Some time ago the online media were reporting on the Buma Stemra vs. Suplacon case. The company Suplacon was ordered to pay copyright fees for allowing employees to listen to radios at their workstation. Over the years it has been established in several cases as a reasonable position: if music is played openly and it creates a commercial benefit (like in a restaurant improving the atmosphere) money is made and the creator of the music should get a slice of the pie. The argument gets thin in a work environment, but again there are a lot of precedents.
The amazing part was that the judge included music played on Ipods in his verdict. This opens a can of very unreasonable worms. If I purchase music, play it on my Ipod for myself, why should my employer have to pay for that as soon as I enter my workplace? How about people driving in their leasecar during working hours, listening to the radio or or their Ipod?
When you dig into the background of the verdict the answer appears. The company had introduced Ipods as an example in their defense statement. The judge is born in 1945 and probably did not really grasp the technology and its implications. He probably just copied part of the defense statement in his verdict without any further thought,
Generation gaps at work….
