Idolator

Long have I wondered as to the true identity of the mysterious MP3 blog British bulldog the Web Sheriff. I knew that "he" was British. I knew "he" was often quite funny in his takedown posts. I knew that "he" was employed by a number of the big indies to ferret out leaks in the blog world. And that was about it?. Was this dapper industry constable one person, like Shakespeare, or multiple people, like Shakespeare? I kind of imagined "him" like John Cleese's sheriff from Silverado: charming at first, but you still don't want to shoot anybody on his watch like Kevin Kline did. More »

I wouldn't describe myself as being comforted by the fact that a new piece of RIAA-backed legislation is heading through Congress, particularly since the bill would create an office within the White House for someone called the "IP Enforcement Coordinator." But even though I'm a voter, the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act made it through the Senate Judiciary Committee today by a vote of 14 to 4. Of course, the music industry's trade association was thrilled, describing the bill as "a welcome verse in a great song," while the American Library Association was less excited, stating "There is absolutely no reason for the federal government to assume this private enforcement role." Of course, why would anyone be concerned? These antipiracy organizations haven't abused their authority and influence before, right? [FMQB]

On Friday, nearly 82,000 pirated CDs, DVDs and tapes (tapes? really?) were destroyed in Bucharest by the Romanian Copyright Organization. According to one source, more than 80 percent of the compact discs were Euro-disco remixes of "Since U Been Gone." More »

- The European Union is set to vote at the end of month on a new anti-piracy directive that would apply to all 27 EU countries. The measure is aimed at commercial entities, not private citizens, and it dictates "a maximum four-year prison sentence for IP crime, and fines of up to EUR91,050 ($121,430), rising to EUR273,160 ($364,290) if organized crime involvement is proved." Among the biggest trouble spots for piracy are Greece, Italy and Spain; meanwhile, no one seems to worried about Malta. Sorry, Malta! You'll be up there with the big boys some day yet! [Reuters]
- The U.S. will today formally announce plans to step up its crackdown on piracy in China, where just about everything everywhere is bootlegged. One of the points of contention is the country's piracy guidelines, which state that you have to be in possession of at least 500 counterfeit CDs to be charged with a crime. [WSJ]
- International music executives are "fearful" of a "spread of piracy" following Apple's DRM-dissing new plan. Well, at least one anonymously quoted executive seems to be fearful. [Independent]

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry—the British RIAA-like organization that sent us our first cease-and-desist letter—is getting ready to crack down on Internet service providers that allow file-sharing on their networks: More »

If you happen to receive a letter today from something called the IFPI, it may be best to stick it under your Harry And David catalogs and pretend you never saw it. That's because the delightfully anachronistic-sounding International Federation of the Phonographic Industry whipped up 8,000 more file-sharing lawsuits yesterday: More »