- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
P2P is copyright infringement under the applicable federal statute. No one except the copyright holder (c-o-p-y-r-i-g-h-t) has the right to copy or distribute.
None of the other major movie studios (besides Disney) will sell a digital download to anything other than a proprietary box, i.e., a set-top (cable) box.
Artist generally do not own the copyright -- the record label does. None of the major labels are asking for DRM-free, because that would detract from their sales. It is true that artists, especially new artists, crave DRM-free, because it would be free distribution of their music to make them famous. However, once they sign with a major label (another indicia of success), the label generally owns the copyright and therefore calls the shots.
Re "roach hotel" -- when you copy from a CD to iTunes, you still own the CD.
Copyright law gives the copyright holder the right to grant or deny any terms for copying to anyone (subject to fair use rights). Therefore, if a record label negotiates a condition with a distributor, such as Apple, that condition is enforceable as a matter of contract law.
Finally, request support for the assertion that music purchased from Microsoft for playing on the Zune can also be played on other players.
