MARCH 2006
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TV - Into the west for Gemini Awards by A.Gill, Globe and Mail 28mar06 Vancouver -- Head west, young television producers. The Gemini Awards national broadcast gala is moving to Vancouver in November. This marks the first time in 21 years that the awards celebrating excellence in Canadian television will be held outside Toronto. "The very least it can do is invigorate them," says Terry McEvoy, chair of the Western division of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, which initiated the bid to hold the event elsewhere. McEvoy points to the Juno Awards as an example of a "moribund" show that was injected with renewed enthusiasm when it branched out across the country. The Gemini gala, to be broadcast live by Global Television, will be held on Nov. 4 at the River Rock Resort and Casino. The non-broadcast elements, two nights of technical, sports and documentary awards, will still be held in Toronto a week earlier. McEvoy says the idea of holding the awards on the west coast, a bid several years in the making, was a no-brainer. "We have a mature, extraordinary industry here that is doing some of the best stuff in Canada," he says, pointing to Corner Gas as an example of acclaimed TV produced in Western Canada. The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television -- which organizes the Gemini Awards, the Genie Awards and the Prix Gémeaux for French-language TV -- is a national non-profit professional association of 4,000 members. The Western Division represents approximately 650 members; more than 500 are based in Vancouver. Western filmmakers have always felt stung by "the famous $1,000 cup of coffee," McEvoy explains. "That's what it costs for a flight in order for us to have a meeting with a broadcaster in Toronto." Having the Gemini Awards in Vancouver will provide the local industry an opportunity to meet the Eastern-based movers and shakers. And because the Canadian Association of Broadcasters will be meeting in Vancouver the subsequent week "a lot of the powers that be will be in town," McEvoy notes. Although the Geminis are Canada's version of the Emmys, its glamour quotient pales in comparison. "There's always a peculiar stillness that comes with the Gemini Award nominations," Globe and Mail critic Andrew Ryan wrote last year. "Each fall, it's the sort of non-breaking story that arrives in Canadian newsrooms with minimal fanfare and to muted response." McEvoy admits that the event does have its problems -- shows that are nominated will often have been cancelled -- but he says those are problems born of the industry. "People in Canada have funny expectations. They expect the Geminis to be like the Emmys, but we don't have the media coverage or budgets to match American programs. That said, we are doing some great and innovative stuff, especially in the west."
MUSIC - US rap label faces receivership by BBC News 27mar06 -- Rap label Death Row Records will go into receivership next week unless its founder appears in court to answer questions on his financial status. Marion "Suge" Knight has missed three hearings already, having been ordered to pay $107m to Lydia Harris. Ms Harris claims she was a co-founder of the label in the early 1990s and was therefore entitled to the money. A judge will take over Mr Knight's assets if he does not attend the next scheduled interview on 1 April. Death Row Records helped to launch the careers of rappers such as Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur. Ms Harris was awarded the sum in March 2005, but the case became more complicated when her ex-husband Michael tried to claim half of the total for himself. He said he had provided some of the capital for the label and argued he was entitled to take half of the $107m as a result. Assets frozen In August 2005, Mr Knight's assets were frozen. All of the parties involved have been fighting in court ever since. "There is no explanation or excuse for [Knight] not coming," said lawyer Steve Goldberg, who represents Michael Harris. "There are rules of court that should be obeyed and Mr Knight is making a mockery of it." Suge Knight has served jail time for assault and parole violations and was recently shot in the leg at a hip-hop party.
COPYRIGHT & TRADEMARK - Google’s Cache Function does not infringe any Copyright - 24mar06 -- An American online author of seduction advice has failed in a copyright action brought against Google. Gordon Roy Parker had accused the search machine of saving his Internet site, as well as Usenet contributions, using the cache function on its servers and then later placing them at the disposal of third parties as search results.Google’s cache functions acts like an intermediate memory, which could allow sites to be called-up even if they are no longer online directly . The court in Pennsylvania were of the opinion that the automatically-operating memory caused no copyright infringement. The news agency Reuters report that the judges considered the cache function to be a form of redistribution of data. Google operated as an Internet service, transmitting data to users, and in the meantime saved data for this purpose. Parker, who publishes advice on subjects like ‘Why hot women go for losers’, had within his 72 page complaint made Google responsible for personal attacks on him via anonymous web postings.. ‘When someone wants to ruin your reputation, he can leave that up to Google’, he remarked during the case.With this decision, Google have been found to be in the right for a second time. In January, a court in Nevada had thrown out a complaint from a poetry-writing lawyer, who likewise perceived his copyright to be damaged by the cache function.
MUSIC - Downloading Does Not Hurt Business: Canadian Record Industry Study Says - cbc.ca 23mar06 -- New research says music downloading (or "P2P," peer-to-peer file swapping) might not be the record industry's death knell after all. And while that's an interesting idea, the real surprise is where the new research is coming from: the recording industry itself. The study was done by Pollara as part of CRIA's submission to the CRTC's Commercial Radio Review. According to high-tech copyright guru Michael Geist, it makes some interesting conclusions, including: Downloading makes up for less than one-third of the music on downloaders' computers.' Downloaders often test run songs on P2P services before buying. The largest downloading demographic is also the largest music buying demographic. Dips in music sales have little to do with the availability of music on P2P services. Geist goes into more detail about the report, taking note of some of the particulars: Consistent with many other studies, people who download music from P2P services frequently buy that same music. The study found that only 25% of respondents said they never bought music after listening to it as a P2P downloaded track. That obviously leaves nearly 75% as future purchasers, including 21% who have bought music ten times or more. Note that demographically, the lowest percentage of non-buyers actually belonged to the 13 to 17 year old demographic. The 13 to 17 year old demographic also happens to be the largest purchasing group of music, buying an average of 11.6 music CDs or DVDs in the past six months. Close behind are the 18 to 24 age group at 10.9 music CDs or DVDs. By comparison, the older demographics may not download much music but they don't buy much either. The 55-64 age group bought 4.2 music CDs or DVDs, while the 65 and up age group bought 2.8 music CDs or DVDs
VIDEO GAMES - 'Godfather' eyes a piece of the video game action by J. Kesner, 22mar06 Daily News -- Attention, gamers: Here's an offer you can't refuse. Electronic Arts' "The Godfather: The Game" ( for Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox or PC) hit store shelves yesterday with a bada-bang, in what is possibly the first mass-market video game ever based on a dramatic film. Licensed by Paramount Pictures, the game includes all major characters and plot elements from the original Mario Puzo novel and 1972 Oscar-winning film. Players take on the role of a non-relative Corleone underling whose father was murdered by a rival mob. "We turn the story upside down, and follow it from the perspective of an outsider," says David DeMartini, the game's executive producer at EA. The goal is to rise to power as head of the Corleone family, taking over all New York mob activities "while Michael pursues business in Cuba and Las Vegas," says DeMartini. All of the film's characters are present, and many - including Luca Brasi, Pete Clemenza and the don himself - mentor your character along the way. The game adheres to the film plot, with liberties taken before and after major events. Players may find themselves on a mission to secure a horse's head, or witnessing Sonny's murder at the toll booth. Perhaps the game's most pleasing aspect to fans will be the voice-overs provided by five original cast members: Robert Duvall, James Caan, Abe Vigoda, John Martino and, impressively, Marlon Brando, who died in 2004. Andrew Reiner, executive editor of Game Informer magazine, notes, however, that having to stick so closely to the plot ultimately detracts from the game's quality. "It's very much a game of going to meetings and listening to these legendary actors reprise their roles," he says. "The stuff that has nothing to do with the film, like shaking down store owners, is what's fun."
MUSIC - South by Southwest's various directions by Ben Rayner, Toronto Star, 19Mar06 -- AUSTIN, TEX.—The weekend and its encroaching Spring Break hordes were the real test, and so it appears that the largest-ever edition of the South by Southwest festival is taking its growing pains casually in stride. Worries of endless lineups and repeatedly being turned away from over-capacity clubs had been haunting many SXSW patrons who recalled the scene last year when a surge in attendance occasionally seemed to overwhelm the music festival and conference's established routine. The panic has turned out to be somewhat premature, barring expected congestion at big-buzz shows by the likes of Belle & Sebastian, the Beastie Boys and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! The sheer scale of this year's program is likely its own saving grace. With 1,400 registered artists on the bill and a whirlwind of daytime and nighttime parties supplying music during those rare hours when the official SXSW itinerary does not — Vice magazine's three days of "Vice Kills Texas" events off-site essentially amounted to a parallel mini-festival, for instance — there's enough going on that the odds of everyone descending on one spot at one time are fairly scant. Trying to pull a theme out of the onslaught is decidedly difficult. There are plenty of themes to be found, however, according to wherever personal tastes might lead you. One is the return of artists from the post-punk era to claim some credit for the influence they've had and to show the kids how it's done. Thus, for every young pretender like She Wants Revenge or the Organ aping the fey drama and chugging rhythms of the skinny-tie era, there's a resurgent Gang of Four — who destroyed a downtown rooftop yesterday evening at a party hosted by Urb magazine — or Echo and the Bunnymen to demonstrate to us where all this stuff came from. Performances by the remarkably well-preserved Morrissey and the Charlatans served as reminders that we were going mad for Brits long before the Arctic Monkeys came along. Perhaps because of the incursion of dance rhythms and digital technology into indie-rock, electronic music also finally seems to be insinuating itself into the SXSW fold. A Friday-night showcase by the Kid 606's Tigerbeat 6 label at the Velvet Spade featuring Genders, Drop the Lime, Quintron and Miss Pussycat and the Kid himself pulled 'em in. A rollicking tag-team DJ set by Ghostly International labelmates Matt Dear and Ryan Elliott at Karma Lounge the same night was as crammed and sweaty as any rock 'n' roll gig. On the other hand, the CanCon contingent is slightly less conspicuous this time around. It's as large as ever, mind you. The annual North by Northeast barbecue at a stately southern mansion in a leafy neighbourhood off the downtown strip was, if anything, the busiest this writer has ever witnessed; one well-placed bomb would have essentially wiped out Toronto's music industry. It's just that the celebratory feel of the past couple of years has been replaced with a comfortable sense of having arrived. Ample buzz abounds for Broken Social Scene ember Jason Collett's solo performances, Toronto dance-floor decimators Holy F--k and the scrappy ladies of Magneta Lane, while even the perennially underappreciated Uncut — who tore the roof off Elysium Friday night — benefited from the spillover crowd from a slot just ahead of New York hip-hop babe Princess Superstar. Still, Metric would seem to be the Can-rock band to beat. The half-Toronto, half-Sacramento quartet had people raving all over town about a Thursday afternoon performance some longtime devotees were describing as the best they'd ever seen, and drew something like 3,000 people out to the amphitheatre behind Stubb's Barbecue Friday night for a triumphant encore. The band's spiky sound is becoming more epic to fit the larger venues it's playing and frontwoman Emily Haines — no shrinking violet to begin with — is becoming a wonderfully cocky little rock star. Stardom seems inevitable at this point.
