Lawyer Asks RIAA To Investigate Bush Twins

tanman writes "After reading an article in the Miami Herald that said "[President] Bush's twin daughters gave him a CD they had made for him to listen to while exercising," a Florida lawyer calculated statutory damages of $1.8 million and has sent a letter to the RIAA asking that they 'display the same vigor in prosecuting this matter and protecting the rights of your rights-holders that it has displayed in enforcing those rights against other alleged violators.' From the letter: 'This is a serious violation of copyright. As you know, whichever of your member organizations that are right[s]-holders for the copied musical works may be entitled to statutory damages of $150,000.00 per musical work copied.'" Update: 06/22 18:55 GMT by KD : The lawyer in question has retracted his analysis and now says no laws were broken, probably.

Government moved fast

[danbert8]

Nothing to see here AND two of the three links are dead... Fastest I've ever seen the US government react.

I'm all for it

[drinkypoo]

As you know, whichever of your member organizations that are right[s]-holders for the copied musical works may be entitled to statutory damages of $150,000.00 per musical work copied.'"

After that, let's go for what's-his-sellout-bitch-ass from Metallica who admitted in an interview in the 90s making a mix take for a friend in the 80s. After the whole "napster bad" incident I lost what little respect I had for them after the black album, and would love to see them burn for their overall hypocrisy.

FIRE BAD!

Re:Bush twins

[Elemenope]

I'm curious - if the RIAA decides not to prosecute, does this somehow weaken their future cases or set them up for government sanction? (I know, copyrights aren't trademarks).

Maybe not under the law, but certainly in the public eye. The continued behavior of the **IAs requires legislative support for their preferred notion of how copyrights ought to work; if people get actively pissed off enough (and seeing el presidente and spawn get away with something that they can't is sure to do just that) the legislative support (and the favorable laws that accompany it) may evaporate. Of course, targeting politicans' daughters may make it evaporate as well. Oh well, guess they are screwed. If, you know, the media reported on media matters so that anyone would ever know about what is going on. Which will roughly be never. Hmm. I guess they aren't screwed after all.

Re:RIAA vs Bush

[Anonymous Cowpat]

Bush - he's gone in 2 years anyway, and if he spends those 2 years annihilating the RIAA, that's a win for us.

Home Audio Recording Act?

[WaxParadigm]

It's a non-issue if they used a "Digital Audio Recording Device" [wikipedia.org] and the CD-R was a "Digital Audio Recording Medium." I have such a device and use the slightly-more-expensive "music" CD-Rs when I make CDs for friends/family/myself (i.e. to have copy in car). I am exempt from infringement actions (I can't be prosecuted/sued for copyright infringement) for such activities. If they, like me, acted within the Home Audio Recording Act there is no story here...just FUD.

Re:Bush twins

[morgan_greywolf]

Copyright and trademark are entirely different things. IANAL but I'm quite certain that at least in the USA you cannot lose copyright by not prosecuting cases of infringement. Trademark on the other hand, can be lost if it isn't "protected".

That's right. But you can lose your right to collect statutory and even actual damages in certain cases. There is a certain doctrine of law that says that if you don't do something to mitigate your own damages, then you can't collect because you allowed the abuse to occur. How and when you are unable to collect statutory damages is, of course, something decided in court on a case-by-case basis.

IANAL.

Re:Excellent

[HardCase]

The first comment to the blog entry pretty much torpedoes the whole idea:


You might want to check out section 1008 of the Audio Home Recording Act :

No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright based on the manufacture, importation, or distribution of a digital audio recording device, a digital audio recording medium, an analog recording device, or an analog recording medium, or based on the noncommercial use by a consumer of such a device or medium for making digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings.

Sounds to me like that's the "mix tape exception" to copyright law.

Re:I'm all for it

[turgid]

After that, let's go for what's-his-sellout-bitch-ass from Metallica who admitted in an interview in the 90s making a mix take for a friend in the 80s.

Now, I think Lars is a monkey as much as the next man, and that his band is a sell-out Country and Western outfit, but to be fair to him, he has made amends for his previous stance on the issue. Mrs. Turgid dragged me along to see the Some Kind of Monster film, and Lars quite clearly is ashamed of and sorry for the Napster thing.

If the president does it, it isn't illegal.

[weston]

President Bush said he had the Beatles on his iPod, when there was no legal way to get them on there.

"Well, when the president does it that means that it is not illegal."

http://www.landmarkcases.org/nixon/nixonview.html [landmarkcases.org]

Re:My God...

[russotto]

The retraction is wrong. The exemption under AHRA only applies if a SCMS-supporting device is used. I don't think those can make mix CDs.

Re:Careful Now

[Junior J. Junior III]

That's the point of this stunt -- by bringing the issue home to the Bush family, they'll start to look at things from the perspective of the consumer, rather than automatically siding with Big Business as they normally would. Unless *they're* hypocrites (which of course, they are, so I don't know that this will really accomplish anything), this should get them to start thinking that copyright reform is needed and that Fair Use provisions need to be protected and reinforced so that they cannot be taken away.

Mccarthyism

[TinBromide]

mccarthyism and the early salem witch trials ended when high profile people (read: close to the heart of those doing the prosecutions) were targeted as communists or witches. Hit the president's daughter and senators feel that they might be next and enact laws to save us all.

This would be a good thing!!!

[one2meny]

I wish the RIAA would go forward and try to litigate the President's daughters. All of a sudden the President's attention would be very quickly and precisely to act against any current and future RIAA litigation by basically saying, you're a bullying group with no legal authority don't do this type of thing again or be disbanded. If only...

Re:Careful Now

[Weirsbaski]

Careful now, all of you Slashdotties are going to be grossly guilty of hypocrisy if you don't support the twins right to make a mix CD. Unreasoned Bushy-hate should be no substitute for doing the "right thing".

The stink isn't that the BUSHIES made a mix CD. The stink is the selective persecution. It's related to "why do college kids get sued for $thousands, while kids of industry insiders get off with a stern lecture?"

Maybe if presidents, congresscritters, judges were also in the line of fire, the lawmaking/enforcing juggernaut (made of those people) would move slightly toward a reasonable/common sense approach.

Re:Hold on.

[TapeCutter]

I call BS on the French bashing, people regardless of their nationality don't suddenly abandon their grandma because the taxpayer is footing the bill for the doctor. Also how do you explain the fact that plenty of frail conservatives die when a severe heatwave hits the US [wikipedia.org], or are you so perverted by your hatred for anything "non-conservative" that you think all those US deaths were also caused by liberals on holiday?

As someone who lives in a country with universal health care that for 30+yrs has been provided at less than 1/2 the cost of similar care in the US I am compelled to say that you don't have a fucking clue what you are talking about. I have not seen MM's film and judging by your myopic "football team" view of politics I am guessing you have no intention of watching it. So for your edification I will try and simplify MM's plot so that a redneck can understand it.....

In the vast majority of western nations health care is a bipartisan issue, it's about people and the efficient use of available funds neither of which seem to be a priority in the US system regardless of which "footy team" is in power. Wake up and look at the world around you - yes you live in a great nation that has a lot going for it but as far as health care is concerned the US is ideologically stuck in the 50's and it's citizens are paying the price with their lives.