Copyright Battle Over Nothing 479
An Anonymous Coward writes: "In this story reported at The Independent is "one of the more curious copyright disputes of modern times." It appears that the key question is "which part of the silence was stolen." If only this was April First. This is a lawsuit suing over the sound of nothing, no sound, silence, nada, zilch, bupkiss.
LOL (Score:2, Funny)
If a tree.... (Score:5, Funny)
I've heard that track... (Score:3, Funny)
Isn't that always the way with cover songs?
My copyright... (Score:5, Funny)
Let us all.. (Score:5, Funny)
Ok...
...
Done? Ok suckers, that will be $1000 per person for infringing upon the silence copyright made payable to FU Attorneys At Law. Pay up or else!!
How.. (Score:5, Funny)
I'll right your copy! (Score:5, Funny)
void main()
{
short silence[60*44100];
memset(silence, 0, sizeof(silence));
FILE * out = fopen("silence.pcm", "w");
fwrite(silence, sizeof(short), 60*44100, out);
fclose(out);
}
Music piracy at its worst, I tell ya.
okay... my turn!!! (Score:5, Funny)
"You don't have the right to remain silent. Anything you don't say will be used against you in a court of law..."
The avant garde (Score:2, Funny)
My only comment is this: (Score:5, Funny)
© gvonk, 2002, all rights reserved, etc.
Re:How.. (Score:5, Funny)
MP3's? (Score:2, Funny)
I love that song... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:LOL (Score:2, Funny)
the love you take
is equal to the love you-oo make.
Well, the Beattles should jump in here. For awhile they had the longest silence on any major recording album...but I really am not sure if you can compare the quality of the silences. I mean, a digitally mastered silence has the potential of being leap years ahead of the lower quality vinyl silences of yesterday.
Bad title! (Score:4, Funny)
Wrong.
Silence isn't nothing, at least not on a CD. The infringing track is sixty seconds of silence, which is not sixty seconds of zeros. (Which would still be something, mind you.) In any case, the track in the suit is 5,292,000 '0111111111111111's on the CD. (60 seconds, 44100 samples per second, 2 channels, at "zero", but recall digital audio is signed so that's 2^15-1 = 32767.)
Even if one of the two decided to use 32768 instead, the prosecution could argue there was a DC bias...
Prior Art (Score:1, Funny)
Dear AmigaAvenger:
I produced this before you did. Unfortunately I have to witnesses for obvious reasons, but I have a recording--which, by the way, and not obvious to the casual listener, is NOT a copy of John Cage's 4'33" or any track from Mike Batt's album. You are hereby requested to turn over all rights licence fees to me and cease and desist any new licensing of said work and claims to rights of said work.
Re:How.. (Score:2, Funny)
Shhhhhhhh...............
Don't give them any ideas....
THEY ARE WATCHING...
The most ludicrous Copyright ever! "Have Fun!" (Score:2, Funny)
They have the phrase "Have Fun!" copyrighted. So I guess you cant say it or have fun without dire results.
If you check their web-page out, look at the very bottome and you can read it in the blurb there.
http://www.patobriens.com/havefun.html
Just thought of something, if we slashdot their box, it is almost the equivalent of what their booz has been doing to people for years.
Puto
Re:John Cage's 4'33" (Score:4, Funny)
FreeBSD in court trouble? (Score:3, Funny)
It seems like the new FreeBSD Logo [slashdot.org] is violating a copyright also.
Re:Copyright the sine wav of silence :-) (Score:3, Funny)
Ah... but at what frequency will you be generating this zero-amplitude silence? My patent is pending on `0 * sin (2 * pi * 256)' (middle C) so watch out.
Prior? (Score:2, Funny)
Blank media tax (Score:5, Funny)
Re:but I've already patented it (Score:3, Funny)
I've patented the concepts of making silence through (1) not making any noise, (2) failing to record said noise, and (3) a catch-all that covers anything that might not be covered by the first two.
I asked my lawyer if I had missed anything, and when he paused for a second, I had him arrested for violating my patent. Maybe that was a bad idea?
And in related news (Score:2, Funny)
Shoot! Now I can't work anymore! (Score:2, Funny)
Phillp Glass (Score:4, Funny)
Oh wait this is Slashdot, no one will get that.
Nixon (Score:5, Funny)
Re:If a tree.... (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Blank media tax (Score:5, Funny)
It is the dance mix.
Miranda? (Score:3, Funny)
you have the right to remain silent, just not the copyright to remain silent. Anything you don't say may be used in a DMCA case against you.
Double Hmmm... "We have ways of making you talk". It may be decision time: testify against yourself, or face the rats nest that is a copyright/DMCA case against you. Either way you're screwed.
:)
Everyone knows... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:I've heard that track... (Score:2, Funny)
and it was the best one on the CD.
Can you please rip and and share it on Gnutella? I want to listen to it.
Be careful (Score:3, Funny)
La la la la la la shok shok la la
Re:MP3's? (Score:5, Funny)
Regards, Ralph.
The Spirit of Radio (Score:3, Funny)
are written on the studio walls,
and concert halls,
echo with the sounds of salesmen."
- from "The Spirit of Radio" by Rush, 1980
Re:Err, dudes.... (Score:2, Funny)
"Oh, jolly good, Robert! I was hoping most fervently that you'd receive it today!"
"Why, yes, I have! I must compliment you on your undulled wit, old chap! A lawsuit! What a hoot!"
"You're too kind!"
My response in protest... (Score:2, Funny)
Death blow for US justice system! (Score:2, Funny)
Must comment (Score:4, Funny)
I wasn't going to enter a response to this article, but I was afraid of receiving a cease and desist order if I remained silent.
Re:My only comment is this: (Score:2, Funny)
He was probably just copyrighting the lyrics.
Prior art (Score:2, Funny)