Stereophile Magazine reports that the RIAA has
settled a case with replication (CD pressing) company Technicolor.
According to the RIAA the company had produced and distributed batches of
pirated copies. The RIAA demanded about USD 23 million, but the settelment
requires Technicolor to pay about 10% of this fee, USD 2.3 million.
 Technicolor is one of the entertainment industry's oldest and
most trusted sources for media replication. Company spokesmen insisted
that the alleged piracy was an extremely rare occurrence. The incident or
incidents may have happened during a lull in supervision, according to
industry reports. Terms of the settlement include an agreement to allocate
20% of the damages to the RIAA's MUSIC Coalition antipiracy campaign and a
concession allowing RIAA inspectors to enter Technicolor plants without
warning. Technicolor will also allow the RIAA to examine its books as
often as twice a year.
The RIAA agreed to give written notice and
submit to mediation if it discovers any subsequent discrepancies. "We are
pleased to settle this case and that Technicolor has taken steps to
improve its procedures," said RIAA chairman and CEO Hilary Rosen. "This
settlement should remind everyone that the music industry is serious about
respecting the rights of artists, record labels, and other
creators." |
Replication companies are always in danger of creating and distributing
pirated software, in the old days pirates used e.g passwords or fake content to
make replicators believe they were pressing legal content. Read the entire story
here.
Source: Stereophile.com
