erik319 said:

You said it right there! Anything that is not available to buy from a legitimate source should be traded without remorse. Considering that there is no risk and minimal expense to making the material available for sale as downloads (as opposed to the cost and risk of printing and distributing CDs) there is no excuse not to work out the details with all the parties involved and provide a legal source to purchase them from. It's stupid to not do this, and then to complain that people are trading the material and to call those people bootleggers and thieves.

erik319 said:

Good for you. I doubt whether you would win in court, but you would have a defense. After all you paid for a "lifetime", but the only way you were gonna get that, was to circumvent them. Slamdunk!

errant said:

squirrelgrease said:

Omg that's some crappy DRM

djThunderfunk said:

Yeah, it is stupid and no, there isn't an excuse for it, but fuck it, they can STILL send the fbi to come and get you.

bigd74 said:

And they called that DRM?


Tho', this could be good news for all you circumventing prince pirates out there, because according to the US copyright act, section 1201, circumvention of copyright protection systems (for those who have come to love the word, read it lol) the DRM must “effectively control access to a work”

It doesn't exactly look like the DRM they used "effectively controlled acces" to the club's downloads, so who knows.

-
[Edited 3/23/10 12:30pm]

Does anybody still have the words of the license?

Tremolina said:

Here is some legal from October 2005:


The NPG Music Club Membership Agreement

THANK YOU for your interest in the NPG Music Club, ("Club"), wholly owned and operated by NPG Records, Inc..

This Club Membership Agreement ("Agreement") explains the rules of the Club and governs your relationship with the Club as a member.

From time to time the rules may be amended without notice so please check this page so you stay informed about any changes.


In order to use any of the Club's services, you are promising to respect these rules.

I. Club Content

Please respect property rights.

Responsibility for Club Content. The Club is solely responsible for providing you with all Club Content such as music, video, pictures, photos, animation, and text, and all other Content Club chooses to make available ("Content"), that you are entitled to by your membership.

Use of Club Content. All Content is owned by the Club and/or its Content providers and may only be used for your private, personal, noncommercial use. You are not allowed to make or transfer a copy of Club Content to someone else or use any part of the Content for any public or commercial use. If you disrespect the Club rules then you no longer have permission to use the Club and you are required to delete all of your back up copies of Club Content. The Club reserves all rights not expressly granted under this Agreement.

Type of Content. The Club does not make any representation that the Content will be suitable for all audiences and you access the Content at your own risk. Note to parents: It is the responsibility of the parent to determine if Club Content is appropriate for children.

II. Members only services.

Access to the membership services of the Club requires the paid subscription donation of $25.00.

Registration Obligations. You agree to provide true and accurate registration data and to keep it current.

User Name and Passwords. You may be assigned a user name and password that may only be used by you and you agree that you will not share or transfer them to anyone else or in any way provide unauthorized access to the Club.

Cancellation of Subscription Services. If a subscription is charged and not paid or if the Club believes that you have violated the rules, then access to the Club may be denied in whole or part.

Responsibility for Products and/or Services. The Club is solely responsible for making all products and/or services that you are entitled by your membership available to you.

Authorization to provide you with Content. By registering with the Club, you authorize the Club and vendors to provide you from time to time with Club Content for as well as promotional services.

Refunds or Returns. The Club does not give refunds or returns under any circumstances.

III. Termination of Service.

Subject to the restrictions in a paid Club subscription agreement, the Club may make service changes at any time, including cancellation or suspension.

IV. Interactive services, such as chat.

The Club may contain areas where Club members may interact online with one another and even nonmembers, such as chat rooms and member-generated web pages (referred to collectively as, Member Communities).

The Club does not control or prescreen the files, information, or messages (referred to collectively as Information) delivered to or displayed in the Member Communities, unless otherwise noted therein, and the Club assumes no duty to, and does not, monitor or endorse Information within the Member Communities.

The Club reserves the right at all times to edit, refuse to post, or to remove any Information, in whole or part, that the Club deems inappropriate for inclusion in the Member Communities. The Club reserves the right to expel you from or suspend your access to some or all of the Member Communities for violating the law or this Agreement.

The Member Communities are public and not private communications and may be read by others without your knowledge or permission. Although a particular area may have a policy of limited membership or access, the Club shall have no liability if unauthorized persons nevertheless obtain access. Your use of the Member Communities at your own risk so be careful about disclosing your personal information.

When using the Member Communities you may not do any of the following:

a. Restrict or inhibit any other member from using and enjoying the Member Communities;

b. Post or transmit any abusive, hateful, defamatory, indecent, libelous, obscene, pornographic, profane, threatening, harassing, embarrassing, unlawful, vulgar, or other information of any kind that violates applicable law or regulation or which harms minors in any way, including, without limitation, information that constitutes the following:

Infringement. Information that violates or infringes upon the copyright, literary, privacy, publicity, trademark, service mark or any other personal or property right of any person or entity or which discloses any trade secret or confidential information.

