Billboard Magazine is reporting that the copyright lawsuit filed by Joe Satriani against Coldplay was dismissed.  Satriani sued based on the similarities between his song “If I Could Fly” and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”.  Details of the settlement are under wraps but industry insiders say that a financial settlement was likely reached and that Coldplay does not have to admit any wrongdoing.  Both parties will bear their own legal costs.  The case was dismissed with prejudice which means that the case cannot be reinstated.

Neither Satriani nor Coldplay has made any public comment about the settlement.  Satriani is currently on tour with “supergroup” Chickenfoot while Coldplay is in the studio recording new material.  The settlement was finalized on September 14, 2009, but was kept under the radar as news of Kanye West’s outburst on the MTV Video Music Awards took over the airwaves.

What remains to be seen is whether Cat Stevens will file a similar lawsuit based on his belief that Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” infringed his song “Foreigner Suite”.  Stevens has publicly said that he may file suit depending on how Satriani’s lawsuit turns out. But what about the Latin band Enanitos Verdes whose song “Frances Limon” sounds similar and predates both Coldplay & Satriani’s versions?  Are they contemplating getting in on the legal action?  Is the Satriani settlement just the first in a long line of potential lawsuits?

It will be interesting to see whether this settlement affects Coldplay’s habit of publicly bragging about the similarities between their songs and other artists’.  Hopefully, their legal counsel has advised them that this habit is not endearing to fans and could come back to bite them in the butt.

Microsoft is bundling anti-piracy tracking software with routine updates.  The updates include a validation process that allows Microsoft to determine whether the operating system and productivity software installed on the user’s computer are genuine.  This is part of Windows Genuine Advantage Program (WGA) and Office Genuine Advantage Program (OGA).  These global anti-piracy efforts began in 2004 and 2006 respectively and have been slowly rolled out to more than forty countries worldwide.  Microsoft says that these programs “are part of Microsoft’s on-going effort to protect its customers and partners from counterfeit software and to increase customer awareness of the value of genuine Microsoft software.”

WGA currently has the capability to check the validity of Windows XP, Vista, Windows 2000 Professional and some versions of Windows 7.  OGA checks the validity of Office XP, Office 2003 and Office 2007.  But it is a controversial move by the software giant that is garnering criticism and legal action.  Lawsuits have been filed in the United States and China alleging that the anti-piracy measures violate privacy, anti-trust and product liability laws.  It also has been criticized for producing false positives – invalidating legitimate software.  Microsoft stresses that these cases are rare and can easily be resolved by visiting their technical support website.  Microsoft also claims that these “automatic updates” are optional and can be rejected by users before installation.

Users that are operating legal software will not see any alerts or messages and can install all available updates.  However, users who are using pirated software will be alerted either by a pop up dialogue box, a black screen or a message in their system tray that says: “This copy of Microsoft Office is not genuine.”   The message directs the user on how to obtain a legitimate copy of Microsoft product.  They will not be allowed to install any available updates.

Some have criticized the programs as the heavy handed tactics of a software giant.  However, it is important to realize the impact piracy has on the software industry including contributing to unemployment rates.   Piracy also impacts computer users.  People that use counterfeit software forfeit the benefits that come with the purchase of legitimate software like technical support, updates, patches, user manuals.  You also risk the possibility of being infected with a computer virus.  So get your piracy check-up!

This month’s blog revisits the pending lawsuit filed by Joe Satriani against Coldplay for copyright infringement.  Some background in copyright law is necessary to evaluate the merits of Satriani’s case.  Let’s start with the basics of copyright law.

Under Section 106 of the Copyright Act,  copyright owners are granted certain exclusive rights.  A copyright owner has the right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display or prepare derivative works.  A claim for copyright infringement arises under Section 501 of the Act when someone violates the owner’s exclusive rights.  In order to prove a claim of copyright infringement, the copyright owner must prove two things: ownership of the copyright and proof that defendant copied the work. 

Ownership can be proven by providing a copy of the registration on file with the Copyright Office.  Proof of actual copying is very difficult to prove unless you are a fly on the wall in the musician’s rehearsal studio.  Courts recognize that eyewitness testimony rarely exists.  Thus, in order to prove that copying occurred, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant had access to the work and that there are substantial similarities between the two works.  This legal analysis will be the crux of Satriani’s case. More...

Joe Satriani has accused the band Coldplay of copying his song in a pending lawsuit filed last year.  Satriani says that Coldplay’s song “Viva La Vida” borrows substantially from his song “If I Could Fly.”  “Viva La Vida” won a Grammy for Song of the Year for 2008. Satriani’s song, released in 2004 was intended as a love letter to his wife and reportedly took him ten years to write.