MUSIC & COPYRIGHT - Notorious B.I.G. album sales halted: Illegal Sampling by cbc.ca 20mar06 -- A judge has stopped sales of the late Notorious B.I.G’s album Ready to Die after a jury decided the title track sampled another song without permission. The jury at the court in Nashville, Tenn. on Friday awarded $4.2 million US in damages to the two music companies that own the rights to the recording of the 1992 song Singing in the Morning by the Ohio Players. “We’ve just been battling this for such a long time,” said Armen Boladian, owner of both companies. “We knew we were right.” The judge’s ruling also affects internet downloads and radio play of the album and title song by Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace. Boladian brought charges against Bad Boy Entertainment head and producer Sean (Diddy) Combs, who produced the album. “We think [the verdict] is without merit,” said Jay Bowen, a lawyer representing Combs and his companies. Wallace, also known as Biggie Smalls, shot to fame in the early 1990s after being taken on by Combs. The New York rapper’s two albums – the breakthrough Ready to Die and the posthumous Life After Death – sold nearly eight million copies in the United States. Wallace was 24 when he was shot and killed in Los Angeles in 1997. His slaying remains unsolved and his family has long argued that a rogue L.A. police officer was involved. The family’s wrongful death lawsuit against the city and its police department was cut short last July after a judge declared a mistrial when it was revealed that a police detective concealed information linking an officer to the crime. The Los Angeles police have launched a new investigation into the murder.
TV - FCC Proposes New Fines for Indecent TV by J.C. KERR, Associated Press, March 16, 2006 WASHINGTON -- The government is renewing its crackdown on indecent television, proposing a total of $3.9 million in new fines while upholding its $550,000 fine against CBS stations for the Janet Jackson breast exposure at the Super Bowl. The biggest proposed fine issued Wednesday by the Federal Communications Commission (Canada's equivalent to the CRTC) was for $3.6 million a record against dozens of CBS stations and affiliates. The FCC said an episode of the CBS crime drama "Without a Trace" that aired in December 2004 was indecent, citing the graphic depiction of "teenage boys and girls participating in a sexual orgy." CBS objected, saying the program "featured an important and socially relevant storyline warning parents to exercise greater supervision of their teenage children." The network can appeal. The company has 30 days to ask the FCC for reconsideration and explain why the 111 CBS stations and affiliates should not be held liable. The maximum indecency fine is $32,500 per incident. The proposed fine was among a batch of decisions from the agency stemming from more than 300,000 complaints it received concerning nearly 50 TV shows broadcast between 2002 and 2005. The FCC also affirmed its previous $550,000 fine against 20 of the network's stations for the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" two years ago rejecting an appeal by CBS. Additional fines totaling about $300,000 were proposed for several other broadcasts, including an episode of "The Surreal Life 2" on The WB and an episode of a Spanish-language talk show, "The Fernando Hidalgo Show," on a Miami station. These were the first fines issued under FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, clearing a backlog of investigations into indecency complaints. The commission issued no fines last year. "These decisions, taken both individually and as a whole, demonstrate the commission's continued commitment to enforcing the law prohibiting the airing of obscene, indecent and profane material," Martin said in a statement. Responding to other complaints, the commission found that Fox Television Network had violated decency standards during the 2003 Billboard Music Awards. During the broadcast, reality-show star Nicole Richie uttered the "F" word and a common vulgarity for excrement. But the FCC declined to issue a fine for the program because at the time of the broadcast existing precedent indicated the commission would not take action against isolated use of expletives, the decision said. While in the past it may have been unclear what would result in a fine, the ruling from the FCC appears to put broadcasters on notice that they could indeed face fines for the "S" word. A 2004 decision from the FCC regarding the "F" word uttered by rock star Bono during a Golden Globe Awards ceremony made clear that virtually any use of that expletive was inappropriate. The commission dismissed complaints against a number of shows, including "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons." Federal law and FCC rules ban radio and over-the-air television stations from airing obscene material, such as describing sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, at any time. The rules also bar stations from broadcasting indecent material references to sex or excretions between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children might be more likely to be in the audience. While the current maximum fine is $32,500 per incident, some congressional lawmakers have called for boosting the penalty to as high as $500,000. The rules do not apply to cable or satellite. he agency's proposed fine for "Without a Trace" covers broadcasts aired at 9 p.m. in the Central and Mountain time zones.
TV - Product Placement on Sopranos by Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune March 15, 2006 -- Oh my god! What a car!" Carmela Soprano squealed as she got behind the wheel of her brand spanking new Porsche Cayenne Turbo, a pricey gift from mobster husband Tony, on the season debut of HBO's "The Sopranos."Though Carmela did a far better job of touting the $90,200 sport- utility vehicle with its 4.5-liter engine on Sunday than the hapless spokesmodels the Gold Rush team recruited to sing the praises of the 2007 Chevy Tahoe the next night on NBC's "The Apprentice," there was one critical difference.HBO and Porsche's advertising agency say no money changed hands for the plug on "The Sopranos." Writer Terence Winter's script mentioned the Cayenne, and the Porsche was loaned to producers.Donald Trump's game show routinely doubles as an infomercial of sorts as a different benefactor gets a boost each week in the guise of presenting a make-work project for contestants.Product placement has, according to one industry estimate, become a more than $1 billion annual business and it's likely to continue growing as marketers look for new ways to reach consumers increasingly sophisticated in evading traditional advertising.And so conditioned have viewers become to expect product placement plugs after a steady diet of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Survivor," we assume if we can make out a logo and/or hear a testimonial, it must be an ad. Even if it's not."We absolutely do not take product placement," a spokeswoman for pay-cable HBO said, noting that this was the third such inquiry she had received since Sunday. "Everything is story-driven or character-driven. . . . We feel that since we are advertiser free, from a philosophical point, product placement is another form of advertising and we do not do it."Similarly Porsche is among those companies with policies against pay for inclusion, which according to Jack Supple, chairman of Minneapolis-based Carmichael Lynch, Porsche's agency since 2000, has cost the sporty carmaker some TV and movie cameos."It's a more natural placement to just give them the car and see where they take it and I think they got pretty lucky," Supple said of the "Sopranos" appearance. "They really wrote the episode around it and will continue to use it as Carmela's car."Certainly, Edie Falco's Carmela couldn't stop talking about it Sunday, only somewhat cowed when an indendently wealthy pal said she opted for a Chevy Corvette over a Porsche Boxster."It almost sounds too good," Supple said. "It almost sounds like too much talk about the features of the car. But that was their script. That was simply what they took off on because the brand has such a powerful badge that it takes on a life of its own."So do "Sopranos" episodes. Die-hard fans, seeking deeper meaning, watch them over, poring over every shot as if scrutinizing the Zapruder film.The brand name dropping only stands out more with repeated viewing. It may add to the show's finely honed sense of reality on one level, but other shows and movies have sensitized the audience to be suspect.After a while it's impossible to avoid the Giorgio Armani logos everywhere in the store as the optician offers up a pair of Armani sunglasses with "flexible acetate frames, rimless lenses."There were the David Yurman watches ("18 karat gold, diamond center") Tony received as a gift and his Cingular mobile phone, which conked out, plus the lingering shots of the Nesquik logo on a model train and the Philips logo on Uncle Junior's TV.Never mind the passing glances of several car makes, Pella windows, a FedEx envelope, a Life Fitness treadmill, Post Selects Maple Pecan Crunch cereal, Ray-Bans ("classic, affordable"), a ReMax Web site and The Star-Ledger as well as Members Only, which also was the name of Sunday's episode.It's like a trip to the outlet mall in Secaucus. But it's also advertising money can't--and didn't--buy.HBO has been down this road before. A lot of viewers looked askance three years ago when a character on "Sex and the City" did an Absolut vodka ad and inspired a cocktail called the Absolut Hunk, which Absolut appropriated for a real marketing campaign."Again, that was creative-driven," HBO's spokeswoman said. "No money changed hands at any time."It's said there's no such thing as a free lunch. What about a free drink or a free ride? Carmela was thrilled Sunday with her Cayenne, but future Sundays may tell a different tale."I hope it doesn't end up with a head in it or something," Supple said. "That would be too bad."
FILM - Toronto, March 13th, 2006: The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television presented the 26th Annual Genie Awards celebrating excellence in Canadian cinema. The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a national non-profit professional association dedicated to promoting, recognizing and celebrating exceptional achievements in the Canadian film and television industries. Created in 1979 and today unifying more than 4,000 industry professionals across Canada, the Academy is a vital and integral force representing all areas of the film and television industry.
