ISPs RECEIVE RIAA WARNINGS ABOUT NAPSTER CLONES

RIAA had sent 75 notices to ISPs by end of day Fri., with dozen or more still to go out, said Jonathan Whitehead, group’s antipiracy counsel. He said notices gave ISPs opportunity to remove servers that carried copyrighted material and avoid potential liability, but emphasized that notices focused on “our long-standing relations with the ISPs to combat piracy.” All of ISPs that have responded agreed to shut down servers originating Napster-like file-sharing, Whitehead said.

Letters, however, didn’t go to decentralized file-sharing services such as Gnutella or overseas operators, although RIAA said copyright owners had plans for them as well, but weren’t willing to make them public. On international servers, Whitehead said RIAA would work with International Federation of Phonographic Industries, and action against them would “take place in due time.”

“I hope they [music industry is] putting as much effort into working out licensing agreements as they are into these activities,” MP3.com lobbyist Billy Pitts said. “I just hope they don’t feel they have crushed their opponents and should just let the tanks keep rolling.” Pitts said Internet companies continued to hope that music companies would find way to make their product more available to consumers: “This problem is not going away. There is a whole interactive music society that will not be denied. We should be working together to nurture something that is also beneficial to the music labels.”

Despite concerns, RIAA’s Whitehead said notifications sent last week “aren’t any different from what we have done in past years.” He said the letters went only to “very egregious offending sites that offer hundreds of thousands of links to infringing material.”

Sony and Vivendi will partner to offer pay alternative to Napster -- both for music and for video programming -- Vivendi Chmn. Jean-Marie Messier said. He said venture, called Duet, is intended to “preempt” the possibility of Napster-like service’s emerging for TV and film programming “immediately": “We are going to be aggressive and on the offensive in that domain.”

Sony-Vivendi partnership will combine 2 largest owners of music copyrights, with control over 50% of all music, Messier said in interview with Paris newspaper that Vivendi posted on its Web site. He said partners were comfortable with their access technology, and would be technically ready to begin service this summer. Technology tests in Cal. “have generated satisfactory results in terms of quality,” Messier said.

On business side, Messier said partnership included licensing each other’s music catalogs, “and we hope that other companies will join us.” He indicated similar licensing deals would be available to other companies, even competitors such as Bertelsmann and AOL Time Warner. Duet will make music downloading available via Internet on subscription basis, pay-per-listen and even for free listening, Messier said.

Delivery platform for downloads hasn’t been finalized, Messier indicated, and Duet is negotiating with various technology companies: “MP3.com is one of the platforms that may be used, but certainly not the only one.” He said Duet would share revenue with delivery platforms, but wasn’t willing to offer 40% revenue share that Napster suggested with its $1 billion offer, saying that amount was “totally out of this world.”

Duet would be willing to negotiate with Napster some time in future, “when Napster is in a position to respect the California judge’s ruling,” Messier said. “But that’s not the case today.” He said Napster certainly wasn’t only possible delivery platform for Duet: “There are other more advanced discussions going on with other partners.” He said that “I don’t see why pirates should have the advantage.” Some saw Messier announcement as potentially negotiating tactic to convince Napster to reduce its proposed revenue share.