The RIAA has scared away most of the defendants against which it has filed copyright infringement suits. But one single mother in New York State, Patricia Santangelo, plans to fight the suit, rather than cave a pay a several thousand dollar settlement, because, she contends, she didn’t download music via Kazaa, as the RIAA contends.
Judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York seems to be on Santangelo’s side. According to a transcript of a hearing held in the case, Judge McMahon made clear she doesn’t like the tactics of the RIAA. Santangelo is representing herself because she can’t afford a lawyer. Judge McMahon said:
Okay. Well, I think it would be a really good idea for you to get a lawyer, because I would love to see a mom fighting one of these.
Later an attorney for the RIAA suggested that Santangelo go to RIAA’s “conference center” to resolve the dispute.
MR. MASCHIO: No, all I was suggesting, your Honor, is that, if she doesn’t come with an attorney, that the more direct way of doing this — and this is just to facilitate things — is to deal directly with the conference center.
THE COURT: Not once you’ve filed an action in my court.
MR. MASCHIO: Okay.
THE COURT: You file an action in my court, your conference center is out of it. They have nothing to do with anything.
MR. MASCHIO: Okay. I’ll give her my card.
THE COURT: If you are here, you are here as an officer of the court. You’re taking up my time and cluttering up my calendar, so you will do it in the context of the Court. Maybe it will be with a magistrate judge, but you will be representing your client, not some conference center. And if your people want things to be done through the conference center, tell them not to bring lawsuits.
(Courtesy of Mike Godwin via Boing Boing.)
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 8:33 PM | Print | Comments (0) | TrackBack
OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) has just released its Communications Outlook for 2005, a treasure trove of communications-related statistics for the group’s 30 member countries. The report concludes, among other things, that fixed lines are dropping across all member nations as mobile carriers gain ground.
But, the advent of VoIP, and the increasingly availability of Wi-Fi services, could adversely impact the mobile carriers, which typically haven’t attained profitability yet. OECD seems particularly concerned with the financial health of the mobile voice providers and offers advice on how to cope with the cheaper competition.
To maximize revenue, the report suggests, 3G operators may need to change their charging policies, for example by persuading customers to sign up for longer term contracts rather than purchasing calling time on an ad hoc basis, as is presently the case for a large percentage of customers relying on pre-paid cards.Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 9:19 AM | Print | Comments (0)
While VoIP is a surging business in the U.S., it lags in many other parts of the world, due, in part, to the varying levels of broadband penetration globally. IP telephony hasn’t caught on in the UK, where broadband penetration is low. UK regulator OFCOM is starting an inquiry into VoIP under the assumption that this new voice service will accelerate over the coming years. OFCOM will study the demographics of potential VoIP users and examine the impact that the new technology will likely have on landline carriers. (Courtesy of SmartMobs).
As one of the worst, if not the worst, storm to hit the U.S. since at least the 1950s, Hurricane Katrina is fostering widespread citizen efforts to keep the world informed of the storm’s progress. Boing Boing has an extended piece on the blogs and web-based efforts to track Katrina. Current is calling for donated videos.
And Dan Gillmor has a posting on Katrina’s effects on citizen journalism. He raises a good question, though, one worth mulling over in a situation like this:
I’m glad CNN and other news outlets are encouraging the citizen journalism movement. Yet I wonder if this invites people to put themselves in harm’s way. The folks whose professional duties involve risk-taking of this kind already know the risks. Do others?Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 8:44 AM | Print | Comments (0) | TrackBack
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