Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• Apple to launch new content distribution system

  The Digitial Music weblog passes along this tidbit from ThinkSecret . Apparently, in addition to offering feature length content and expanded TV offerings, Apple will be announcing a new content delivery system in January at the annual MacWorld conference. In an effort to appease media companies wary of the security of digital rights management technology, Apple's new technology will deliver content such that it never actually resides on the user's hard drive. Content purchased will be automatically made available on a user's iDisk, which Front Row 2.0 will tap into. When the user wishes to play the content, robust caching technology -- for which Apple previously received a patent -- will serve it to the user's computer as fast as their Internet connection can handle. The system will also likely support downloading the video content to supported iPods but at no time will it ever actually be stored on a computer's hard drive. I'm not sure why this should appease the media companies. Unless... Posted Dec 05 2005, 07:48 AM by Tim with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Music, Copyright, Apple

• Stealing Music?

  Just thought I'd chime in on the music thread going on. Yes, downloading MP3 files is wrong, because you're consuming copyrighted material without properly compensating the owner of the copyright. We use our understanding of real property to help understand property rights and ownership of (digital) information, but in my opinion it's a weak analogy. The primary difference is that multiple parties can technically possess (and use) information without infringing on the value to or rights of others to consume the same information. Let's consider the case of George Hotelling , who bought a song on Apple's ITunes and then proceeded to resell it on EBay . No one would argue that this is fair use if he were selling a CD he bought somewhere. The bundle of rights you get by purchasing a CD includes the right to sell or gift the CD.. But, as discussed in an excerpt from the article: Under the "first sale" doctrine, the owner of a lawful copy of a work is allowed to sell it without the permission... Posted Sep 18 2003, 08:00 AM by Tim with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Music, Copyright, Apple