Dear LW Users

The following is an article by Bill Thompson, a BBC commentator, on how the case before the US Supreme Court, if it goes badly for P2P, could have long term effects on the computer industry by stifling innovation.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4400373.stm

On a small point, for as long as I can remember the record industry has always tried to smother new recording and distributing technology. Back in the 70s the record industry had a thing against blank cassette tapes, so much so that they would take out adverts in Hi-Fi magazines telling you that it is illegal to tape your own LPs onto tapes.

Although they could not stop the advance of cassette tapes they went on a European wide campaign to have a levy (a tax that went directly to the record industry) put on all blank tapes.

Though they did not have much success in most countries I believe they succeeded in Germany where all blank tapes, both video and cassette, carry this levy.

The upshot of all this is that the recording industry wants to control everything, every new piece of technology, every new way of distribution and they either want to make money from it or kill it.




UK Bob