In the age of DRM and software patents, almost nothing can suprise me anymore, at least when it comes to people claiming to “own” ideas or “intellectual property.” The world is screwed up, and the government serves only corporations.
So it’s all the more disarming and alarming when it comes from your own circle. David “Dawg” Grisman, a mandolin player who moonlighted with the Dead for a period, has apparently sued Google, Inc and YouTube for copyright infrigement. The Grateful Dead! The ones who stood for free taping. The ones who insisted that their music was best enjoyed live, who built a mega-following not from selling their tapes, but from playing great music and presenting a show.
This is a sad day, as “Dawg” has truly cashed in a little of the overflowingly positive Grateful Dead karma; karma that was already bruised from the scuffle the Dead had with the live music archive, archive.org.