Software. Software or materials that contain a virus, corrupted files, or similar programs that may damage the operation of another's computer or the Club.

c. Post advertisements of solicitations of business, except in areas expressly designated for such purposes and in accordance with the express rules and regulations established by the Club.

d. Post chain letters or pyramid schemes or impersonate another person.

e. Manipulate headers or identifiers so as to disguise the origin or Content of any posting.

f. Do any act which interferes with or slows the operation of the Club.

By posting material to the Member Communities, you automatically grant to the Club a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, display the material all without any obligation to you, whether by way of compensation, attribution or otherwise.

V. Third party services and products in the Club.

Non-Club services that are available in the Club are for your convenience. However, the Club makes no representation or endorsement of any third party services or products available in the Club, including links to other websites, and you access and use them at your own risk. The Club will have no liability for your downloading or use of third party products, such as software.

VI. Concert Ticket Policy.

Members of the NPG Music Club are entitled to purchase concert tickets to shows by Prince and the NPG where available. The Club makes no guarantees as to availability and does not guarantee every members will get a ticket. All tickets are sold while supplies last. The Club makes no guarantee to have member tickets to every performance by Prince.

All tickets sold through the NPG Music Club may not be transferred or resold. They will not be refunded under any circumstances. You may not resell the tickets on ebay, any other auction site, or a ticket broker service. The tickets are for member use only.


VII. Privacy Policy.

Subject to such privacy policies as the Club may establish and post from time to time, the Club may use the information it obtains relating to you for its internal business and marketing purposes and such information may be disclosed to third parties for such purposes and for any other purposes set forth in the Club's posted privacy policy.

VIII. Copyright Complaints.

If you believe that your work has been copied and is accessible in the Club so as to constitute copyright infringement, you may notify the Club by providing the Club's copyright agent with the following information:
1. An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
2. A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, including the URL (i.e., web page address) of the location where the copyrighted work exists or a copy of the copyrighted work;
3. Your address, telephone number, and email address;
4. A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
5. A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.
The Club's agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement may be reached as follows:

By mail:

NPG RECORDS INC.
7801 Audubon Rd.
Chanhassen, MN 55317


IX. Limitation of Damage Liability.

The Club and its services may not be error-free. The Club cannot guarantee that all members will adhere to the terms of this Agreement. Your use of all the Club services is at your own risk. It is your responsibility to exercise care when dealing with other Club members and accessing the Internet, such as protecting your computer with the appropriate security firewall and anti-virus software.

The following limits Club liability and damages.
The Club Makes No Representations or Warranties. THE CLUB, ITS AFFILIATES, AGENTS, ATTORNEYS, LICENSEES, LICENSORS, SUBSIDIARIES, SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNEES, AND THE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS AND AGENTS OF EACH OF THEM (COLLECTIVELY "CLUB GROUP") MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO ANY MATTER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OR OTHERWISE WHICH WOULD EXTEND BEYOND THE EXPRESS REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES CONTAINED IN THIS AGREEMENT, IF ANY.

Disclaimer and Limitation of Damage Liability. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE CLUB GROUP BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR SPECIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES TO BUSINESS REPUTATION, LOST OR DAMAGED DATA, OR LOST BUSINESS OR LOST PROFITS), WHETHER FORESEEABLE OR NOT AND HOWEVER CAUSED, EVEN IF THE CLUB GROUP IS ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF THE CLUB GROUP TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY EXCEED THE FEES, IF ANY, PAID BY YOU TO THE CLUB DURING THE PRECEDING TWELVE (12) MONTHS OF THE ALLEGED CAUSE OF ACTION.

X. Miscellaneous.

Use of the Club's Name Without Permission. The names "NPG Music Club" and "NPG", as well as the other names used by the Club, may not be used by you without the Club's written permission.

Choice of Law and Forum. This Agreement, its interpretation, performance or any breach thereof, will be construed in accordance with, and all questions with respect thereto will be determined by, the laws of the State of Minnesota, USA applicable to contracts entered into and wholly to be performed within said state. You hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of the State of Minnesota, acknowledge that venue is only proper in the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in the County of Hennepin, Minnesota and waive any objection you may have in the future with respect to any of the foregoing.

Indemnity. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Club Group from and against any and all third party claims, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses, including reasonable legal fees and expenses, arising out of or related to any breach by you of this Agreement, including any material which you may post to the Member Communities or any use of the Content by you or under your control.

Severability. If any provision of this Agreement, or application thereof, shall be held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be changed and interpreted so as to best accomplish the objectives of the original provision to the fullest extent allowed by law and the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

Use of "You" or "Your". The words "you" or "your" shall also mean heirs, executors, administrators, successors, legal representatives and permitted assigns.

Printed Agreement. A printed version of this Agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this Agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.

Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Club and you with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements or communications. No waiver of any breach of any provision of this Agreement shall constitute a waiver of any prior, concurrent or subsequent breach of the same or any other provisions hereof, and no waiver shall be effective unless made in writing and signed by an authorized representative of the Club.
***

ernestsewell said:

That's the only clause relating to the license. It doesn't say anything about any DRM.

On a side note, this one is interesting:




'Nice'.

Tremolina said:

Sounds like what Facebook was trying to do last year.

I didn't read that Membership Agreement then and I ain't gonna read it now.