CRB Denies DiMA Legal Question Request

The Copyright Royalty Board today rejected a request by the Digital Media Assn. to have the Register of Copyrights decide whether interactive streams should fall under a compulsory license, Billboard.biz has learned. The order came during the initial trial phase of the hearing process, which began in 2006, to set rates for mechanical and digital deliveries of compositions that fall under section 115 of the Copyright Act, known as the compulsory mechanical license provision. (Billboard)

MPAA admits mistake on downloading study

In a 2005 study it commissioned, the Motion Picture Association of America claimed that 44 percent of the industry's domestic losses came from illegal downloading of movies by college students, who often have access to high-bandwidth networks on campus. But now the MPAA, which represents the U.S. motion picture industry, has told education groups a "human error" in that survey caused it to get the number wrong. It now blames college students for about 15 percent of revenue loss. (AP)

Showdown Looms Over Pirated-Media Directory

Based on evidence collected in a 2006 raid on the offices of The Pirate Bay, Swedish prosecutors say that by the end of January they expect to charge the individuals who operate the file-sharing service with conspiracy to breach copyrights. The prosecutors' move comes after years of complaints from Hollywood executives and U.S. government officials. U.S. Embassy officials have described Sweden as home to the "worst Internet piracy in the world," and the Motion Picture Association of America has been fighting to shutter Pirate Bay's site for years. (Wall Street Journal)