Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• Was DRM-free music an Apple innovation?

  Some people have tried to paint the recent announcement by Apple as example of Apple innovating and Microsoft following . Headlines like " Microsoft changes tune on selling DRM-free songs " are simply misleading - none of the technology companies truly wanted DRM, but they were a necessary evil in selling music that they did not own. As I've discussing in previous posts , Microsoft, Real Networks, and Yahoo! were all instrumental in the anti-DRM movement. Most labels seem to get it - these decisions and stratregy are more often coming from the corporate parents, not the labels themselves. In fact, Gates criticized DRM months before Jobs' manifesto a month ago, and EMI had been reportedly been considering releasing DRM-free tracks in MP3 format for awhile. This initially-exclusive deal with EMI simply demonstrates Apple's significant marketshare for purchased music and influence in the market. The mere fact that Apple was lucky and/or powerful enough to convince a major label to do something... Posted Apr 09 2007, 12:59 PM by Tim with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Intellectual Property, Rants, Things that bother me, Things that amuse me, Copyright, Microsoft, Apple, Law, Audio, DRM

• Licensing the Office 2007 UI - what is Microsoft's IP strategy?

  Jensen Harris announced that the Office 2007 Ribbon UI can be licensed . For the last year or so, one of the questions I've been asked again and again has been: "Can I use the new Office user interface in my own product?" I have to be honest - I'm a bit baffled at this whole thing. Note, they are not providing any common controls for the Ribbon. Rather, they are "licensing ... intellectual property rights in the UI (which cover both design and functionality) and offering a comprehensive Design Guidelines document that is a roadmap for developers implementing the UI." The license is free as long as you follow the guidelines, and is intended "[f]or those that want to build their own UI that takes advantage of our design guidelines." The reason, as Jensen describes, is that "the new Office user interface was a huge investment by Microsoft and the resulting intellectual property belongs to Microsoft." The next question, of course, are what rights does Microsoft actually have with the Ribbon... Posted Nov 27 2006, 07:24 AM by Tim with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Software Development, Things that bother me, Things that amuse me, Copyright, Patent, Microsoft

• Gartner sends a cease and desist to remove a link

  Scoble passes along that James Governor, an analyst for RedMonk, received a C&D from Gartner for a link . Wow. I obviously haven't seen the letter, but I'm trying to imagine what possible legal recourse they have to linking to a publicly visible URL. Obviously there's no copyright infringement and there are standards you have to adhere to protect something as a trade secret. (Hint: putting something on a publicly visible server is not enough). Oh, and someone should tell Gartner that you can "redact" all the links you want but the Internet is forever . Here's the link - maybe I'll get my first C&D too. This is even worse than C&D'ing someone who is trying to help you . Tags: Gartner , RedMonk , CeaseAndDesist , Stupidity Posted Jul 11 2006, 01:15 PM by Tim with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Rants, Things that bother me, Things that amuse me, Copyright, Business

• Waxy.org sent cease-and-desist for hosting House of Cosbys parody

  Cosby threatened Waxy.org with a cease-and-desist letter (PDF) for hosting the House of Cosbys parody. While this would most likely qualify as a fair use parody, cease-and-desist letters are usually very effective against individuals who can't afford to fight this in court. Andy puts it well: But because it takes so little effort to threaten a small web-based artist (or the blogger who hosts their work), the Net is constantly targeted regardless of just cause. Justin Roiland, creator of House of Cosbys, was forced to remove the videos because he couldn't risk the possibility of an actual lawsuit. And when Channel 101 decided to take a stand, Cosby's lawyers targeted their ISP instead, forcing the videos offline. (Read Channel 101's excellent response .) But Andy is fighting it. But I know my legal standing, and I'm not backing down unless ordered by the court. This is free speech and creative freedom, and even though it's just one guy's goofy labor of love, that's worth fighting for, dammit... Posted Mar 08 2006, 05:57 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Intellectual Property, Things that bother me, Copyright

• Do the record companies WANT to go out of business?

  Furd brings us the latest incredibly stupid move by a record company. EMI targets the ‘mix-tape’ with ’secure CD’ : UK record label EMI announced yesterday it plans to introduce anti-piracy technology to its CDs that will restrict consumers’ ability to burn tracks to blank CDs. The technology, from DRM solutions firm Macrovision, will allow CD owners to copy only three full copies of a CD’s songs, and the burned discs themselves cannot be copied. […] The technology also prevents CDs from being transferred to an iPod. (Emphasis my own). I really, really don't get it. It's obvious they don't either. I'll say it again : People are willing to PAY for your music, even if it's of questionable legality , but they want to feel like they're getting value. Perhaps most importantly, they want the right to choose how to consume it. Putting DRM that prevents them from putting it on their iPod, which in many cases is why they bought the CD in the first place, will lead to a few possible results, none... Posted Jun 16 2005, 06:54 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Things that bother me, Music, Copyright