Quote:

. . . he's the only person I've ever heard of people enforcing for 'amateur' musicians.

Gary


These things run in waves, and when they happen, everyone knows it.

Back in the mid-90s someone decided that independent auto-repair shops should not be using the brand names of the cars they serviced. In other words, if they were not a Mazda or VW dealer, they could not use the name "Mazda" or "VW" in their business name, e.g., "Joe's Mazda Repair". Lawyers began trolling the Yellow Pages throughout the US and contacting repair shops one by one, threatening them with legal action if they did not comply. Think about it and you'll prolly recall a point when you stopped seeing brand names on independent repair shops' signs. (I know this directly from a shop owner in Atlanta.)

The same happened in the landmark case of Mick Jagger & Keith Richards v. The Verve for their wholesale lifting of a passage from a middle-period Stones album. I remember my son's playing me the cut, and my thinking, "How can they do that?" Answer: They couldn't. The Verve gave up the profits from that album to Messrs Jagger & Richards.

Up to that point artists had been 'quoting' freely. After the decision in the Stones' favor there was a flurry of lawsuits, some sizable settlements, and the practice largely stopped absent permission from copyright holders. Lawyers began auditioning recordings by popular artists and going after them if unauthorized quotes were discovered.

There was also the case of a site which was used as a repository for the lyrics of all known songs. A suit was brought and the FBI conducted a raid, confiscating the server--which was located in Switzerland. (I still wonder about the legality of that seizure.)

Yes, free MIDIs have largely disappeared from the Internet. But I don't see anyone going after the individuals who still post a few dozen on their personal sites--or after the amateur musos who post a link to a cover song in a forum like this. If it becomes a perceived threat by the fat cats that be, sure--and we'll all know when it happens. But until then, I'm not worrying about it.

R.

"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."