Intellectual Property

another from today's roundup at slashdot:

Clear Channel Limits Live CDs

Company to block bands from selling instant albums

In the past few years, fans leaving some concerts have discovered a souvenir far better than a T-shirt: a live recording of the show they just attended. Bands including the Allman Brothers, moe. and Billy Idol have sold instant concert discs, and the Pixies and the Doors plan to launch similar programs this summer. The recording-and-burning company DiscLive estimated on April 12th that it would gross $500,000 selling live discs this spring alone.

But in a move expected to severely limit the industry, Clear Channel Entertainment has bought the patent from the technology's inventors and now claims to own the exclusive right to sell concert CDs after shows. The company, which is the biggest concert promoter in the world, says the patent covers its 130 venues along with every other venue in the country.

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so, basically, once it became clear how profitable instant live concert recordings could be, clear channel decides to get into the market and crush all potential competition. i dunno if it's just me, but it seems there is something very slippery about their argument for exclusive rights to sell CDs after concernts. i suppose that according to patent law, they have the right to control the use of the technology covered under the patent they bought. however, i don't see why other companies couldn't independently develop similar technology for instant CD recordings. it would be interesting to see clear channel's response to that. the article implies that their legal argument rests on their ownership of a specific patent for a technology used by a single company, DiscLive. DiscLive uses the technology covered under the patent, now owned by clear channel. clear channel is not willing to license the technology to them. ergo, they no longer have the right to sell CDs made with that technology.

however, i'm not convinced that their ownership of this patent gives them exclusive rights to sell instant live CD recordings after shows. this is a separate intellectual property issue. the matter of the patent pertains to clear channel's right to control over a technology for making instant live recordings on CD. this doesn't logically extend to exclusive rights to sell instant CD recordings of live musical performances.