BOOKS & COPYRIGHT - Da Vinci Code' Author Brown Takes Stand by Jill Lawless, London Mar 13, 2006 (AP) -Almost three years to the day that "The Da Vinci Code" was first published, American author Dan Brown found himself on a witness stand in courtroom 61 of London's High Court on Monday, denying accusations he copied from others to produce his huge best-seller. Authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh are suing "Da Vinci Code" publisher Random House for copyright infringement, claiming Brown "appropriated the architecture" of their 1982 nonfiction book "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail." Both books explore theories dismissed by theologians but embraced by millions of readers that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, the couple had a child and the bloodline survives. If the writers succeed in securing an injunction to bar the use of their material, they could hold up the scheduled May 19 release of "The Da Vinci Code" film starring Tom Hanks and Ian McKellen. With his book an international sensation, Brown has rarely spoken to the media over the past couple of years and has made few public appearances, spending much of his time in his rural New Hampshire home, working on a new novel. But over the past couple of weeks, the 41-year-old author has watched lawyers dissect accounts of the medieval Knights Templar, the secretive Priory of Sion and the Merovingian royal line allegedly descended from Jesus. In a witness statement released Monday as Brown took the stand, the writer said it was "absurd to suggest that I have organized and presented my novel in accordance with the same general principles" as the earlier book. Responding to questions from the plaintiffs' attorney, Brown said much of the research for the book was done by his wife, Blythe. "She was deeply passionate about the sacred feminine," Brown said. Brown's lawyers released a previous witness statement in which the author said he was shocked by the allegations. Baigent and Leigh are only two of a number of authors who have written about the bloodline story, and yet I went out of my way to mention them for being the one who brought the story to mainstream attention," Brown said in the statement. "I have been shocked at their reaction; furthermore I do not really understand it." The plaintiffs' allegations contain "numerous sweeping statements which seem to me to be completely fanciful," Brown said. Random House lawyers argue that the ideas in dispute are so general they are not protected by copyright. They also say many of the ideas in "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" do not feature in Brown's novel, which follows fictional professor Robert Langdon as he investigates the murder of an elderly member of an ancient society that guards dark secrets about the story of Jesus and the quest for the Holy Grail. Under cross-examination, Brown acknowledged some uncertainty about the dates of events leading up to the March 18, 2003, publication of "The Da Vinci Code." In his statement, however, he said he was certain he and his wife had not consulted "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" for research until after the ideas and storyline of "The Da Vinci Code" were "very well developed." "All of my early research came from other sources," he said. Among the documents submitted to court were 39 books and more than 300 documents Brown said he consulted while writing "The Da Vinci Code." During more than three days of cross-examination last week by Random House lawyer John Baldwin, Baigent conceded that several key points in the claimants' case were wrong including the claim that "The Da Vinci Code" contained all the same historical conjecture as the earlier book. "I would concede that 'all' is far too strong," Baigent said. "I would say 'most.'" Brown's fast-moving theological thriller has sold more than 40 million copies since it was published three years ago this week. "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" a more modest best-seller on its release has seen a surge in sales since the trial began, going from about 350 copies sold a week in Britain to 3,000, according trade publication The Bookseller. The third author of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," Henry Lincoln, is not involved in the case. A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Paul Sutton, refused to say why he was not participating. Lincoln, who is in his 70s and reportedly in poor health, could not be reached for comment.
Da Vinci Code Lawsuit - London Times, March 08, 2006 -- I’m not as right as I thought I was, Da Vinci accuser admits WHAT was Godfrey de Bouillon’s real reason for undertaking the First Crusade in 1099? And did the Emperor Constantine really convert to Christianity after the Battle of Milvian Bridge in AD312, or was it on his deathbed? You would not find the answer to either question in The Da Vinci Code (DVC), the High Court was told yesterday. And that is because, according to the defence case, Dan Brown’s hugely successful thriller is not the rip-off from a work of religious speculation that it is alleged to be. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, co-authors of The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail (HBHG), a bestseller when published in 1982, are suing Brown’s publishers for breach of copyright. They claim that the novel stole much of its plot from their work, which explores the theory that Christ married and had children, and that the Roman Catholic Church has been trying to hush it up ever since. It was not a good day for the claimants yesterday, when the hearing resumed after a six-day adjournment to allow Mr Justice Peter Smith to read both books carefully. Under withering cross-examination from John Baldwin, QC, representing Random House, the publishers, Baigent admitted that some of the evidence in his 80-page witness statement to the court was false. The claimants allege that Brown lifted at least 15 ideas from their book. To support their case, they presented a number of book reviews and a reader’s letter to The Times purporting to show the similarities in the two works. In his written witness statement, Baigent had alleged that Brown had “used a thriller plot to disseminate the central theme of HBHG”. Mr Baldwin showed that HBHG’s theories about Godfrey de Bouillon, the Emperor Constantine and a number of other points did not appear in The Da Vinci Code. “I think I could have phrased that paragraph more felicitously,” Baigent said. “You could have told the truth, for instance,” Mr Baldwin shot back. Pressed further on whether reviewers shared his view that the plot of DVC was based on HBHG, Baigent said: “I should have said ‘appeared to share’.” He added: “I cannot establish beyond a shadow of doubt that they share every single one of the 15 points.” Reviewers, Mr Baldwin said, had highlighted an important theme of HBHG as being that Christ did not die on the Cross and that He faked His own Crucifixion. That, along with many other points, were not in DVC. “They are not, that is true,” Baigent conceded. Mr Baldwin asked Baigent why he had signed a statement containing paragraphs that were false. “I believed it to be true, but I am prepared to state now that I was not right.” Even the judge weighed in: “You can’t have believed this witness statement when you drew it up. You are now drawing completely the opposite conclusion.” Baigent replied: “I didn’t read them [the reviews] with the correct assiduity that I should have done.” The hearing continues.
Publisher's lawyer in 'Da Vinci Code' case says ideas too general - by Jill Lawless, Associated Press Feb28, 2006 LONDON -- A lawyer for the publisher of the "The Da Vinci Code" argued in court Tuesday that ideas which two writers claim were stolen for Dan Brown's blockbuster novel are so general they are not protected by copyright. The publisher's lawyer, John Baldwin, said the claim by Baigent and Leigh "relates to and seeks to monopolize ideas at such a high level of generality that they are not protected by copyright." Brown, who is expected to testify next week, was in court for the second day of the trial. It was expected to recess later in the day until next Tuesday, providing time for the judge, Peter Smith, to read both books and related texts. The authori, who lives in Exeter, N.H., has been working on a new novel. If Baigent and Leigh -- whose work claimed Jesus married Mary Magdalene, that the couple had a child and that the bloodline survives -- succeed in securing an injunction to bar the use of their material, they could hold up the May 19 release of "The Da Vinci Code" film, starring Tom Hanks and Ian McKellen. Sony Pictures said it planned to release the film as scheduled. Baldwin said many important themes of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" did not feature in "The Da Vinci Code," particularly the idea that a secretive order called the Priory of Sion exists and seeks to restore descendants of Jesus Christ to the thrones of Europe. Baldwin said this was a "massive point" in the earlier book but was not stressed by Brown. Baigent, born in New Zealand, and Leigh, originally from the United States, are suing Random House, which also published their book. The company denies the claim and chief executive Gail Rebuck said in a statement she believed the lawsuit was without merit. The book's third writer, Henry Lincoln, is not involved in the case. Jonathan Rayner James, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Monday that his clients were not attempting to "stultify creative endeavor" or to claim a monopoly on ideas or historical debate, but to prove Brown had "relied heavily" on the earlier work, published in Britain in 1982 and the following year in the United States. Baldwin said Brown developed most of the central ideas of his book independently. "He found the ideas that he wanted to use in his novel before either he or his wife had looked at 'The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail,'" Baldwin said. "The story line was very well developed. He had the ideas in place, and decided to use them." Baldwin said many of the ideas the claimants sought to protect were not original. "They are ideas the claimants have taken from other sources," he said. Brown's book also was the target of a previous lawsuit. In 2005, a U.S. judge in New York ruled that his book did not infringe on the copyrights of "Daughter of God," by Lewis Perdue. The judge also ruled out any copyright violations of Perdue's 1983 novel, "The Da Vinci Legacy."
Da Vinci Code author faces British court battle - 27feb2006 Globe&Mail London -- The author of the blockbuster novel The Da Vinci Code faces an English High Court challenge Monday from two men who claim he stole their ideas. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh are suing their own publishers, Random House, claiming Dan Brown's book draws heavily on their 1982 bestseller Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Baigent's and Leigh's book tackles theories that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and had a child, and that their blood line continues to the present day -- with the awareness of the Catholic Church. Brown's book explores similar themes about the Vatican covering up the true story of Jesus. If Baigent and Leigh are successful, the case could threaten the British release of the film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code in May.
MUSIC - Apple's fight with the music industry now involves the competition - The Economist, 09mar2006 --Compared with Hollywood, publishing and the rest of the media industry, the music business has always been disreputable: its artists get arrested, music charts are rigged and two leading companies recently got caught bribing radio stations. Now it seems that big music companies may also be illegally conspiring to fix prices on the internet. Last week America's Department of Justice opened an inquiry into “the possibility of anti-competitive practices in the music-download industry.” The department's action is the second investigation into possible price collusion in music-downloads in America: in December 2005 Eliot Spitzer, New York's crusading attorney-general, announced a similar inquiry. But nearly nothing is known about exactly what practices prompted the investigations. What has probably happened is that Mr Spitzer and the Department of Justice have been dragged into a massive public row between the music industry and Apple, a computer-maker which has 83% of the market for music downloads through its iPod music players and iTunes download service. The music majors want Apple to stop charging a fixed price of 99 cents per track and $9.99 for an album. They want variable pricing, so that new releases can be priced higher than older stuff. The music companies will soon have a chance to get their way. Their contracts with Apple are up for renewal from April onwards. They will presumably tell Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, that he cannot have their music unless he pays them more than the 65-75 cents they get now. That could force Apple to raise its retail price. The music firms' strongest position, of course, would be to present a united front. That three of the big four—Sony BMG, Warner Music and EMI—are all saying roughly the same thing about Apple's pricing has aroused the suspicion that they may be colluding, says a Washington lobbyist. The music labels reckon that the Digital Media Association, which represents Apple, among others, has complained to the Department of Justice. Mr Jobs says that the majors risk stifling the new market, and also that they are plain greedy. The charge of greed is unfair. Although digital music sales tripled in 2005 to $1.1 billion, the music companies are hardly raking in the cash from music downloads. There are two problems. First, people are downloading more single tracks than albums, which means lower revenues for the majors. Second, they are mostly filling their new iPods from their CD collections, not from iTunes. For the music giants, it may well be worth risking another run-in with the law, if that means they can make downloading truly profitable.
