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Live Nation sues company and people it doesn't know yet to block T-shirt sales at upcoming concert
By adamg on Wed, 09/22/2010 - 7:32am
The concert promoter yesterday filed a federal lawsuit against "JOHN DOES 1-100, individuals, JANE DOES 1-100, individuals, and XYZ COMPANY, business entity form unknown" to keep them from selling unauthorized T-shirts and tchotchkes outside Roger Waters' concert at the Garden on Sept. 3, Oct. 1 and Oct. 3.
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Comments
Live Nation and Ticketmaster
can both go to hell.
Our Legal System
Our legal system is so broken on so many levels. :-(
That may be so, but there is
That may be so, but there is no evidence of it from this posting. What is broken about a company suing to protect its economic rights? And there is certainly nothing novel about lawsuits--or criminal charges--being filed against presently unknown defendants.
What is definitely broken about our legal system is the public's lazy ignorance of how it works.
Hufflepuff
What is broken is that the company is suing nobody. NOBODY has broken the law. The concert hasn't happened yet, there haven't been any illegal vendors, no copyright or trademarks have been infringed, the ENTIRE lawsuit is a non-event so far.
They are doing this to "get a jump" in the blind assumption that they'll catch anywhere from 1 to 100 SOMEBODYs to prosecute under this filing. If nobody comes out to sell or does it in an illegal way, then they'll have wasted the judicial system's time, at the very least.
It's stupid and shouldn't be an allowance because it's akin to a thought crime. "We *know* someone's going to break the law, so let's file ahead of time against these blank nobody templates and fill in the info later."
How about they just wait until they have a case, then they start invoking their rights in court? Otherwise, I'm going to file an arrest warrant to pick you up for drunk driving. I'm not gonna put a date on it, but as soon as I catch you drunk driving, I'll be ready with all the paperwork. Sound good for you?
It's stupid and shouldn't be
You mean like 'hate crimes?'
Not the same
A hate crime involves an actual crime. What makes it a hate crime is the premeditated targeting aspect.
You have a long way to go in the thought department.
And a hate crime isn't just a
And a hate crime isn't just a crime where you spew derogatory comments. You have to be above a certain bar for them to kick in.
Kinda like how bail is set, or how the state goes after extremely violent or grotesque crimes in a much more aggressive manor.
"Economic rights"?
A company doesn't have "economic rights." It has a licensing agreement with a label or artist that entitles it to the likeness of a particular artist and a share of revenue from the sale of that artist's merchandise, but the company doesn't have a "right" to revenue from anything.
It is up to the company to persuade a consumer to exchange money for its product and the consumer, given the choice between that product and other options, ultimately dictates the revenue stream. A consumer willing to buy a $15 Roger Waters shirt from an unlicensed vendor likely wouldn't spend $35 on a similar, licensed t-shirt inside because that's not the value he or she has placed on the product.
In this case, the suit doesn't protect the company's "economic rights" or revenue, it just diverts the revenue stream away from the outside vendors. That a company would file this preemptive suit in the first place exposes a bit of buyer's remorse on the part of Live Nation, which is clearly concerned about the amount it paid for exclusivity rights.
This is the downside of the way a now combined Live Nation and Ticketmaster conduct business: Massive, questionable investments on the front end ultimately cost a great deal more to maintain on the back end.
This said, anyone who goes to a concert and buys the T-shirt of an artist who's been in the business more than 40 years is a bad investor. The depreciation on that shirt is roughly 80% once it leaves the building, which makes the secondary market a better bet for such purchases. A spin around eBay found Roger Waters tour shirts for as little as $5, with more vintage offerings scoring as little as $10 to $15.
Live Nation is well within its rights to protect its investment against parties known or unknown, and has enough experience in its industry to know that there'll be more than enough known parties attempting to sell unlicensed product to make its suit worthwhile. The efficacy of this action and the legitimacy of "economic rights," however, are a bit more dubious.
Mr. Waters
Roger Waters has been known to be, shall we say, a big prick. So I wouldn't be surprised if he (or his management) was part of this story as well.
He's one of those musicians whose work occupied untold hours of my childhood and then I found out he was not the Good Humour Man, but at least I can still enjoy his music (up to Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking).
Oh shut up, you're talking out of your ass
And check out Amused to Death, it's a good album.
..meh...
..oh whoops! sorry, that was a fart.
So...
...as long as I'm the 101st male street vendor, we're all good?
Sweet.
That's it
We're taking you in for pre-crime.
Is this even legal? I know
Is this even legal? I know that some district attorneys are charging John Does with crimes like rape before they've even caught the guy so that the statute of limitations doesn't run out. But in those cases they've got a DNA profile so they're charging "John Doe who fits this DNA profile." They've got a specific person they just don't have his name or him actually in custody yet. How can you sue a generic person?
RIAA and MPAA have been doing
RIAA and MPAA have been doing it for years before they even have Subpoenas ready.
Then take a look at copywrite law, patent law, fair use law, DRMA, ect, ect, ect
Co's have really, really trashed the law system in regards to our rights as citizens, consumers, and small business owners in their favor. Shut you hole and enjoy your crap good citizen.
On a happier note, They Live was on in HD the other day on AMC :)
I'm amused to death by this
I'm amused to death by this article. Those lawyers must have brain damage. Who are they to meddle in other people's business? They must have too much time on their hands. I remember a day when you could get bootleg T-shirts in any colour you like. One of these days people will get sick of being treated like sheep and they'd better run like hell. Oh, well. The show must go on.
Careful with that t-shirt,
Careful with that t-shirt, Eugene.