IFPI Admits It Screwed Up; Claims Mistakes Happen

from the yes...-but... dept

Mon, Jul 28th 2008 9:29pm — Mike Masnick

Last week, we noted how the IFPI had sent a nastygram to a music blogger, forcing him to take down a song -- even though the musicians behind the song wanted it posted. After the band contacted the IFPI, someone from the IFPI sent an apology to the site in a way that doesn't suggest it's really all that sorry:

IFPI was contacted by a member of the label who confirmed you were given permission to post the file on your site.

We were unaware of this agreement but now that it has been notified to us please feel free to upload the file.

Due to the volume of infringing content we find online there will be instances where legitimate files are picked up as infringing. We hope this matter shows that once we have the correct information we do not want to stop the promotion of music online.

In other words, "mistakes happen," and the responsibility isn't ours for making the mistake -- but it falls on the individual bloggers who may or may not be able to alert the musician in question and get them to call our legal dogs off. Of course, most laws concerning takedown notices require the folks issuing the takedown to properly express the wishes of the copyright holder. It would appear that the IFPI did not do that in this case, and an after-the-fact apology seems rather weak, given the weight that a legal threat from the IFPI could hold to an individual blogger without a legal team behind him.

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Filed Under: dmca, false notice, takedowns
Companies: ifpi

4 Comments

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wasnt me, 28 Jul 2008 @ 10:52pm

Due to the volume of infringing content we find online there will be instances where legitimate files are picked up as infringing.

= we are trying so hard to "protect the rights" of the copy right owners that you shouldn't complain.

AKA we did nothing wrong so stop giving us a bad name.
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Verse, 28 Jul 2008 @ 10:58pm

As a musician who intents to use the internet as a marketing form of product exposure, this concerns me.
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Jul 2008 @ 11:02pm

Saying your sorry is an admission of guilt, no surprises.
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AJ, 29 Jul 2008 @ 10:16am

I saw you...
Police officer: "I saw you smoking something. Since drugs are a huge problem, we are bound to assume you were smoking something illegal, so we sent the dogs after you. Granted, they gnarled your clothes, cut your arms and face, gave you six months of painful rabies shots. But, that's the price you have to pay because we've ruled that all drugs are bad. Sorry we found out too late you were just smoking cigarettes. We know you appreciate our efforts to stop drug smoking and will forgive our mistake. Go ahead an light one up again and we hope we don't confuse you again for a dope smoking hippie."

Guilty until proven innocent. Thanks for undermining our laws and assumption of 'innocent until proven guilty'!
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