MUSIC - iPod TAX by Daryl Grove 2006 -- “If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat / If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet,” sang the Beatles on “Taxman” in 1966. Now they might have to add “If you listen to illegally downloaded music, I’ll tax your your digital media player.” Not as catchy, but that’s what’s going to happen if certain people in the U.K. music industry get their way. The idea has been suggested following legislation in Holland for a point of sale surcharge on any device capable of storing illegally downloaded or “pirated” music. The recently passed Dutch legislation will become law within the next three months, with reports suggesting the levy could be around €3.28 (eruos) per gigabyte. On Apple’s 60gb iPod that would add over €190 to the price. The levy would be paid to copyright holders, to compensate for profits lost to illegal filesharing.Doug D’Arcy, the former head of Chrysalis and BMG, thinks Britain should follow suit. “The illegal digital download market is in danger of crippling the British music industry and unless something is done to address this quickly, it will spell disaster for thousands of artists and independent record labels,” he said to the Scottish Sunday Herald. “We had an opportunity to introduce a levy on audio cassettes back in the 1970s and passed it up. That decision cost the business tens of millions, and to make the same mistake again could be fatal.” Prospective British iPod buyers will be relieved to hear that the “iTax” faces little support from the music industries big guns. Sony and EMI have refused to add their support while the British Phonographic Industry has refused to comment. The main objections are thought to be the assumption that all purchasers of mp3 players are planning to break copyright laws . Similarly, customers who buy tunes legally from stores like iTunes will be paying tax twice. The biggest concern is that the tax may be self-defeating. It would effectively monetise and legitimise filesharing, at a time when the industry is doing all it can to demonise what it terms illegal downloads. Outside of Holland, the music industry may decide it’s more important to maintain the moral high ground than to pinch a few extra pounds.
FILM & COPYRIGHT - The hit film "Mr And Mrs Smith" Accused Of Copyright Breach - 05mar2006 -- New Zealand author Gavin Bishop is claiming breach of copyright after asserting that the makers of hit Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie vehicle, Mr and Mrs Smith – stole his idea. Bishop claims the film was “too close to be accidental” to a children’s book he wrote in 1997 called The Secret Lives of Mr and Mrs Smith. Nope, doesn’t sound similar at all… He said: "The fact that my book was published in the United States and was available to thousands of school children - it doesn't seem too far-fetched to think the Hollywood scriptwriter of this film may have come across my book." Bishop can’t afford to sue, but is keen for a lawyer to take up the case.
MUSIC - Canada Music Week/Semaine de la musique canadienne. An annual nation-wide festival sponsored by the CFMTA to introduce Canadian music to students, teachers and audiences; to encourage and promote Canadian music, musicians, and music teaching; and to emphasize the significance of music in society. Introduced in 1960, Canada Music Week in 1990 continued to be held in the last full week of November to coincide with St. Cecilia's Day. The committee has nine provincial and other branch chairpersons, and a national chairperson (Leonard Wilson 1961-2, Sister Rodriguez Steele and Eleanor Harkness 1963-9, and Helen Dahlstrom 1970- ). The national organization provides promotional material, publishes a brochure with suggestions for activities and publicity, and has administered the national music writing competition since its inception. Programs are the responsibility of individual centres and have included professional and student concerts; displays in schools, music stores, and libraries (including regular exhibits at the National Library of Canada beginning in 1974); screenings of films; lecture-recitals; and local essay, poster and composition competitions. Churches are encouraged to use Canadian hymns, anthems and organ music and school teachers are asked to highlight Canadian music in their classes. The CBC and private radio stations have broadcast student recitals, given capsule biographies of Canadian composers, panel discussions and interviews, and featured recordings of Canadian music during the week. One of the largest celebrations to date was in Toronto in 1970 when the first Contemporary Showcase was held during Canada Music Week and became its focal point. The national organization's primary activity is the Music Writing Competition which was instituted in 1971. Three classes are offered at different age levels. Prizes have increased in value from $75 for the senior class in 1971 to $300 in 1988. In 1985 the CFMTA and Waterloo Music Co published The Canada Music Week Silver Anniversary Collection, a book of piano solos by Canadian composers, some of whom had judged (Ruth Watson Henderson) or won (Douglas Finch) the Canada Music Week Music Writing Competition. This collection was compiled and edited by Helen Dahlstrom and was the result of a juried competition. Canada Music Week Magazine, edited by Helen Dahlstrom, has been published annually beginning in 1971. Canada Music Week has received financial and other assistance from many sources, both private and public, and has been strongly supported by SOCAN.
MUSIC - Leonard Cohen awarded $9 million in civil suit - Mar2 2006 CTV.ca News -- Iconic Canadian crooner Leonard Cohen has been awarded $9 million US in a civil suit he filed against his former business manager. The 71-year-old Montreal-born singer-songwriter was awarded the ruling earlier in the week when a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge issued his decision on a civil suit Cohen had filed last August, according to The Globe and Mail. The suit accused Kelley Lynch of fraud and negligence, as well as breaches of contract and fiduciary duty during her 16-year tenure as Cohen's business manager. Lynch was also Cohen's lover in 1990. Cohen took Lynch to court on allegations she skimmed more than $5 million from Cohen's savings over a period of about eight years. Cohen's retirement fund was reduced to just $150,000 by 2004. Another defendant, Richard Westin, was also named in the suit, but reached an out-of-court settlement with Cohen last month. When Cohen filed his claims against Lynch last year, he was being sued by Neal Greenberg for conspiracy, extortion and defamation of character. The story drew international headlines. Cohen originally alleged that Westin and Lynch had worked together to orchestrate the $12 million sale of a music publishing company owned by Cohen, as well as his artist royalties, with the proceeds going into a company owned almost entirely by Lynch. Cohen claimed the pair misled him into believing the company, Traditional Holdings, was owned by his two children. Despite the favourable court ruling, Cohen might have trouble recovering the money he has been awarded. Lynch has ignored the civil suit, neither responding to it not filing any claims of her own and ignoring a subpoena issued for her financial records. And recently, Lynch claimed her phone had been disconnected because she was unable to pay the bill. Cohen has been back in the spotlight recently after a long absence. He has released a poetry collection – his first in 22 years, worked on musical projects, appeared in a documentary and has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
COPYRIGHT - LEGAL CASES:U.S COURT HOLDS THAT GOOGLE CACHE IS FAIR USE - A Nevada (U.S.) federal districtcourt has held that Google Cache does not infringe copyright-protected works. InField v Google, the court also ruled that Google held an implied license toreproduce copyright-protected works online because the copyright owner knewthat Google was making a copy and did not block the search engine's robot fromarchiving or caching his Web pages. In addition, the court held that GoogleCache constitutes fair use, since the cached copy serves a different purposefrom the copy provided by the owner. Finally, the court held that Google Cacheconstitutes "intermediate and temporary storage" of material under the DigitalMillennium Copyright Act. The decision is at: http://www.eff.org/IP/blake_v_google/google_nevada_order.pdf.
U.S. COURT HOLDS THAT DOWNLOADING MUSIC IS NOT FAIR USE - The U.S. Court ofAppeals for the Seventh Circuit recently upheld a $US22,500 judgement against aperson for illegally distributing songs over the Internet. The court rejectedthe defendant's argument that she was sampling music to decide what topurchase, and also rejected the argument that these downloads were a form oftime-shifting permitted as fair use under the Sony-Betamax decision. Thedefendant had earlier rejected a proposed settlement from the RIAA of $US3500.BMG Music v. Cecilia Gonzales is at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/051314p.pdf.
TV - MTV to launch in Canada - 02mar2006 Globe and Mail -- MTV Canada will launch on Canadian airwaves March 21, the CTV network announced. The station will compete with CHUM Ltd.'s Much Music station with music-related, celebrity and talk programming.The launch date for MTV Canada had been a closely-guarded secret within CTV, which secured the rights to operate a Canadian version of the U.S.-based pop-culture network last year.The announcement comes a week after CTV said the network would be housed at Toronto's historic Masonic Temple, where it has installed a three-metre by four-metre MTV Canada logo. The building has housed performances and rehearsals of several music acts in past years, including bands such as the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. CTV and The Globe and Mail are part of Bell Globemedia, which is controlled by BCE Inc. The MTV Canada license was held by Craig Broadcasting, but became available after that network was bought by CHUM. MTV was allowed to pull out of the deal because of the ownership change. The TV launch of MTV is expected to coincide with a roll out of the networks on-line strategy, which will include downloadable content. However, the CTV incarnation of MTV requires the network to operate the station under a Talk TV licence, meaning it will focus on lifestyle shows through its cable channel, rather than running music videos, the network has said.
TV - Michael Douglas sues over TV shows - by UPI 01mar2006 -- Hollywood star Michael Douglas is suing two Florida companies to block the use of his name and image in a series of short educational programs.The 61-year-old actor filed suit in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale against Family Television Studios and Paradigm Media Group – related companies operating out of different suites in the same office building in Boca Raton. According to the lawsuit, Douglas was hired by the companies to host the Learning About… series of programs on the understanding that they were non-commercial and intended for broadcast on public television stations.But, Douglas claims, the shows – about music, science and history – were “highly commercial” and Paradigm Media tried to sell corporate sponsorships.Further, the suit accuses the companies of using footage of Douglas in another program, Simple Living, without his permission.The star is seeking a court order preventing the companies from using his name and likeness as well as damages “in excess of $5 million (U.S.).”No one at Family Television and Paradigm Media was available for comment. Public television network PBS has posted a notice on its Web site stating that it is not affiliated with either company. It claims the producers of Learning About… have solicited sponsorship from various businesses and “based upon representations made to them by the producers, the businesses were led to believe that the producers were associated with PBS. ”Douglas’ agreement with Family Television and Paradigm Media indicates that he would also do work for a third company, WJMK. That company was sued for $25 million (U.S.) in 2003 by newscaster Walter Cronkite, who claimed the company used video segments in which he appeared for commercial purposes. The case was settled out of court.
