesky host keys. In short, that means getting around the AACS encryption just in time for all the old host keys to be canceled thanks to the last major crack. More as this story develops, but for all of you making back-ups of your HD movies, looks like you’ll still have the capability for a while.

For a little background on AACS, check out our info page on [[DRM]].

(from DLTV and Doom9)

Engadget reported this weekend that Microsoft has voluntarily dropped its lawsuit against FairUse4WM creator Viodentia. Of course, according to the motion to dismiss Engadget has posted on its site, the lawsuit has been “without prejudice”, mostly, it appears, because the software giant can’t seem to find the actual person they were trying to sue. So, even though this particular lawsuit is dead, Microsoft is reserving the right to re-file claims against anyone associated with the PlaysForSure DRM-stripping software, including Viodentia, if they ever find them.

Unfortunately, this means little for all of you out there eager to copy your Musicmatch, Napster or Urge tracks without all that DRM hassle, particularly if Microsoft goes ahead with reported plans to ditch PlaysForSure for a new DRM scheme. However, it is a small victory for those who are working to free your media files from DRM bondage and attempting to allow you to exercise your rights under the fair use doctrine set out in sections 107, 108 and 117 of U.S. copyright law (Title 17, Chapter 1). Or whatever it is you do with your copied songs…

(from Engadget)

Apparently not the “stupid fools who stand in line” that Johnny Rotten thought the were, EMI is set to announce on Monday that it will offer significant portions of its catalog DRM-free according to the Wall Street Journal. The announcement is set for Monday, April 2 in EMI’s home town of London, England and will feature the iconic Mr. Steve Jobs, who will confirm that EMI’s catalog will be available on iTunes without all of that pesky digital rights management baggage that has been the bane of all fair use advocates music downloading lives.

Sadly, there hasn’t been any confirmation of Beatles-related announcements at the event, but we’ll keep you posted on whether the rumor mills are true. ‘Til then, may visions to “Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band” DRM-free dance through your head.

(Update) Alas, no Beatles music on iTunes, and, as you probably already know, DRM-free somgs will be $0.30 more expensive than copy-protected versions. In our opinion, not a huge victory, but a step in the right direction.

(from WSJ)