EMI's 'New Approach' To The Internet Looks A Lot Like The Old Approach

from the sue-sue-sue-sue dept

Apparently, EMI is finding it harder than expected to shackle its lawyers. The major record label was taken over by private equity guys who claimed they were going to take a new approach to the music industry, pointing to examples like Radiohead as the way to go. The company has made a few steps in the right direction -- such as threatening to leave the RIAA and the IFPI, as well as hiring some tech savvy talent. But, it just keeps sending out those lawyers filing all sorts of questionable lawsuits.

The latest is that EMI has sued both Hi5 and VideoEgg over user-uploaded videos that include some EMI music. Of course, under the DMCA, these sites are not responsible for any infringement from its users -- and if EMI has a legal beef with anyone, it would be those who uploaded the content. But, of course, it sues the companies who might actually have money. That "new approach" to the industry is looking an awful lot like the old approach. EMI is going to learn that the results are about the same too. Pissing off your fans and the websites that actually help promote your acts isn't going to go very far.

Filed Under: copyright, lawsuits, music, video
Companies: emi, hi5, videoegg

Will Google Face Patent Battle Over YouTube's New Ad Format?

from the pssst,-Google,-buy-us...-sincerely,-VideoEgg dept

Google and YouTube got a ton of press coverage for releasing their new video ad overlay program on Tuesday evening. However, despite some amount of fawning from some tech publications, many people noted that the ads were remarkably similar to the format the startup VideoEgg launched nearly a year ago. The folks over at VideoEgg are trying to figure out what to do in response -- which apparently includes potentially filing a patent lawsuit against Google. VideoEgg has apparently applied for patents on just such an advertising system -- though the patents haven't been granted yet, so there's not much VideoEgg can do on that front for the time being. Of course, you could argue that what they're doing isn't all that different than ads that have been on TV for years... but we'll let the patent office sort that out. So far, however, VideoEgg seems to have figured out the best strategy: using this to get much more attention for itself. It's been making sure that people know it had the idea first, and (as of right now) changed its website to say in HUGE letters "Welcome, YouTube. Seriously." Then it notes that it's nice to see the rest of the market catch up. Hopefully this won't descend into a patent battle -- as VideoEgg is right. It is nice to see the rest of the market catch up, and hopefully this will drive many of the players in the market (including VideoEgg) to improve upon the offering even further. That's what competition is all about. Update: In the meantime, it looks like plenty of others are out there claiming that they came up with the idea first, once again showing how many different "inventions" are really just the next obvious step, as so many different parties come up with the same thing at once. Hopefully, that's evidence enough to deny a patent.

Filed Under: advertising, online video
Companies: google, videoegg, youtube