Satriani is a Grammy nominated guitarist that has released a dozen solo albums selling in excess of ten million copies.  Dubbed “Satch” by his fans, he has played with several rock legends including Mick Jagger, Sammy Hagar and Alice Cooper.  Just in case you have been living under a rock, Coldplay is a British alternative rock band that has produced four major label albums and won seven Grammy awards.  They have sold in excess of 50 million records.  They have eschewed endorsement and licensing deals (with the exception of an iTunes commercial) and to their credit, Coldplay claims they give 10% of their profits to charity. 

Satriani says it was his fans that brought the songs’ similarities to his attention.  After Coldplay’s latest record was released, Satriani’s inbox was flooded with emails telling him he was being “ripped off”.  He said: “The second I heard, I knew…I felt like a dagger went through my heart.”  And Satriani is not the only one who feels cheated.  Cat Stevens claims that Coldplay infringed his song “Foreigner Suite”.  And it doesn’t stop there.  Creaky Boards, an indie rock band from New York, claim “Viva La Vida” is a ripoff of their song, “The Songs I Didn’t Write”.  Cat Stevens says he will wait and see how Satriani’s lawsuit plays out before taking any action.  Creaky Boards seem to have relished the publicity their band is getting.  After all, being compared to Coldplay can’t be such a bad thing for a relatively unknown band from Brooklyn. More...

According to Wikipedia, “Teamwork is a joint action by two or more people or a group, in which each person contributes with different skills...to achieve common goals.” Companies are founded on teamwork but often employees get caught up in the day to day duties of their jobs and forget that they are an integral part of a team. This is especially true when employees are allowed to purchase their own software without accountability.   I am not suggesting that companies engage in team building exercises, retreats or motivational speakers to fix the problem.  What I am suggesting is that companies create their own Software Management Team.

In past blogs, I have emphasized the importance of centralizing software purchases.  Certainly this is important, but we must take a step back and look at the bigger picture.  Every company should have a Software Management Team in place.  Representatives from Information Technology, Accounting, Purchasing, Legal, Human Resources should be included.  The heads of individual business units should also be present.  Each of these departments has a stake in the game and should not be left out when managing a company’s software assets.

Once a company has designated at least one person from each of these departments to be part of the team, the team should convene and set goals and directives.  Each department will be individually responsible to the team.  Goals may vary within each company but definitely should include a software audit.  IT will likely be responsible for selection and deployment of the audit tool.  After the results are analyzed, Accounting may advise as to an appropriate budget for software purchases for each department. Department heads certainly will want to have input.  The Legal department should draft User Policies and Procedures for employees to follow.  And Human Resources will need to communicate the plan to company employees and take corrective action if necessary.More...

Organizations that centralize their software purchases stand a much better chance of being software compliant than those that do not have a formal process in place.  This is true for small and large organizations alike but certainly the risk of non-compliance increases as the size of the organization does.

The advantages of centralizing software acquisition cannot be overstated.  For those organizations that do not centralize their purchases, they run the risk of being either underlicensed or overlicensed.  After performing a software audit, many organizations have found that they are both underlicensed for some software titles and overlicensed for others.

Some organizations that are underlicensed have found themselves in the middle of an enforcement audit or lawsuit simply because the IT department did not have control over the software their employees were purchasing and using on a daily basis.  Organizations that are the target of these types of investigations run the risk of monetary fines and negative publicity. More...

A question that comes up daily at SIIA is: What is proper documentation to show my company’s software is licensed?  There are several acceptable ways to demonstrate that your company’s software is properly licensed.

Dated licenses issued by the software publisher are always the best evidence of licensure.  However, if those are not available, your company should locate dated invoices, purchase orders, receipts, or packing slips issued by legitimate software vendors identifying the name and quantity of software purchased and the date of purchase.

Alternatively, if your company routinely purchases its software through the same reseller, the reseller should be able to provide your purchase history.  This history should include the name and quantity of the software sold and the date it was purchased.  More...

If your company is planning to purchase another company’s assets, it would pay to do your due diligence. Most companies are aware of the many hoops they must jump through in order to acquire another company or at the very least will consult an attorney about how to do so. However, there is one step that is frequently overlooked during this process: software compliance and the proper transfer of software licenses.

During my tenure at SIIA, I have audited hundreds of companies that have all made the same unfortunate mistake. They did not establish whether the seller’s company was software compliant or obtain proper transfer of their software licenses during a merger or acquisition. It is unfortunate because the purchaser finds themselves using unlicensed software and potentially facing fines and costly litigation.

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