EMI: Legitimately Afraid That Aliens Might Listen To The Beatles Without A License

from the wtf dept

Thu, Sep 27th 2012 12:11pm — Mike Masnick

Ah, life imitating art (or art accidentally imitating life). Earlier this year, we had Rob Reid post an excerpt and discuss his new novel, Year Zero, concerning aliens listening to Earth music for free, without a license... and then realizing that they've been infringing our copyrights for years, and owe the record labels more money than exists in the galaxy. Funny story, right?

Except... as Joe Betsill points out, apparently at least EMI really was afraid that aliens might listen to music without a license. In the Wikipedia entry for the Beatles' famous song, "Here Comes the Sun" it notes the following bit of trivia:

Astronomer and science popularizer Carl Sagan had wanted the song to be included on the Voyager Golden Record, copies of which were attached to both spacecraft of the Voyager program to provide any entity that recovered them a representative sample of human civilization. Although The Beatles favoured the idea, EMI refused to release the rights and when the probes were launched in 1977 the song was not included.

Of course, just a few weeks ago, we also discussed Sagan and the Voyager Golden Record, in noting how the world is changing in that we no longer have to wait for the modern Carl Sagans to decide what gets sent into space any more. So, perhaps the story in Year Zero isn't so far-fetched after all...

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Filed Under: aliens, carl sagan, copyright, golden record, here comes the sun, the beatles
Companies: emi

27 Comments

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pegr, 27 Sep 2012 @ 12:14pm

Why ask?
And why ask EMI at all? Just buy a copy and stash it away. Meanwhile, send your copy off on it's way. I mean, space shifting is fair use, right?

(sry, couldn't help myself! ;)
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- Anonymous Coward, 27 Sep 2012 @ 12:31pm
  
  Re: Why ask?
  With today's laws, they could reasonably fine NASA for all the money in the world for lost sales in the rest of the universe, especially since they didn't even bother to set up a notice-and-takedown system.
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  - Jim, 27 Sep 2012 @ 12:49pm
    
    Re: Re: Why ask?
    I don't think you used 'reasonably' quite right in that sentence... :)
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John Fenderson (profile), 27 Sep 2012 @ 12:37pm

I don't understand
Why was there a requirement to obtain the rights at all? What were the rights? I would think that this sort of thing is covered by first-sale. If I buy the music, it is perfectly legal for me to shoot my purchased copy into space without obtaining further permission. Why is it different for NASA?
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- Anonymous Coward, 27 Sep 2012 @ 12:41pm
  
  Re: I don't understand
  If they were launching the album that they purchased, then it would have been covered by first sale, but they needed to make a copy of it to put it on the golden record. This is where EMI refused to grant a license.
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  - John Fenderson (profile), 27 Sep 2012 @ 1:16pm
    
    Re: Re: I don't understand
    But format-shifting is legal. They could have satisfied the legal restrictions by shipping the original record along with the golden record.
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    - ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 27 Sep 2012 @ 1:32pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: I don't understand
      Format shifting wasnt even a consideration yet.
      
      Meanwhile, raio had been beaming the song to the stars for years already.
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      - JasonLG, 29 Sep 2012 @ 11:13am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: I don't understand
        Contrary to what most people think the radio signals emitted by us earthlings are so weak that they don't make it much past our solar system before thy're drown out by the cosmic background radiation.
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- Anonymous Coward, 27 Sep 2012 @ 3:11pm
  
  Re: I don't understand
  They had already granted monopoly right on sale of music in space to SETI. Of course they couldn�t let NASA exploit that potential market by parralel import! That would be immoral!
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Zakida Paul (profile), 27 Sep 2012 @ 12:38pm

Wow, two stories about brain farts in one day. How are EMI still in business? They should have died years ago considering the stupidity of those working for them.
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- Duke (profile), 27 Sep 2012 @ 1:51pm
  
  Re:
  How are EMI still in business?
  They're not. They have been making significant losses (in bns) for a few years now, got taken over by their creditors and are now being split up, with the biggest chunks going to UMG and Sony.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Sep 2012 @ 12:42pm

