Ben Sheffner's notes on copyright, First Amendment, media, and entertainment law, and political campaigns
Monday, February 2, 2009
Record labels file reply in support of anti-webcasting petition in First Circuit
The record label plaintiffs have filed their reply brief in support of their petition for writ of mandamus or prohibition seeking to block the webcast of an upcoming motion hearing in their copyright suit against accused peer-to-peer infringer Joel Tenenbaum. Much of the brief focuses on the District of Massachusetts Local Rule governing electronic media in courtrooms. And the labels seem to have backed off some of their more aggressive (and weakest) claims about the harm that would supposedly befall them if the Feb. 24 motion hearing is webcast; there's no mention of the widely-mocked fear that the "broadcast will be readily subject to editing and manipulation by any reasonably tech-savvy individual."
I should add that I am sympathetic with the labels' concern that Tenenbaum's counsel is trying to turn this case into a circus. I just think that the ringmaster's antics -- as well as the substantive copyright issues raised in the case -- should be widely available for public view and comment.
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Comments here are moderated. I appreciate substantive comments, whether or not they agree with what I've written. Stay on topic, and be civil. Comments that contain name-calling, personal attacks, or the like will be rejected. If you want to rant about how evil the RIAA and MPAA are, and how entertainment companies' employees and attorneys are bad people, there are plenty of other places for you to go.
Welcome to Copyrights & Campaigns. This blog provides news and analysis of copyright, First Amendment, and related issues from a pro-copyright-owner perspective, with emphasis on the interaction of these issues with campaigns and the political process.
Ben Sheffner is a copyright and anti-piracy attorney in Los Angeles. He has previously held positions in-house at NBCUniversal and Fox, as an associate at O'Melveny & Myers LLP, and as Special Counsel on Senator John McCain's presidential campaign where, among other responsibilities, he handled the campaign's copyright, trademark, and other IP issues. A former Co-Chair of the Media Law Resource Center's California Chapter, Ben served as a law clerk to Judge M. Margaret McKeown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2000-2001.
Between college and law school, Ben worked as a political reporter in Washington, DC at Roll Call newspaper and the Cook Political Report. Ben also served as a consultant to CBS News during the 1994 election cycle, helping prepare producers and correspondents for the election night broadcast. A detailed bio is available here.
This is Ben's personal blog and does not necessarily represent the views of any past, present, or future clients or employers. Nothing herein constitutes legal advice.
Ben lives in Los Angeles and can be reached at copyrightsandcampaigns [at] gmail.com.
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No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments here are moderated. I appreciate substantive comments, whether or not they agree with what I've written. Stay on topic, and be civil. Comments that contain name-calling, personal attacks, or the like will be rejected. If you want to rant about how evil the RIAA and MPAA are, and how entertainment companies' employees and attorneys are bad people, there are plenty of other places for you to go.