Chris Castle is an attorney based out of Los Angeles and San Francisco who represents artists, producers, songwriters, record labels, music publishers, film studios and technology companies.

President Barack Obama and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo each worked very hard to bring about the voluntary agreement that was announced last week among ISPs and rights holders regarding IP education and the new “copyright alert system”.  The independent community was well represented during the negotiations and were also present at the press conference call.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Copyright, Feature Post, General, Infringement, Innovation, Internet, Internet Sharing, IP, Regulatory Policy, Secondary (ISP) Liability
Comments: 0

There have been criticisms of the European Parliament elections from various quarters.  These criticisms range from a consistently declining voter turnout and lack of enthusiasm for the election of Members of the European Parliament to the ability of “fringe” political parties to gain a seat due to their ability to convert fanatical energy for a radical platform into votes.  There are those who would have preferred that Britain’s National Party, the Freedom Party in the Netherlands, and Sweden’s Pirate Party be denied their platforms.

At least regarding the Pirate Party, this is wrong.  The best news that creators have had in years is that the Pirate Party is now in the light of day so that all may hear their message and judge what they stand for.  Mr. Engström, the Pirate Party MEP, has provided a guidepost to what we may expect from the Pirate Party in its public oratory in coming months in a blog at the Financial Times. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Copyright, copyright reform, Internet Sharing, IP, Privacy
Comment: 1

Chris Castle is Managing Partner of Christian L. Castle Attorneys, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

On Thursday, May 21, U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel wrapped up hearings on the preliminary injunction she granted in the fall against Real Networks and its “RealDVD” copying software.  And the Real “Facet” DVD copying and storage device that is what the case is arguably “really” about.  (News.com has published a handy précis of the case, “MPAA vs. Real Networks: Five Reasons Why Hollywood Will Win“.)

Real didn’t help itself with the court by playing a bit fast and loose with the evidence, and only partially won a motion to sanction it for intentional spoliation of evidence.  As the lawyer I fondly think of as the Roy Cohn of Silicon Valley once told me, those who come to court with the white hats usually prevail.  Bad day at Black Rock for Real if that’s true.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Copyright, Innovation, IP, Technology
Comment: 1

Chris Castle is Managing Partner of Christian L. Castle Attorneys, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

You’ve probably heard the expression “the long tail” used by Web 2.0 cognoscenti.  Despite the largely uncritical acceptance the idea received a few years ago, research shows that for artists the “long tail” is the “wrong tale”.  But it may inform a way to leverage past marketing investment in “niche” recordings traded on illegal p2p networks but currently not licensed.

It Actually Is About the Hits After All: Enter the Wrong Tale

A few years ago–between Internet crashes–the “long tail” theory surfaced in the technology press.  The theory maintains that hit-driven businesses are obsolete.  What artists should really focus on was not a few things that sold a lot, but a lot of things that sold a little-the “long tail.”  Sales would be distributed proportionately in the “long tail” because the Internet allowed niche consumers to buy small quantities of lots of things generating significant revenues for retailers.    

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Copyright, Digital Downloads, Internet, Music Industry
Comment: 1