Fender Guitars Plugs-in with Apple: Are Your Guitar Chords Discoverable?
Author: Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE, J.D. Candidate May 2013
The coveted icon of music industry guitars, Fender, unveiled
its latest foray into technology today.
The guitar company has officially announced a new model that comes with
the ability to connect directly to iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone (and of
course Mac computers) via USB.
With eyes on the future of the intersection of copyright law
and technology law, does this innovation mean that guitar chords will become
discoverable by virtue of eDiscovery?
eDiscovery refers to an area of litigation where electronically stored
information (ESI) enters the legal process.
Imagine the scenario where two artists are battling out who the first
author of the song was and it becomes immediately apparent how metadata (data
about data which often includes information such as the author, creation date,
time stamp, etc.) regarding the chord patterns could be legally relevant. Perhaps only the future will tell, but this
union between Fender and Apple certainly strikes a chord!
As PC Mag notes, “Ever
since the debut of the iPad, third-party accessory makers have worked to
produce a wide range of add-ons and gadgets designed to allow musicians to take
their studio sessions mobile. From specialized adapter cords to cleverly
constructed interface jacks, in recent years the professional music community
has become accustomed to using these devices to record sessions directly to the
iPad and iPhone. Now, at least in the case of guitar players looking to go
digital, the new Fender instrument essentially eliminates the need for many of
these clunky accessories.” (Ref: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2412051,00.asp) With the ubiquity of the iPad in the deepest
recesses of the professional music community, it seems that the likelihood of
such data becoming part of litigation is but only a matter of time.
In the immortal words of Foreigner’s Jukebox Hero, “And that
one guitar made his whole life change.”
#eDiscovery
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Follow me @IntleDiscovery
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About the Author: Eric
Everson is a 3L law student at Florida A&M University – College of Law
where he will graduate in May 2013.
Prior to law school he earned an MBA and Masters in Software Engineering
while working within the U.S. telecommunications industry. The
views and opinions presented in this blog are his own and are not to be
construed as legal advice. Eric
Everson currently serves on the Board of Governors for The Florida Bar Young
Lawyers Division Law Student Division and is the President of the Electronic
Discovery Law Student Association at Florida A&M University – College of
Law. Follow @IntleDiscovery
Tags: Fender, Fender Guitars, Apple, iPad,
eDiscovery, eDisclosure, Copyright, Law, Tech Law, Technology Law,
Preservation, ESI, Electronically Stored Information, Music Law, Entertainment
Law
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