By George Ziemann

On May 14, 2003, at the DMCA hearings at UCLA Law School in Los Angeles, California, I am scheduled to speak on the current exemption enjoyed by libraries and educational institutions to bypass copy protection of malfunctioning machines.

One facet which must be addressed are the changes in the marketplace which have occurred during the past three years.

I will use this opportunity to offer to the United States Copyright Office the entire contents of the www.riaa.org and www.azoz.com websites as evidence that the RIAA and the five major labels have pooled their copyrights in a collusion to exempt the product of the more than 68,000 independent artists in the country from the marketplace by casting dispersions on the very morality of the act of file sharing, manipulating the market to create a pay-per-play society in which they possess the only recognized "legal" product, and lying to the government in order to promote the false claim of "piracy" in the form of unauthorized downloads as the cause of the industry decline.

There is no empirical data to support this latter claim.

My argument will basically be the same counter-claim David Boies used in the Napster case, with the 9th District Court's analysis of why Boies' argument was not relevant to the Napster case. The difference is simple. Napster was infringing on copyrights. We (the independents) had an opportunity to negotiate separately. Therefore, even though the court recognized a monopoly did, in fact, exist, their collusion was justified in light of the infringing activity.

This time the collusion is designed to exempt the independents from the market place by defining themselves as the only "legal" or "legitimate" source of recorded music. Because for the first time in history, we don't need them. And the piracy story is a blatant lie.

I don't need a lawyer (but a few have been giving me hints along the way which have been invaluable). Much as Don Henley did with the payola accusation against Clear Channel, I will make my charges directly to the United States government. They cannot be ignored.

Under the antitrust laws, the burden of proof is on the accused.

Any independent artists who wish to become a co-plaintiff in this case are encouraged to let me know of this intent and lend their name to the cause. Please provide a name, address and phone number. Those who have submitted their names prior to 12:01 a.m. May 13 (MST) will be offered as part of the evidence submitted to the Library of Congress and the Copyright Office.

First Post.
Woohoo

Go for it man. Give em hell, knock em dead. Send Sherman and Rosen to the unemployment line.

Hilary will be leaving the RIAA soon, if i am not mistaken

Go for it, George. Give the RIAA something to think about. Maybe it'll shut up their big fat mouths for a week or so. Every week it's pirates this and pirates that. If they embraced filesharing they wouldn't be in the mess they're in now. The more people they sue, the more consumers will hate them. Consumers won't surrender. They'll buy better firewalls and keep on filesharing. The core majority won't be scared off. The RIAA can never win. Plus, the hackers aren't on their side. And if the RIAA tries any tricks with Trojan horses, the hackers will strike back.

Thats right. The White-hat hackers (Overpeer, Mediaforce) that the RIAA hired to "research" more extreme ways of fighting digital piracy are no match for the hackers on our side. The RIAA is not only wasting time and money, but also lowering they're already despicable reputation.

Because face it, Hilary Rosen. No consumer is going to buy any product from a company that tries to force them into buying it, and then points a finger at them, yelling "PIRACY!!!", if they don't.

Releasing trojans and viruses onto file-sharing networks should not be a god or government-given right. If its considered "cyber-terrorism" for any normal citizen to release viruses on any network, the same idea should apply to the recording industry. Wealth and power should not put anyone above the law.

However, the RIAA does use DoS attacks on file-sharing networks, which also is considered cyber-terrorism. Oh, but thats ok though, because its the recording industry. Major campaign contributors such as them can do nothing wrong in the eyes of the US government.

I swear... I will never... EVER buy another CD released by any record company associated with the RIAA. Especially after they used the legal system to STEAL thousands of dollars from four innocent college students. That's just downright pathetic.

The only shame, besides this, is that I might miss out on some really good music from some really great bands. For example, I was waiting for months for Godsmack's new album to come out. After learning about what's been happening the past year with the RIAA, I REFUSE TO BUY IT. And I won't "pirate", or "steal" it either. I'll turn my ears to independent artists who won't sue or threaten their fans, but instead, appreciate them.

In conclusion to my above post, the RIAA is not helping the bands who hold contracts to the 5 major labels. Its only hurting them by turning their fans away.

Find the novel, "The Humanoids" and read it. The RIAA is going to save music by destroying it.

Not quite correct.

I am going to save music by destroying the RIAA.

What I described in the original post is only the opening number. Wait until you hear the encore.

And the composer.

They may be right. I may be crazy.

But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for. (Billy Joel)

Hey striker222, just do it. Copy or Rip and Burn it and send afanmail letter with a few bucks directly to the artist. Another way of skipping the middleman.

So what exacly does one need to do to become a co-plantif.

Erm
http://noriaa.the-erm.com

I say that facetiously.If you ever read the Humanoids, you would see the sheer folly of the RIAA's tactics and theory.But it's all good, thanks for what you do.

Erm,
You hold on to your list just a while longer. At some point, the Dept. of Justice must get involved.

After next Wednesday, I would happily share the finer points of my legal offensive. You could either merge your list with mine or we file separate complaints with the DOJ.

That having been said, write to me at mailto:wizard@azoz.com.

RythmMethod -- I knew that.

I just like to say my follow-up every chance I get. I don't want Hilary to forget that I'm after her entire operation.

To 'gdZiemann' about the "I may be crazy" remark:

I also wish to bring up Waylon Jennings's (R.I.P.) famous screed, "I've always been crazy / But it's kept me from goin' insane."

Give 'em hell, George!

George, I am pleased that many songwriters are taking a common law approach and voluntarily using the Founders Copyright. I say--not in my name---will the Copyright Office and SoundExchange institute a royalty plan. I am being "opted in" to a compulsory license with which I do not agree.

14 years, that's good enough for me.