Now this is the type of news that makes me happy. up theirs!

--Previous Message--
: Given how aggressively the recording industry likes to pursue file
: sharers, one would assume that the industry itself is in the
: clear when it comes to copyright infringement. But that
: assumption has been put to the test in Canada, where a massive
: infringement lawsuit is brewing against some major players.
: Members of the Canadian Recording Industry Association,
: including the Big Four (Warner Music Canada, Sony BMG Music
: Canada, EMI Music Canada, and Universal Music Canada), face the
: prospect of damages ranging from $50 million up to $6 billion
: due to their use of artists' music without permission. That's
: right: $6 billion.
:
: The lawsuit in question goes back to October 2008, but continues
: to be dragged up in the news because new plaintiffs keep joining
: the case. Most recently, jazz musician Chet Baker's estate has
: joined the growing list of musicians and artists who are getting
: on the music industry's case for their abuse of a certain aspect
: of Canadian copyright practices - something that the labels
: themselves don't even deny doing.
:
: As University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist pointed out
: on his blog, the issue stems from a change to the law in the
: 1980s that eventually produced something known as the
: "pending list." Essentially, record companies no
: longer had to get a compulsory license every time they wanted to
: use a song for, say, a compilation album. Instead, they went
: ahead and used the song without waiting for authorization or
: making payment, adding the song to a list of music that is
: pending authorization and payment. If you're questioning whether
: you read that right, that basically means the record industries
: could use songs as long as they pinky swore they would get
: authorization and pay the artist for it eventually.
:
: As you can imagine, the business didn't quite work that way.
: Instead of keeping up with its tab on the pending list, the
: recording industry just kept adding songs - without obtaining
: any rights. The pending list among the lawsuit's defendants has
: topped 300,000 songs from both large and small artists alike -
: 300,000 songs that the labels are openly admitting that they
: have not secured the rights for. In the complaint, the
: plaintiffs claim that the record companies have been unjustly
: enriched by the use of their unauthorized music (they have,
: after all, been selling the music without permission and not
: paying out).
:
: The plaintiffs also show that they are painfully aware of the
: hypocritical stance the industry has taken in regard to
: copyright abuse. One part of the complaint says the companies
: have shown "reckless, high-handed and arrogant conduct
: aggravated by their clandestine disregard for the copyright
: interests of the class members in contrast to their strict
: compliance enforcement policy and unremitting approach to
: consumers in the protection of their corporate copyright
: interests." Ouch.
:
: The recording companies targeted in the suit acknowledge that
: the pending list reflects unpaid royalties "in excess of
: $50 million," but the real extent of the damage could go
: far higher - possibly to the tune of $6 billion. This is because
: the class is asking for both statutory and punitive damages for
: the labels' behavior (as Geist points out, the same standards
: being used to go after individual file sharers), meaning that
: the labels could be asked to pay up to $20,000 per infringement.
:
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