.....
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Sep 2012 @ 12:57pm

wow! i reckon the aliens will be too scared to come to Earth now! how the hell will they ever be able to pay all the fines, damages, royalties etc? how will they manage to appease US copyright law so they can prevent themselves from being arrested and locked up as soon as they land?

stay tuned for the next nail-biting episode and how the greatest day in the history of the planet was fucked up by the idiots from RIAA!
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- Anonymous Coward, 27 Sep 2012 @ 1:01pm
  
  Re:
  EMI is (was in the 1970s anyway) British. The RIAA would have fucked it up if they'd had the chance, but this was fucked up without their assistance.
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Tunnen (profile), 27 Sep 2012 @ 1:46pm

This brings into question future copyright law. If you claim that copyright extends for 70 years (Can't remember the actual number) how will it work when people listen to it in a system 71 light years away. Will it be public domain, or would someone try to claim that the copyright should extend 70 years from when the signal first made it to that system? =P

This also then begs the question if the copyright maximalist would try to claim that the term "year" is defined as an Earth year or a year of the new planet, whichever is longer. I also wouldn't be surprised if they tried to redefine year as a galactic or cosmic year. (225-250 million Earth years)
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- MahaliaShere (profile), 27 Sep 2012 @ 5:52pm
  
  Re:
  "I also wouldn't be surprised if they tried to redefine year as a galactic or cosmic year. (225-250 million Earth years)"
  
  Oh you know they will. Just wait till a single human being sets foot on Mars.
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- Sheogorath (profile), 5 May 2013 @ 4:06am
  
  Re:
  If you claim that copyright extends for 70 years, (Can't remember the actual number) how will it work when people listen to it in a system 71 light years away?
  It doesn't work quite like that because a light year isn't a measure of time, but distance; specifically, it's the distance that light travels in a year. So the (rarely applied in the US) term of life + 70 could be reached in just a few light hours (granted, I don't know exactly how far light travels in any given amount of time).
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Beta (profile), 27 Sep 2012 @ 2:06pm

not intelligence as we know it
Those probes will have to go a long way to find minds more alien to me than the executive who wouldn't leap at such a once-in-a-thousand-lifetimes chance.
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Lord Binky, 27 Sep 2012 @ 2:22pm

I'd be pissed too if I missed out on money that I could use to buy a round of pan galactic gargle blasters.
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fb39ca4, 27 Sep 2012 @ 2:50pm

What about the radio stations all broadcasting out into space? Now they owe royalties for every planet that it reaches!
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Sep 2012 @ 4:29pm

"You do know Paul is dead, right?"
"No, he's not dead. He just went home."
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The eejit (profile), 28 Sep 2012 @ 12:35am

I'm not saying it was aliens running the MAFIAA
...But it was aliens.
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Anonymous Coward, 28 Sep 2012 @ 3:35am

I propose this:
1. Launch a spacecraft full with IP-lawyers carrying cease and desist notes.
2. Have the ship's PA play "Here comes the sun" in loop and at max volume for the whole trip.
3. Aim the ship at the sun.

Anyone feel like starting a band named "Disaster Area"?
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- Niall (profile), 28 Sep 2012 @ 6:19am
  
  Re: I propose this:
  Then you'll get C&D'd from Douglas Adams' estate... oh wait, that lawyer just went FOOM!
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Sep 2012 @ 10:38am

Earthlings beware
Earthlings beware

We the Alien Worlds cannot tolerate you anymore.

You are polluted the universe, so prepare to be cleansed.

Without love for you:
E.T.
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- Anonymous Coward, 1 Oct 2012 @ 6:08pm
  
  Re: Earthlings beware
  Wow, who taught you all that? When you left Earth the most you could say was "E.T. phone home" and a few other simplistic things.
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Joe Cupof, 3 Mar 2021 @ 12:52pm

You know, apparently the story about EMI isn't true. NASA just chose another tune to be included on the record. That's why The Beatles never got to outer space. Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" was chosen instead.
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