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TV - Into the west for Gemini Awards by A.Gill, Globe and Mail 28mar06 Vancouver -- Head west, young television producers. The Gemini Awards national broadcast gala is moving to Vancouver in November. This marks the first time in 21 years that the awards celebrating excellence in Canadian television will be held outside Toronto. "The very least it can do is invigorate them," says Terry McEvoy, chair of the Western division of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, which initiated the bid to hold the event elsewhere. McEvoy points to the Juno Awards as an example of a "moribund" show that was injected with renewed enthusiasm when it branched out across the country. The Gemini gala, to be broadcast live by Global Television, will be held on Nov. 4 at the River Rock Resort and Casino. The non-broadcast elements, two nights of technical, sports and documentary awards, will still be held in Toronto a week earlier. McEvoy says the idea of holding the awards on the west coast, a bid several years in the making, was a no-brainer. "We have a mature, extraordinary industry here that is doing some of the best stuff in Canada," he says, pointing to Corner Gas as an example of acclaimed TV produced in Western Canada. The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television -- which organizes the Gemini Awards, the Genie Awards and the Prix Gémeaux for French-language TV -- is a national non-profit professional association of 4,000 members. The Western Division represents approximately 650 members; more than 500 are based in Vancouver. Western filmmakers have always felt stung by "the famous $1,000 cup of coffee," McEvoy explains. "That's what it costs for a flight in order for us to have a meeting with a broadcaster in Toronto." Having the Gemini Awards in Vancouver will provide the local industry an opportunity to meet the Eastern-based movers and shakers. And because the Canadian Association of Broadcasters will be meeting in Vancouver the subsequent week "a lot of the powers that be will be in town," McEvoy notes. Although the Geminis are Canada's version of the Emmys, its glamour quotient pales in comparison. "There's always a peculiar stillness that comes with the Gemini Award nominations," Globe and Mail critic Andrew Ryan wrote last year. "Each fall, it's the sort of non-breaking story that arrives in Canadian newsrooms with minimal fanfare and to muted response." McEvoy admits that the event does have its problems -- shows that are nominated will often have been cancelled -- but he says those are problems born of the industry. "People in Canada have funny expectations. They expect the Geminis to be like the Emmys, but we don't have the media coverage or budgets to match American programs. That said, we are doing some great and innovative stuff, especially in the west."
MUSIC - US rap label faces receivership by BBC News 27mar06 -- Rap label Death Row Records will go into receivership next week unless its founder appears in court to answer questions on his financial status. Marion "Suge" Knight has missed three hearings already, having been ordered to pay $107m to Lydia Harris. Ms Harris claims she was a co-founder of the label in the early 1990s and was therefore entitled to the money. A judge will take over Mr Knight's assets if he does not attend the next scheduled interview on 1 April. Death Row Records helped to launch the careers of rappers such as Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur. Ms Harris was awarded the sum in March 2005, but the case became more complicated when her ex-husband Michael tried to claim half of the total for himself. He said he had provided some of the capital for the label and argued he was entitled to take half of the $107m as a result. Assets frozen In August 2005, Mr Knight's assets were frozen. All of the parties involved have been fighting in court ever since. "There is no explanation or excuse for [Knight] not coming," said lawyer Steve Goldberg, who represents Michael Harris. "There are rules of court that should be obeyed and Mr Knight is making a mockery of it." Suge Knight has served jail time for assault and parole violations and was recently shot in the leg at a hip-hop party.
COPYRIGHT & TRADEMARK - Google’s Cache Function does not infringe any Copyright - 24mar06 -- An American online author of seduction advice has failed in a copyright action brought against Google. Gordon Roy Parker had accused the search machine of saving his Internet site, as well as Usenet contributions, using the cache function on its servers and then later placing them at the disposal of third parties as search results.Google’s cache functions acts like an intermediate memory, which could allow sites to be called-up even if they are no longer online directly . The court in Pennsylvania were of the opinion that the automatically-operating memory caused no copyright infringement. The news agency Reuters report that the judges considered the cache function to be a form of redistribution of data. Google operated as an Internet service, transmitting data to users, and in the meantime saved data for this purpose. Parker, who publishes advice on subjects like ‘Why hot women go for losers’, had within his 72 page complaint made Google responsible for personal attacks on him via anonymous web postings.. ‘When someone wants to ruin your reputation, he can leave that up to Google’, he remarked during the case.With this decision, Google have been found to be in the right for a second time. In January, a court in Nevada had thrown out a complaint from a poetry-writing lawyer, who likewise perceived his copyright to be damaged by the cache function.
MUSIC - Downloading Does Not Hurt Business: Canadian Record Industry Study Says - cbc.ca 23mar06 -- New research says music downloading (or "P2P," peer-to-peer file swapping) might not be the record industry's death knell after all. And while that's an interesting idea, the real surprise is where the new research is coming from: the recording industry itself. The study was done by Pollara as part of CRIA's submission to the CRTC's Commercial Radio Review. According to high-tech copyright guru Michael Geist, it makes some interesting conclusions, including: Downloading makes up for less than one-third of the music on downloaders' computers.' Downloaders often test run songs on P2P services before buying. The largest downloading demographic is also the largest music buying demographic. Dips in music sales have little to do with the availability of music on P2P services. Geist goes into more detail about the report, taking note of some of the particulars: Consistent with many other studies, people who download music from P2P services frequently buy that same music. The study found that only 25% of respondents said they never bought music after listening to it as a P2P downloaded track. That obviously leaves nearly 75% as future purchasers, including 21% who have bought music ten times or more. Note that demographically, the lowest percentage of non-buyers actually belonged to the 13 to 17 year old demographic. The 13 to 17 year old demographic also happens to be the largest purchasing group of music, buying an average of 11.6 music CDs or DVDs in the past six months. Close behind are the 18 to 24 age group at 10.9 music CDs or DVDs. By comparison, the older demographics may not download much music but they don't buy much either. The 55-64 age group bought 4.2 music CDs or DVDs, while the 65 and up age group bought 2.8 music CDs or DVDs
VIDEO GAMES - 'Godfather' eyes a piece of the video game action by J. Kesner, 22mar06 Daily News -- Attention, gamers: Here's an offer you can't refuse. Electronic Arts' "The Godfather: The Game" ( for Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox or PC) hit store shelves yesterday with a bada-bang, in what is possibly the first mass-market video game ever based on a dramatic film. Licensed by Paramount Pictures, the game includes all major characters and plot elements from the original Mario Puzo novel and 1972 Oscar-winning film. Players take on the role of a non-relative Corleone underling whose father was murdered by a rival mob. "We turn the story upside down, and follow it from the perspective of an outsider," says David DeMartini, the game's executive producer at EA. The goal is to rise to power as head of the Corleone family, taking over all New York mob activities "while Michael pursues business in Cuba and Las Vegas," says DeMartini. All of the film's characters are present, and many - including Luca Brasi, Pete Clemenza and the don himself - mentor your character along the way. The game adheres to the film plot, with liberties taken before and after major events. Players may find themselves on a mission to secure a horse's head, or witnessing Sonny's murder at the toll booth. Perhaps the game's most pleasing aspect to fans will be the voice-overs provided by five original cast members: Robert Duvall, James Caan, Abe Vigoda, John Martino and, impressively, Marlon Brando, who died in 2004. Andrew Reiner, executive editor of Game Informer magazine, notes, however, that having to stick so closely to the plot ultimately detracts from the game's quality. "It's very much a game of going to meetings and listening to these legendary actors reprise their roles," he says. "The stuff that has nothing to do with the film, like shaking down store owners, is what's fun."
MUSIC - South by Southwest's various directions by Ben Rayner, Toronto Star, 19Mar06 -- AUSTIN, TEX.—The weekend and its encroaching Spring Break hordes were the real test, and so it appears that the largest-ever edition of the South by Southwest festival is taking its growing pains casually in stride. Worries of endless lineups and repeatedly being turned away from over-capacity clubs had been haunting many SXSW patrons who recalled the scene last year when a surge in attendance occasionally seemed to overwhelm the music festival and conference's established routine. The panic has turned out to be somewhat premature, barring expected congestion at big-buzz shows by the likes of Belle & Sebastian, the Beastie Boys and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! The sheer scale of this year's program is likely its own saving grace. With 1,400 registered artists on the bill and a whirlwind of daytime and nighttime parties supplying music during those rare hours when the official SXSW itinerary does not — Vice magazine's three days of "Vice Kills Texas" events off-site essentially amounted to a parallel mini-festival, for instance — there's enough going on that the odds of everyone descending on one spot at one time are fairly scant. Trying to pull a theme out of the onslaught is decidedly difficult. There are plenty of themes to be found, however, according to wherever personal tastes might lead you. One is the return of artists from the post-punk era to claim some credit for the influence they've had and to show the kids how it's done. Thus, for every young pretender like She Wants Revenge or the Organ aping the fey drama and chugging rhythms of the skinny-tie era, there's a resurgent Gang of Four — who destroyed a downtown rooftop yesterday evening at a party hosted by Urb magazine — or Echo and the Bunnymen to demonstrate to us where all this stuff came from. Performances by the remarkably well-preserved Morrissey and the Charlatans served as reminders that we were going mad for Brits long before the Arctic Monkeys came along. Perhaps because of the incursion of dance rhythms and digital technology into indie-rock, electronic music also finally seems to be insinuating itself into the SXSW fold. A Friday-night showcase by the Kid 606's Tigerbeat 6 label at the Velvet Spade featuring Genders, Drop the Lime, Quintron and Miss Pussycat and the Kid himself pulled 'em in. A rollicking tag-team DJ set by Ghostly International labelmates Matt Dear and Ryan Elliott at Karma Lounge the same night was as crammed and sweaty as any rock 'n' roll gig. On the other hand, the CanCon contingent is slightly less conspicuous this time around. It's as large as ever, mind you. The annual North by Northeast barbecue at a stately southern mansion in a leafy neighbourhood off the downtown strip was, if anything, the busiest this writer has ever witnessed; one well-placed bomb would have essentially wiped out Toronto's music industry. It's just that the celebratory feel of the past couple of years has been replaced with a comfortable sense of having arrived. Ample buzz abounds for Broken Social Scene ember Jason Collett's solo performances, Toronto dance-floor decimators Holy F--k and the scrappy ladies of Magneta Lane, while even the perennially underappreciated Uncut — who tore the roof off Elysium Friday night — benefited from the spillover crowd from a slot just ahead of New York hip-hop babe Princess Superstar. Still, Metric would seem to be the Can-rock band to beat. The half-Toronto, half-Sacramento quartet had people raving all over town about a Thursday afternoon performance some longtime devotees were describing as the best they'd ever seen, and drew something like 3,000 people out to the amphitheatre behind Stubb's Barbecue Friday night for a triumphant encore. The band's spiky sound is becoming more epic to fit the larger venues it's playing and frontwoman Emily Haines — no shrinking violet to begin with — is becoming a wonderfully cocky little rock star. Stardom seems inevitable at this point.
