NY District Court Strikes Music Bootlegging Law

U.S. District Judge Harold Baer Jr. dismissed a federal indictment of Jean Martignon, who runs a Manhattan mail-order and Internet business that sells bootleg recordings. The judge struck down a 1994 law banning the sale of bootleg recordings of live music, ruling the law unfairly grants “seemingly perpetual protection” to the original performances. Cf. U.S. v. Moghadam, 175 F 3d 1269, 1272 (11th Cir. 1999). Read the article here.

De Minimus Sampling Illegal

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (TN) held digital sampling of a sound recording, no matter how minimal, constitutes copyright infringement. See Bridgeport Music, Inc. et al. v. Dimension Films et al.; Case Nos. 02-6521, 03-5738; September 7, 2004. Read the decision here. Cf. Newton v. Diamond, Horowitz, and Yauch; 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (CA), 349 F 3rd 591, Nov. 4, 2003. Read the decision here.