legal
Increased royalties could shut down iTunes
A Thursday ruling from the Copyright Royalty Board could force Apple to follow through on a threat to close down the iTunes Music Store. The Board, a three-judge panel, which will determine how much money creators are paid for their works, could follow through on a request from the publishers association to increase payments from 9 cents to 15 cents a track. Apple has said that move would make the ITMS unprofitable, and that it would be shut down rather than operate at a loss.
CNN has this statement from Eddy Cue Apple’s VP for iTunes:
“If the [iTunes music store] was forced to absorb any increase in the … royalty rate, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss – which is no alternative at all,” Cue wrote. “Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [the iTunes music store] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably.”
To which I reply, yeeeeeeeah, sure.
More after the break.
Apple blocks cheaper UK iPod sales
Apple is now threatening legal action against 11 UK e-tailers, unless they agree to stop selling iPods imported from outside the UK. Apple has complained to many well-known online retailers which were buying iPods in the United States (where they sell for £15 less than in the UK), and then selling them at a lower more »
Psystar Breakdown: From Announcement to Video Proof
With so much mayhem surrounding Psystar, the company that announced last week the availability of what are essentially Mac clones, I thought it a good idea to give an easy-reader breakdown of all the fuss.
It all started April 14th, when Psystar came out of nowhere claiming to be selling OpenMac computers, essentially really cheap Macs. The internet erupted with questions over the legality of it all. Someone named Robert then came forward and said that Psystar would challenge Apple’s license agreement in court. Then an official spokesperson from Psystar denied that Robert spoke for the company. The company’s website went down due to heavy traffic, adding to the pandemonium. Many assumed Psystar was a hoax or scam and had been taken down.