MUSIC & COPYRIGHT - Notorious B.I.G. album sales halted: Illegal Sampling by cbc.ca 20mar06 -- A judge has stopped sales of the late Notorious B.I.G’s album Ready to Die after a jury decided the title track sampled another song without permission. The jury at the court in Nashville, Tenn. on Friday awarded $4.2 million US in damages to the two music companies that own the rights to the recording of the 1992 song Singing in the Morning by the Ohio Players. “We’ve just been battling this for such a long time,” said Armen Boladian, owner of both companies. “We knew we were right.” The judge’s ruling also affects internet downloads and radio play of the album and title song by Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace. Boladian brought charges against Bad Boy Entertainment head and producer Sean (Diddy) Combs, who produced the album. “We think [the verdict] is without merit,” said Jay Bowen, a lawyer representing Combs and his companies. Wallace, also known as Biggie Smalls, shot to fame in the early 1990s after being taken on by Combs. The New York rapper’s two albums – the breakthrough Ready to Die and the posthumous Life After Death – sold nearly eight million copies in the United States. Wallace was 24 when he was shot and killed in Los Angeles in 1997. His slaying remains unsolved and his family has long argued that a rogue L.A. police officer was involved. The family’s wrongful death lawsuit against the city and its police department was cut short last July after a judge declared a mistrial when it was revealed that a police detective concealed information linking an officer to the crime. The Los Angeles police have launched a new investigation into the murder.
TV - FCC Proposes New Fines for Indecent TV by J.C. KERR, Associated Press, March 16, 2006 WASHINGTON -- The government is renewing its crackdown on indecent television, proposing a total of $3.9 million in new fines while upholding its $550,000 fine against CBS stations for the Janet Jackson breast exposure at the Super Bowl. The biggest proposed fine issued Wednesday by the Federal Communications Commission (Canada's equivalent to the CRTC) was for $3.6 million a record against dozens of CBS stations and affiliates. The FCC said an episode of the CBS crime drama "Without a Trace" that aired in December 2004 was indecent, citing the graphic depiction of "teenage boys and girls participating in a sexual orgy." CBS objected, saying the program "featured an important and socially relevant storyline warning parents to exercise greater supervision of their teenage children." The network can appeal. The company has 30 days to ask the FCC for reconsideration and explain why the 111 CBS stations and affiliates should not be held liable. The maximum indecency fine is $32,500 per incident. The proposed fine was among a batch of decisions from the agency stemming from more than 300,000 complaints it received concerning nearly 50 TV shows broadcast between 2002 and 2005. The FCC also affirmed its previous $550,000 fine against 20 of the network's stations for the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" two years ago rejecting an appeal by CBS. Additional fines totaling about $300,000 were proposed for several other broadcasts, including an episode of "The Surreal Life 2" on The WB and an episode of a Spanish-language talk show, "The Fernando Hidalgo Show," on a Miami station. These were the first fines issued under FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, clearing a backlog of investigations into indecency complaints. The commission issued no fines last year. "These decisions, taken both individually and as a whole, demonstrate the commission's continued commitment to enforcing the law prohibiting the airing of obscene, indecent and profane material," Martin said in a statement. Responding to other complaints, the commission found that Fox Television Network had violated decency standards during the 2003 Billboard Music Awards. During the broadcast, reality-show star Nicole Richie uttered the "F" word and a common vulgarity for excrement. But the FCC declined to issue a fine for the program because at the time of the broadcast existing precedent indicated the commission would not take action against isolated use of expletives, the decision said. While in the past it may have been unclear what would result in a fine, the ruling from the FCC appears to put broadcasters on notice that they could indeed face fines for the "S" word. A 2004 decision from the FCC regarding the "F" word uttered by rock star Bono during a Golden Globe Awards ceremony made clear that virtually any use of that expletive was inappropriate. The commission dismissed complaints against a number of shows, including "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons." Federal law and FCC rules ban radio and over-the-air television stations from airing obscene material, such as describing sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, at any time. The rules also bar stations from broadcasting indecent material references to sex or excretions between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children might be more likely to be in the audience. While the current maximum fine is $32,500 per incident, some congressional lawmakers have called for boosting the penalty to as high as $500,000. The rules do not apply to cable or satellite. he agency's proposed fine for "Without a Trace" covers broadcasts aired at 9 p.m. in the Central and Mountain time zones.
TV - Product Placement on Sopranos by Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune March 15, 2006 -- Oh my god! What a car!" Carmela Soprano squealed as she got behind the wheel of her brand spanking new Porsche Cayenne Turbo, a pricey gift from mobster husband Tony, on the season debut of HBO's "The Sopranos."Though Carmela did a far better job of touting the $90,200 sport- utility vehicle with its 4.5-liter engine on Sunday than the hapless spokesmodels the Gold Rush team recruited to sing the praises of the 2007 Chevy Tahoe the next night on NBC's "The Apprentice," there was one critical difference.HBO and Porsche's advertising agency say no money changed hands for the plug on "The Sopranos." Writer Terence Winter's script mentioned the Cayenne, and the Porsche was loaned to producers.Donald Trump's game show routinely doubles as an infomercial of sorts as a different benefactor gets a boost each week in the guise of presenting a make-work project for contestants.Product placement has, according to one industry estimate, become a more than $1 billion annual business and it's likely to continue growing as marketers look for new ways to reach consumers increasingly sophisticated in evading traditional advertising.And so conditioned have viewers become to expect product placement plugs after a steady diet of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Survivor," we assume if we can make out a logo and/or hear a testimonial, it must be an ad. Even if it's not."We absolutely do not take product placement," a spokeswoman for pay-cable HBO said, noting that this was the third such inquiry she had received since Sunday. "Everything is story-driven or character-driven. . . . We feel that since we are advertiser free, from a philosophical point, product placement is another form of advertising and we do not do it."Similarly Porsche is among those companies with policies against pay for inclusion, which according to Jack Supple, chairman of Minneapolis-based Carmichael Lynch, Porsche's agency since 2000, has cost the sporty carmaker some TV and movie cameos."It's a more natural placement to just give them the car and see where they take it and I think they got pretty lucky," Supple said of the "Sopranos" appearance. "They really wrote the episode around it and will continue to use it as Carmela's car."Certainly, Edie Falco's Carmela couldn't stop talking about it Sunday, only somewhat cowed when an indendently wealthy pal said she opted for a Chevy Corvette over a Porsche Boxster."It almost sounds too good," Supple said. "It almost sounds like too much talk about the features of the car. But that was their script. That was simply what they took off on because the brand has such a powerful badge that it takes on a life of its own."So do "Sopranos" episodes. Die-hard fans, seeking deeper meaning, watch them over, poring over every shot as if scrutinizing the Zapruder film.The brand name dropping only stands out more with repeated viewing. It may add to the show's finely honed sense of reality on one level, but other shows and movies have sensitized the audience to be suspect.After a while it's impossible to avoid the Giorgio Armani logos everywhere in the store as the optician offers up a pair of Armani sunglasses with "flexible acetate frames, rimless lenses."There were the David Yurman watches ("18 karat gold, diamond center") Tony received as a gift and his Cingular mobile phone, which conked out, plus the lingering shots of the Nesquik logo on a model train and the Philips logo on Uncle Junior's TV.Never mind the passing glances of several car makes, Pella windows, a FedEx envelope, a Life Fitness treadmill, Post Selects Maple Pecan Crunch cereal, Ray-Bans ("classic, affordable"), a ReMax Web site and The Star-Ledger as well as Members Only, which also was the name of Sunday's episode.It's like a trip to the outlet mall in Secaucus. But it's also advertising money can't--and didn't--buy.HBO has been down this road before. A lot of viewers looked askance three years ago when a character on "Sex and the City" did an Absolut vodka ad and inspired a cocktail called the Absolut Hunk, which Absolut appropriated for a real marketing campaign."Again, that was creative-driven," HBO's spokeswoman said. "No money changed hands at any time."It's said there's no such thing as a free lunch. What about a free drink or a free ride? Carmela was thrilled Sunday with her Cayenne, but future Sundays may tell a different tale."I hope it doesn't end up with a head in it or something," Supple said. "That would be too bad."
FILM - Toronto, March 13th, 2006: The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television presented the 26th Annual Genie Awards celebrating excellence in Canadian cinema. The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a national non-profit professional association dedicated to promoting, recognizing and celebrating exceptional achievements in the Canadian film and television industries. Created in 1979 and today unifying more than 4,000 industry professionals across Canada, the Academy is a vital and integral force representing all areas of the film and television industry.
