July, 2004

• 23 July

  Senator wants to ban P2P networks

  

  The chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary said Thursday that a ban on file-trading networks is urgently required but agreed to work with tech companies concerned that devices like Apple Computer’s iPod would be imperiled. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he intended to move ahead with the highly controversial Induce Act despite …

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• 22 July

  Antipiracy bill gains new ally

  

  In a move that’s alarming technology firms, the U.S. Copyright Office is about to endorse new legislation that would outlaw peer-to-peer networks and possibly some consumer electronics devices that could be used for copyright piracy. Marybeth Peters, the U.S. Register of Copyrights, is planning to announce her support for the measure at a Senate hearing on Thursday. The Induce Act, …

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• 21 July

  Apple signs big U.K. indies for iTunes

  

  Apple Computer said Wednesday that it had signed deals with three of the United Kingdom’s largest independent labels, partly ending a licensing spat that had kept many popular bands out of the company’s European iTunes service. The deal, with the Beggars Group, Sanctuary Records Group and V2, means that artists such as the Pixies, the White Stripes and Morrissey will …

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• 20 July

  Record labels settle with Israeli P2P company

  

  The Recording Industry Association of America said Tuesday that it had settled its lawsuit against Israeli file-swapping company iMesh, for damages of $4.1 million. The organization had sued iMesh last September, charging–as it has in a half-dozen lawsuits against rival peer-to-peer software developers–that the company was contributing to copyright infringement on a massive scale. As a part of the deal, …

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• 20 July

  Group calls for copy protection Rosetta stone

  

  Tired of the confusing mess of copy protection tools that keep some songs and videos from playing on your iPod or Napster player? So is Leonardo Chiariglione. The Italian engineer, who founded the Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG), is moving ahead with his new Digital Media Project (DMP), hoping to bridge the gaps between resolutely incompatible copy-proofing technologies from companies …

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• 19 July

  Napster makes gains in colleges

  

  Napster, in its latest guise as an ambassador for legal music on campus, said Monday that six universities have signed up to offer its digital song services to their students. The company, a division of Roxio, has taken a lead in approaching college administrators to offer cut-rate subscriptions to its legal digital music service in an attempt to entice students …

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• 16 July

  Case against Napster backers gets green light

  

  A federal court has allowed record labels to continue a lawsuit against Bertelsmann and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, both onetime backers of the defunct Napster file-swapping network. The two companies are being sued for copyright infringement by UMG Recordings and Capital Records, which allege that the Napster backers had substantive control of the file-swapping network during its peak. Judge Marilyn …

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• 12 July

  Apple sells 100 millionth download

  

  Apple Computer reported Monday that its iTunes online digital music service crested 100 million downloads late Sunday. The milestone, which the company had been anticipating for several weeks, was achieved when 20-year-old Kevin Britten of Kansas downloaded the song “Somersault,” performed by the band Zero7. As part of a promotion run by Apple, Britten will receive one of the company’s …

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• 5 July

  Does Kazaa matter?

  

  The owners of the popular Kazaa file-swapping software have withstood assaults from the record industry for years, but now they’re facing a new enemy that may be even harder to fight: competition. When a federal judge shut down Napster in 2001, Kazaa parent Sharman Networks quickly stepped in as the replacement of choice, signing up millions of users and even …

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• 2 July

  Digital downloads to go gold

  

  The Recording Industry Association of America said Thursday that it will add sales of digitally downloaded singles to its longstanding gold and platinum sales certification program. Under the program, artists who sell 100,000 downloads of a song will receive a gold award; songs that sell 200,000 downloads will be certified as platinum; and multi-platinum awards will be given out for …

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