Record label representatives have been caught issuing DMCA takedown notices for Radiohead’s In Rainbows album despite apparently not having any legal standing to do so.
Radiohead released In Rainbows online in 2007 after severing their relationship with EMI. It was initially offered online, with downloaders allowed to choose their own price - even if they chose to pay nothing.
The DMCA’s takedown provision allows rights holders or their agents to have infringing content taken down by service providers. But the rights in question would have to be for digital distribution.
A few months after it’s initial online release, the band made a distribution deal with a RIAA member, ATO Records, which doesn’t seem to include any digital distribution (ie download) rights.
In fact it appears that Warner/Chappell Music, a publishing company owned by Warner Music Group, is contracted to be Radiohead’s representative in digital licensing. Although public details of the arrangement are somewhat vague, Last.fm lists the company as the label for In Rainbows.
A guick search of the Chilling Effects database shows that the RIAA has included the album in at least one DMCA takedown request.
Another takedown notice which includes the album comes from the RIAA’s international equivalent, IFPI, which ATO Records isn’t even affiliated with. Even stranger is the frequent listing of In Rainbows in takedown notices by a Brazilian anti piracy organization called Anti-Pirataria Cinema E Música (APCM).
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Result for: distribution deal
According to Bloomberg, Disney and Starz are in negotiations that may eventually affect Netflix’s ability to stream Disney films via its “Watch Instantly” service.
Disney is seeking more money from viewers who watch Starz movies online though Netflix and other outlets. Netflix users currently pay no premium for the streaming services. Also under negotiation is digital rights, determining whether DreamWorks and Pixar movies are included with the Starz package or whether Netflix will have to make a deal directly with Disney.
“Netflix may be challenged to retain some of its most appealing content when Starz renews its Disney distribution deal, which expires in 2012,” says Lazard Capital Markets analyst Barton Crockett.
Result for: distribution deal
RIM, maker of the BlackBerry smartphones, has announced a distribution deal in China, one that should help the company expand its phones into the world’s most populated nation.
The deal, with technology company Digital China, will “help RIM further expand its business in China” while giving them access to a large national distribution network.
RIM has made BlackBerry smartphones available in China since 2006 through China Mobile but sales have been extremely light, and marketing has been even lighter.
“Digital China’s extensive knowledge and market presence will further expand the opportunity for RIM in China,” said RIM CEO Jim Balsillie.