BOOKS & COPYRIGHT - Da Vinci Code' Author Brown Takes Stand by Jill Lawless, London Mar 13, 2006 (AP) -Almost three years to the day that "The Da Vinci Code" was first published, American author Dan Brown found himself on a witness stand in courtroom 61 of London's High Court on Monday, denying accusations he copied from others to produce his huge best-seller. Authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh are suing "Da Vinci Code" publisher Random House for copyright infringement, claiming Brown "appropriated the architecture" of their 1982 nonfiction book "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail." Both books explore theories dismissed by theologians but embraced by millions of readers that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, the couple had a child and the bloodline survives. If the writers succeed in securing an injunction to bar the use of their material, they could hold up the scheduled May 19 release of "The Da Vinci Code" film starring Tom Hanks and Ian McKellen. With his book an international sensation, Brown has rarely spoken to the media over the past couple of years and has made few public appearances, spending much of his time in his rural New Hampshire home, working on a new novel. But over the past couple of weeks, the 41-year-old author has watched lawyers dissect accounts of the medieval Knights Templar, the secretive Priory of Sion and the Merovingian royal line allegedly descended from Jesus. In a witness statement released Monday as Brown took the stand, the writer said it was "absurd to suggest that I have organized and presented my novel in accordance with the same general principles" as the earlier book. Responding to questions from the plaintiffs' attorney, Brown said much of the research for the book was done by his wife, Blythe. "She was deeply passionate about the sacred feminine," Brown said. Brown's lawyers released a previous witness statement in which the author said he was shocked by the allegations. Baigent and Leigh are only two of a number of authors who have written about the bloodline story, and yet I went out of my way to mention them for being the one who brought the story to mainstream attention," Brown said in the statement. "I have been shocked at their reaction; furthermore I do not really understand it." The plaintiffs' allegations contain "numerous sweeping statements which seem to me to be completely fanciful," Brown said. Random House lawyers argue that the ideas in dispute are so general they are not protected by copyright. They also say many of the ideas in "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" do not feature in Brown's novel, which follows fictional professor Robert Langdon as he investigates the murder of an elderly member of an ancient society that guards dark secrets about the story of Jesus and the quest for the Holy Grail. Under cross-examination, Brown acknowledged some uncertainty about the dates of events leading up to the March 18, 2003, publication of "The Da Vinci Code." In his statement, however, he said he was certain he and his wife had not consulted "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" for research until after the ideas and storyline of "The Da Vinci Code" were "very well developed." "All of my early research came from other sources," he said. Among the documents submitted to court were 39 books and more than 300 documents Brown said he consulted while writing "The Da Vinci Code." During more than three days of cross-examination last week by Random House lawyer John Baldwin, Baigent conceded that several key points in the claimants' case were wrong including the claim that "The Da Vinci Code" contained all the same historical conjecture as the earlier book. "I would concede that 'all' is far too strong," Baigent said. "I would say 'most.'" Brown's fast-moving theological thriller has sold more than 40 million copies since it was published three years ago this week. "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" a more modest best-seller on its release has seen a surge in sales since the trial began, going from about 350 copies sold a week in Britain to 3,000, according trade publication The Bookseller. The third author of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," Henry Lincoln, is not involved in the case. A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Paul Sutton, refused to say why he was not participating. Lincoln, who is in his 70s and reportedly in poor health, could not be reached for comment.
Da Vinci Code Lawsuit - London Times, March 08, 2006 -- I’m not as right as I thought I was, Da Vinci accuser admits WHAT was Godfrey de Bouillon’s real reason for undertaking the First Crusade in 1099? And did the Emperor Constantine really convert to Christianity after the Battle of Milvian Bridge in AD312, or was it on his deathbed? You would not find the answer to either question in The Da Vinci Code (DVC), the High Court was told yesterday. And that is because, according to the defence case, Dan Brown’s hugely successful thriller is not the rip-off from a work of religious speculation that it is alleged to be. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, co-authors of The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail (HBHG), a bestseller when published in 1982, are suing Brown’s publishers for breach of copyright. They claim that the novel stole much of its plot from their work, which explores the theory that Christ married and had children, and that the Roman Catholic Church has been trying to hush it up ever since. It was not a good day for the claimants yesterday, when the hearing resumed after a six-day adjournment to allow Mr Justice Peter Smith to read both books carefully. Under withering cross-examination from John Baldwin, QC, representing Random House, the publishers, Baigent admitted that some of the evidence in his 80-page witness statement to the court was false. The claimants allege that Brown lifted at least 15 ideas from their book. To support their case, they presented a number of book reviews and a reader’s letter to The Times purporting to show the similarities in the two works. In his written witness statement, Baigent had alleged that Brown had “used a thriller plot to disseminate the central theme of HBHG”. Mr Baldwin showed that HBHG’s theories about Godfrey de Bouillon, the Emperor Constantine and a number of other points did not appear in The Da Vinci Code. “I think I could have phrased that paragraph more felicitously,” Baigent said. “You could have told the truth, for instance,” Mr Baldwin shot back. Pressed further on whether reviewers shared his view that the plot of DVC was based on HBHG, Baigent said: “I should have said ‘appeared to share’.” He added: “I cannot establish beyond a shadow of doubt that they share every single one of the 15 points.” Reviewers, Mr Baldwin said, had highlighted an important theme of HBHG as being that Christ did not die on the Cross and that He faked His own Crucifixion. That, along with many other points, were not in DVC. “They are not, that is true,” Baigent conceded. Mr Baldwin asked Baigent why he had signed a statement containing paragraphs that were false. “I believed it to be true, but I am prepared to state now that I was not right.” Even the judge weighed in: “You can’t have believed this witness statement when you drew it up. You are now drawing completely the opposite conclusion.” Baigent replied: “I didn’t read them [the reviews] with the correct assiduity that I should have done.” The hearing continues.
Publisher's lawyer in 'Da Vinci Code' case says ideas too general - by Jill Lawless, Associated Press Feb28, 2006 LONDON -- A lawyer for the publisher of the "The Da Vinci Code" argued in court Tuesday that ideas which two writers claim were stolen for Dan Brown's blockbuster novel are so general they are not protected by copyright. The publisher's lawyer, John Baldwin, said the claim by Baigent and Leigh "relates to and seeks to monopolize ideas at such a high level of generality that they are not protected by copyright." Brown, who is expected to testify next week, was in court for the second day of the trial. It was expected to recess later in the day until next Tuesday, providing time for the judge, Peter Smith, to read both books and related texts. The authori, who lives in Exeter, N.H., has been working on a new novel. If Baigent and Leigh -- whose work claimed Jesus married Mary Magdalene, that the couple had a child and that the bloodline survives -- succeed in securing an injunction to bar the use of their material, they could hold up the May 19 release of "The Da Vinci Code" film, starring Tom Hanks and Ian McKellen. Sony Pictures said it planned to release the film as scheduled. Baldwin said many important themes of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" did not feature in "The Da Vinci Code," particularly the idea that a secretive order called the Priory of Sion exists and seeks to restore descendants of Jesus Christ to the thrones of Europe. Baldwin said this was a "massive point" in the earlier book but was not stressed by Brown. Baigent, born in New Zealand, and Leigh, originally from the United States, are suing Random House, which also published their book. The company denies the claim and chief executive Gail Rebuck said in a statement she believed the lawsuit was without merit. The book's third writer, Henry Lincoln, is not involved in the case. Jonathan Rayner James, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Monday that his clients were not attempting to "stultify creative endeavor" or to claim a monopoly on ideas or historical debate, but to prove Brown had "relied heavily" on the earlier work, published in Britain in 1982 and the following year in the United States. Baldwin said Brown developed most of the central ideas of his book independently. "He found the ideas that he wanted to use in his novel before either he or his wife had looked at 'The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail,'" Baldwin said. "The story line was very well developed. He had the ideas in place, and decided to use them." Baldwin said many of the ideas the claimants sought to protect were not original. "They are ideas the claimants have taken from other sources," he said. Brown's book also was the target of a previous lawsuit. In 2005, a U.S. judge in New York ruled that his book did not infringe on the copyrights of "Daughter of God," by Lewis Perdue. The judge also ruled out any copyright violations of Perdue's 1983 novel, "The Da Vinci Legacy."
Da Vinci Code author faces British court battle - 27feb2006 Globe&Mail London -- The author of the blockbuster novel The Da Vinci Code faces an English High Court challenge Monday from two men who claim he stole their ideas. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh are suing their own publishers, Random House, claiming Dan Brown's book draws heavily on their 1982 bestseller Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Baigent's and Leigh's book tackles theories that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and had a child, and that their blood line continues to the present day -- with the awareness of the Catholic Church. Brown's book explores similar themes about the Vatican covering up the true story of Jesus. If Baigent and Leigh are successful, the case could threaten the British release of the film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code in May.
MUSIC - Apple's fight with the music industry now involves the competition - The Economist, 09mar2006 --Compared with Hollywood, publishing and the rest of the media industry, the music business has always been disreputable: its artists get arrested, music charts are rigged and two leading companies recently got caught bribing radio stations. Now it seems that big music companies may also be illegally conspiring to fix prices on the internet. Last week America's Department of Justice opened an inquiry into “the possibility of anti-competitive practices in the music-download industry.” The department's action is the second investigation into possible price collusion in music-downloads in America: in December 2005 Eliot Spitzer, New York's crusading attorney-general, announced a similar inquiry. But nearly nothing is known about exactly what practices prompted the investigations. What has probably happened is that Mr Spitzer and the Department of Justice have been dragged into a massive public row between the music industry and Apple, a computer-maker which has 83% of the market for music downloads through its iPod music players and iTunes download service. The music majors want Apple to stop charging a fixed price of 99 cents per track and $9.99 for an album. They want variable pricing, so that new releases can be priced higher than older stuff. The music companies will soon have a chance to get their way. Their contracts with Apple are up for renewal from April onwards. They will presumably tell Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, that he cannot have their music unless he pays them more than the 65-75 cents they get now. That could force Apple to raise its retail price. The music firms' strongest position, of course, would be to present a united front. That three of the big four—Sony BMG, Warner Music and EMI—are all saying roughly the same thing about Apple's pricing has aroused the suspicion that they may be colluding, says a Washington lobbyist. The music labels reckon that the Digital Media Association, which represents Apple, among others, has complained to the Department of Justice. Mr Jobs says that the majors risk stifling the new market, and also that they are plain greedy. The charge of greed is unfair. Although digital music sales tripled in 2005 to $1.1 billion, the music companies are hardly raking in the cash from music downloads. There are two problems. First, people are downloading more single tracks than albums, which means lower revenues for the majors. Second, they are mostly filling their new iPods from their CD collections, not from iTunes. For the music giants, it may well be worth risking another run-in with the law, if that means they can make downloading truly profitable.
