11/6/2009
The Beatles have studiously avoided selling their catalog via download, and
now they're battling a rogue Internet company that's doing just that. A Los
Angeles Federal District Court judge has ordered BlueBeat, which put the
Beatles' music up on its site earlier this week and was selling some songs for
as little as 25 cents, to remove all material by the Fab Four and other EMI
artists. BlueBeat owner Hank Risan contended that the songs on the site had been
re-recorded, using a new technology called "psycho-acoustic simulation," making
them exempt from copyright, but the judge ruled that Risan could not support
that claim. Another hearing is scheduled for November 20th, which may result in
penalties for BlueBeat.
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