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Today's LinkFest
1) Apple, the new Microsoft?
Apple faces litigation threat from Contois Music & Technology for allegedly willfully infringing upon a patent similar in concept to iPod. What's more, the article also highlights a slew of complaints against Apple, most of which have to do with unfair competition.
2) X-Men vs. Zoom
Sony Pictures and Relevation Studios is being sued by Marvel and Fox for allegedly sponging off the popular comic and motion picture franchise X-Men. The movie, Zoom's Academy, is charged with "copy[ing] key elements, concepts, themes, characters and story lines from 'X-Men'". The website (not sure if it's related to the movie since it appears to sell books) does boast an insignia of a Z, which if you squint very long and very hard, appears to look like an X. See it yet? Indeed, X-Men fans should be outraged.
Did I mention Zoom's Academy is a comedy? Starring Tim Allen? 'Nuff said. X-Men will blow them to pieces.
3) Legal Music Downloads on the Rise (Not)
Slashdot links to a report claiming that 35% of music listeners are legally downloading them via services like iPod. The report even predicts that this percentage will surpass those listeners who illegally download music, currently standing at 40% of surveyed listeners.
Boing Boing quickly reports on a comment thoroughly tearing the statistics into shreds. not a very convincing survey I must say. Straits Times could take lessons. Journalistic Stats 101: How to Misrepresent and Mislead.
Furthermore, international laws on what constitutes legal downloads are also pretty sketchy. This Russian site, for example, offers downloads at an average of USD$0.10 per song (128kbps mp3). Coldplay's entire album can be downloaded at USD$1.76, even cheaper than pirated CDs I used to see in Pasar Malams (neighbourhood night markets, not literal translation). A quick scan of the website's legal information shows that royalties are paid to Russian authorities under the "Law of the Russian Federation". At that kind of price, royalties that are paid to the artistes, if paid at all, must border on nil.
Filed under: Article, Movies, Technology, Entertainment
Apple faces litigation threat from Contois Music & Technology for allegedly willfully infringing upon a patent similar in concept to iPod. What's more, the article also highlights a slew of complaints against Apple, most of which have to do with unfair competition.
2) X-Men vs. Zoom
Sony Pictures and Relevation Studios is being sued by Marvel and Fox for allegedly sponging off the popular comic and motion picture franchise X-Men. The movie, Zoom's Academy, is charged with "copy[ing] key elements, concepts, themes, characters and story lines from 'X-Men'". The website (not sure if it's related to the movie since it appears to sell books) does boast an insignia of a Z, which if you squint very long and very hard, appears to look like an X. See it yet? Indeed, X-Men fans should be outraged.
Did I mention Zoom's Academy is a comedy? Starring Tim Allen? 'Nuff said. X-Men will blow them to pieces.
3) Legal Music Downloads on the Rise (Not)
Slashdot links to a report claiming that 35% of music listeners are legally downloading them via services like iPod. The report even predicts that this percentage will surpass those listeners who illegally download music, currently standing at 40% of surveyed listeners.
Boing Boing quickly reports on a comment thoroughly tearing the statistics into shreds. not a very convincing survey I must say. Straits Times could take lessons. Journalistic Stats 101: How to Misrepresent and Mislead.
Furthermore, international laws on what constitutes legal downloads are also pretty sketchy. This Russian site, for example, offers downloads at an average of USD$0.10 per song (128kbps mp3). Coldplay's entire album can be downloaded at USD$1.76, even cheaper than pirated CDs I used to see in Pasar Malams (neighbourhood night markets, not literal translation). A quick scan of the website's legal information shows that royalties are paid to Russian authorities under the "Law of the Russian Federation". At that kind of price, royalties that are paid to the artistes, if paid at all, must border on nil.
Filed under: Article, Movies, Technology, Entertainment
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