MUSIC - iPod TAX by Daryl Grove 2006 -- “If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat / If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet,” sang the Beatles on “Taxman” in 1966. Now they might have to add “If you listen to illegally downloaded music, I’ll tax your your digital media player.” Not as catchy, but that’s what’s going to happen if certain people in the U.K. music industry get their way. The idea has been suggested following legislation in Holland for a point of sale surcharge on any device capable of storing illegally downloaded or “pirated” music. The recently passed Dutch legislation will become law within the next three months, with reports suggesting the levy could be around €3.28 (eruos) per gigabyte. On Apple’s 60gb iPod that would add over €190 to the price. The levy would be paid to copyright holders, to compensate for profits lost to illegal filesharing.Doug D’Arcy, the former head of Chrysalis and BMG, thinks Britain should follow suit. “The illegal digital download market is in danger of crippling the British music industry and unless something is done to address this quickly, it will spell disaster for thousands of artists and independent record labels,” he said to the Scottish Sunday Herald. “We had an opportunity to introduce a levy on audio cassettes back in the 1970s and passed it up. That decision cost the business tens of millions, and to make the same mistake again could be fatal.” Prospective British iPod buyers will be relieved to hear that the “iTax” faces little support from the music industries big guns. Sony and EMI have refused to add their support while the British Phonographic Industry has refused to comment. The main objections are thought to be the assumption that all purchasers of mp3 players are planning to break copyright laws . Similarly, customers who buy tunes legally from stores like iTunes will be paying tax twice. The biggest concern is that the tax may be self-defeating. It would effectively monetise and legitimise filesharing, at a time when the industry is doing all it can to demonise what it terms illegal downloads. Outside of Holland, the music industry may decide it’s more important to maintain the moral high ground than to pinch a few extra pounds.
FILM & COPYRIGHT - The hit film "Mr And Mrs Smith" Accused Of Copyright Breach - 05mar2006 -- New Zealand author Gavin Bishop is claiming breach of copyright after asserting that the makers of hit Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie vehicle, Mr and Mrs Smith – stole his idea. Bishop claims the film was “too close to be accidental” to a children’s book he wrote in 1997 called The Secret Lives of Mr and Mrs Smith. Nope, doesn’t sound similar at all… He said: "The fact that my book was published in the United States and was available to thousands of school children - it doesn't seem too far-fetched to think the Hollywood scriptwriter of this film may have come across my book." Bishop can’t afford to sue, but is keen for a lawyer to take up the case.
MUSIC - Canada Music Week/Semaine de la musique canadienne. An annual nation-wide festival sponsored by the CFMTA to introduce Canadian music to students, teachers and audiences; to encourage and promote Canadian music, musicians, and music teaching; and to emphasize the significance of music in society. Introduced in 1960, Canada Music Week in 1990 continued to be held in the last full week of November to coincide with St. Cecilia's Day. The committee has nine provincial and other branch chairpersons, and a national chairperson (Leonard Wilson 1961-2, Sister Rodriguez Steele and Eleanor Harkness 1963-9, and Helen Dahlstrom 1970- ). The national organization provides promotional material, publishes a brochure with suggestions for activities and publicity, and has administered the national music writing competition since its inception. Programs are the responsibility of individual centres and have included professional and student concerts; displays in schools, music stores, and libraries (including regular exhibits at the National Library of Canada beginning in 1974); screenings of films; lecture-recitals; and local essay, poster and composition competitions. Churches are encouraged to use Canadian hymns, anthems and organ music and school teachers are asked to highlight Canadian music in their classes. The CBC and private radio stations have broadcast student recitals, given capsule biographies of Canadian composers, panel discussions and interviews, and featured recordings of Canadian music during the week. One of the largest celebrations to date was in Toronto in 1970 when the first Contemporary Showcase was held during Canada Music Week and became its focal point. The national organization's primary activity is the Music Writing Competition which was instituted in 1971. Three classes are offered at different age levels. Prizes have increased in value from $75 for the senior class in 1971 to $300 in 1988. In 1985 the CFMTA and Waterloo Music Co published The Canada Music Week Silver Anniversary Collection, a book of piano solos by Canadian composers, some of whom had judged (Ruth Watson Henderson) or won (Douglas Finch) the Canada Music Week Music Writing Competition. This collection was compiled and edited by Helen Dahlstrom and was the result of a juried competition. Canada Music Week Magazine, edited by Helen Dahlstrom, has been published annually beginning in 1971. Canada Music Week has received financial and other assistance from many sources, both private and public, and has been strongly supported by SOCAN.
MUSIC - Leonard Cohen awarded $9 million in civil suit - Mar2 2006 CTV.ca News -- Iconic Canadian crooner Leonard Cohen has been awarded $9 million US in a civil suit he filed against his former business manager. The 71-year-old Montreal-born singer-songwriter was awarded the ruling earlier in the week when a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge issued his decision on a civil suit Cohen had filed last August, according to The Globe and Mail. The suit accused Kelley Lynch of fraud and negligence, as well as breaches of contract and fiduciary duty during her 16-year tenure as Cohen's business manager. Lynch was also Cohen's lover in 1990. Cohen took Lynch to court on allegations she skimmed more than $5 million from Cohen's savings over a period of about eight years. Cohen's retirement fund was reduced to just $150,000 by 2004. Another defendant, Richard Westin, was also named in the suit, but reached an out-of-court settlement with Cohen last month. When Cohen filed his claims against Lynch last year, he was being sued by Neal Greenberg for conspiracy, extortion and defamation of character. The story drew international headlines. Cohen originally alleged that Westin and Lynch had worked together to orchestrate the $12 million sale of a music publishing company owned by Cohen, as well as his artist royalties, with the proceeds going into a company owned almost entirely by Lynch. Cohen claimed the pair misled him into believing the company, Traditional Holdings, was owned by his two children. Despite the favourable court ruling, Cohen might have trouble recovering the money he has been awarded. Lynch has ignored the civil suit, neither responding to it not filing any claims of her own and ignoring a subpoena issued for her financial records. And recently, Lynch claimed her phone had been disconnected because she was unable to pay the bill. Cohen has been back in the spotlight recently after a long absence. He has released a poetry collection – his first in 22 years, worked on musical projects, appeared in a documentary and has been inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
COPYRIGHT - LEGAL CASES:U.S COURT HOLDS THAT GOOGLE CACHE IS FAIR USE - A Nevada (U.S.) federal districtcourt has held that Google Cache does not infringe copyright-protected works. InField v Google, the court also ruled that Google held an implied license toreproduce copyright-protected works online because the copyright owner knewthat Google was making a copy and did not block the search engine's robot fromarchiving or caching his Web pages. In addition, the court held that GoogleCache constitutes fair use, since the cached copy serves a different purposefrom the copy provided by the owner. Finally, the court held that Google Cacheconstitutes "intermediate and temporary storage" of material under the DigitalMillennium Copyright Act. The decision is at: http://www.eff.org/IP/blake_v_google/google_nevada_order.pdf.
U.S. COURT HOLDS THAT DOWNLOADING MUSIC IS NOT FAIR USE - The U.S. Court ofAppeals for the Seventh Circuit recently upheld a $US22,500 judgement against aperson for illegally distributing songs over the Internet. The court rejectedthe defendant's argument that she was sampling music to decide what topurchase, and also rejected the argument that these downloads were a form oftime-shifting permitted as fair use under the Sony-Betamax decision. Thedefendant had earlier rejected a proposed settlement from the RIAA of $US3500.BMG Music v. Cecilia Gonzales is at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/051314p.pdf.
TV - MTV to launch in Canada - 02mar2006 Globe and Mail -- MTV Canada will launch on Canadian airwaves March 21, the CTV network announced. The station will compete with CHUM Ltd.'s Much Music station with music-related, celebrity and talk programming.The launch date for MTV Canada had been a closely-guarded secret within CTV, which secured the rights to operate a Canadian version of the U.S.-based pop-culture network last year.The announcement comes a week after CTV said the network would be housed at Toronto's historic Masonic Temple, where it has installed a three-metre by four-metre MTV Canada logo. The building has housed performances and rehearsals of several music acts in past years, including bands such as the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. CTV and The Globe and Mail are part of Bell Globemedia, which is controlled by BCE Inc. The MTV Canada license was held by Craig Broadcasting, but became available after that network was bought by CHUM. MTV was allowed to pull out of the deal because of the ownership change. The TV launch of MTV is expected to coincide with a roll out of the networks on-line strategy, which will include downloadable content. However, the CTV incarnation of MTV requires the network to operate the station under a Talk TV licence, meaning it will focus on lifestyle shows through its cable channel, rather than running music videos, the network has said.
TV - Michael Douglas sues over TV shows - by UPI 01mar2006 -- Hollywood star Michael Douglas is suing two Florida companies to block the use of his name and image in a series of short educational programs.The 61-year-old actor filed suit in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale against Family Television Studios and Paradigm Media Group – related companies operating out of different suites in the same office building in Boca Raton. According to the lawsuit, Douglas was hired by the companies to host the Learning About… series of programs on the understanding that they were non-commercial and intended for broadcast on public television stations.But, Douglas claims, the shows – about music, science and history – were “highly commercial” and Paradigm Media tried to sell corporate sponsorships.Further, the suit accuses the companies of using footage of Douglas in another program, Simple Living, without his permission.The star is seeking a court order preventing the companies from using his name and likeness as well as damages “in excess of $5 million (U.S.).”No one at Family Television and Paradigm Media was available for comment. Public television network PBS has posted a notice on its Web site stating that it is not affiliated with either company. It claims the producers of Learning About… have solicited sponsorship from various businesses and “based upon representations made to them by the producers, the businesses were led to believe that the producers were associated with PBS. ”Douglas’ agreement with Family Television and Paradigm Media indicates that he would also do work for a third company, WJMK. That company was sued for $25 million (U.S.) in 2003 by newscaster Walter Cronkite, who claimed the company used video segments in which he appeared for commercial purposes. The case was settled out of court.
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