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Good friend-o-Blogcritics Dirk Deppey of the Comics Journal sends this in: In 1994, “Spawn” creator Todd McFarlane, laboring under criticism that he didn’t know how to write, invited four comics creators (Dave Sim, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller) to write an issue apiece of Spawn for him. Writer …

Kurt Hanson says AFL-CIO/AFTRA are willing to kill off most Internet radio for little or no pay out: If webcasting is killed because artists want their royalty checks (“Artists are suffering! They deserve their royalties!”), it’s going to be sad example of a combination of greed, shortsightedness, and bad math …

From Edward Felten’s Freedom to Tinker site, ponder the devices that would be required to incorporate government-approved copy restriction technology under Sen. Fritz Hollings’ Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act. Included on the “Hit List” would be Big Mouth Billy Bass, TinkleToonz Musical Potty, and a remote controlled fart …

STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN RICK BOUCHER (VA-9th) UPON INTRODUCTION OF THE DIGITAL MEDIA CONSUMERS' RIGHTS ACT

In court today: The music industry goes to court Friday to try to force an Internet service provider to identify a subscriber accused of illegally trading copyrighted songs, setting up a legal showdown that could indelibly alter the free-swapping culture that has been a signature of the Web’s early years. …

Malaysian pirates are sailing the bounding main and cranking out CD and DVD counterfeits: Crime syndicates have taken to the high seas to manufacture pirated music and movie CDs and VCDs for distribution in Malaysia, a top police official said today. The new trick was aimed at escaping intense police …

Following up this story from yesterday, forces are mobilizing: The fierce negotiations between Hollywood and Silicon Valley over Internet piracy spiked Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers pushed new legislation barring the entertainment business from dictating new technology that will make it tougher for buyers to copy digital TV, movies and …

Apple still fair use friendly: I recently discovered that Apple’s DVD Player software, which came with my Powerbook G4 laptop, gives me flexibility in a way I hadn’t expected. Sometimes I like to watch a movie while I’m on a plane, but the DVD drive in my machine drains my …

Glenn Reynolds, besides being the most prolific and successful blogger on the planet, is a law professor, writer, author, science and tech buff, musician and composer. Since he began blogging in earnest around a year ago, the music had taken a back seat, but no more: he is now scoring …

Whether his ultimate legacy is viewed as one of innovation or intellectual property perfidy, Shawn Fanning has already had an enormous impact on the world: HIS MUSIC-SHARING SOFTWARE PROGRAM Napster caused panic in the recording industry when it showed up on the Internet in 1999, only to be shut down …