Jonathan Bailey's List: Episode 89

• Sauro, who lives in Ross Township, is disabled with pancreatitis. She needs an islet cell transplant and is hospitalized weekly.

  Because she didn't defend herself against a copyright lawsuit, a federal judge in Pittsburgh ruled she's a music pirate, and that could cost the Sauros almost $8,000 in fines.
• The Sauros said they've lived in their home since Ciara's father moved out. They claim the Internet account in the lawsuit was opened by him at his new address.

• In the lawsuit filed in May 2007, West argued that Perry lifted material her "Fantasy of a Black Woman." The play was performed three times in 1991 in Dallas and West contended Perry could have gained access to the script in 1998 when he presented his plays at the Dallas Black Academy of Arts and Letters.

• Specifically, Psystar is alleging that Apple is guilty of "copyright misuse" related to the OS X EULA and the DMCA, meaning that the company is trying to improperly increase the scope of its copyright. A finding of copyright misuse would prevent Apple from enforcing its copyright, which is exactly what Psystar wants.

• The fight is not over yet though. Since this case could have huge implications for other ISPs and websites, Tele2 has announced that it will take it all the way to the Supreme Court. Fortunately for them, they won’t be alone either. They are backed by the telecommunications industry association. Jens Ottosen, president of the association told Computerworld that, if this decision is upheld, Danish ISPs might be forced to block other sites as well.
• The Supreme Court still has to accept the appeal before the case can go on. Despite the outcome, blocking The Pirate Bay didn’t have the effect that the IFPI was hoping for. On the contrary, traffic from Denmark went up, instead of down. However, this case is about more than just The Pirate Bay, it is about censoring the Internet.

• Indeed it would. Although a number of suspects were arrested on site, they have been released on bail to allow for further investigations.

• Deborah Taylor Tate is one of the three Republicans on the Commission, and this week found her at the University of Pennsylvania, talking about intellectual property. As one of the handful of people voting on crucial issues that affect the US telecommunications sector, one would hope to see clear thought, sharp analysis, and a grasp of the relevant facts. Some concern for the "public interest" might not be out of order, as well.
• Tate won't be around for much longer at the FCC. Frankly, given statements like "digital fingerprinting and watermarking would not be possible if net neutrality is enforced in its harshest form," that looks to be a good thing.
• On the other hand, it might be good for Tate; no doubt plenty of rightsholder-backed lobby groups would love to have a former FCC commish on the board, and Tate's speech could hardly be better pitched as a job application.

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• Warner Music Group is in talks with several universities about this experiment in “voluntary blanket licensing,” said a post last week on the blog Techdirt. Colleges would collect the money, and the recording industry, through a nonprofit organization, would distribute it to artists, according to a slideshow presentation embedded in the Techdirt post.
• The blanket license, the presentation says, is similar to current models for radio and television. But all universities and Internet service providers would have to sign on, it says, for the plan to work. Techdirt didn’t like the sound of that.

• We see the rumor as plausible, since the industry-wide leaning has been towards DRM – the major labels are desperate to stay alive. This years end-fiscal-year reports will show a number of them on the brink of bankruptcy with the realization that their decade long war on their customers is a failing proposition.

• The result?  The board has, “increased the levy on each blank CD to 29 cents (it had been 21 cents),” says Michael Geist, going on: