NETSCAPE vs. MICROSOFT

The media played up the lawsuit Netscape filed against Microsoft a couple of days ago. The allegation is that Microsoft damaged Netscape by preventing the Netscape browser from competing fairly in the marketplace. Presumably the damages are the lost profits from the...

MUSICCITY STILL IN BUSINESS

MusicCity.com is under attack from the copyright police, and a court in the Netherlands ordered it to halt file swapping a couple of weeks ago. It’s holding steady so far, and it announced today that it plans to release a new version of the Morpheus software...

COPYRIGHT ANALYSIS

A fascinating article by Mike Godwin, attorney and fellow at the Center for Democracy and Technology. His argument is that the real war is not between the copyright holders and the copyright “pirates” (you and me) who distribute unlicensed copies of...

KAZAA FILE SHARING IN JEOPARDY

Kazaa is currently the most popular software for file sharing. In addition to being available under the Kazaa name, its software is licensed to MusicCity and Grokster. It is much more decentralized than Napster; in theory, users are put in touch with each other...

MICROSOFT RESERVES RIGHT TO TURN OFF YOUR MP3s

The recording industry has cozied up to Microsoft’s WMA technology, which can contain all of the “digital rights management” tools that will limit your right to listen to music on your computer without continuous payments. Microsoft is chasing their...

MICROSOFT ANTITRUST SETTLEMENT

The settlement talks are creeping along, perhaps heading towards a conclusion. Lots of potholes on that road. But let me suggest something that’s occurred to me about the proposed settlement. One settlement demand is that Windows be offered in a stripped-down...