Word of the Month: Soviet

1 November 2003

The October Revolution is famous the world over. In October of 1917, Lenin and his followers seized control of the government of Russia, ushering in 75 years of Communist rule. But few today realize that the October Revolution actually happened in November. Tsarist Russia had not converted to the Gregorian calendar and while by traditional Russian reckoning the revolution took place in October, from the perspective of the rest of the Western world it happened in November. One of the first acts of the new Communist government was to change the calendar to bring it in line with the rest of the world.

So in honor of that event some 86 years ago this month, our word of the month is:

Soviet, n. & adj., an elected council that performs governmental functions. English use dates from 1917. Soviets operated at all levels of government in the Soviet Union, the highest being the Supreme Soviet or national legislature. The word literally means council in Russian. The noun was also used to mean a citizen of the Soviet Union. As an adjective, it is used to denote things associated with the Soviet Union.

The following terms are (mostly) of Russian origin or inspiration and are all associated with the Communist era. In English usage, these words are not obsolete or obsolescent; instead they still are very much in use. They are what lexicographers would call historical. They are only used in reference to the past.

Unless otherwise stated, the dates given are the term’s appearance in English usage. In most cases, the use of the word or term in Russian is older and often is not especially associated with Communism, but rather simply denotes some aspect of Russian culture or society. But in English usage, all these terms carry connotations of the Communist era.

Agitprop, n., agitation and propaganda, from the Russ. agit[átsiya] + prop[agánda], 1934. Agitprop was originally a department of the Russian Communist Party’s Central Committee with local branches.

Apparatchik, n., a Communist agent or spy, from the Russ. apparat + -chik, 1941. Apparat was borrowed into Russian from the German and was used to denote the Communist party machine.

Bolshevik, prop.n., a member of the Communist Party, from the Russ. meaning member of the majority, an early name for the Russian Communist party, 1917. Later meaning a person with subversive views, 1926. This name for the Communist Party was coined in Russian in 1903 when a vote during the second congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party gave Lenin’s faction a temporary majority. The party subsequently split, cf. Menshevik.

Cheka, prop.n., Russian secret police organization that existed from 1917-22, acronym from the Russ. Chrezvycháĭnaya Komíssiya or Extraordinary Commission (for combating Counterrevolution, Sabotage, and Speculation). In English use from 1921. Also chekist, a member of the Soviet secret police.

Comecon, prop.n., economic association of the Communist nations of Eastern Europe, acronym for the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, the English name of the organization translated from the Russ. Ékonomicheskoĭ Vzaimopomoshchi, 1949.

Comintern, prop.n., the international wing of the Russian Communist Party which existed from 1919-43, an acronym for Com[munist] + Intern[ational], or Komintérn in Russian.

Commissar, n., a Communist Party member responsible for political indoctrination of a group, esp. a military unit, from the Russ. komissár, 1918. More general use of the term to mean one charged to act as a representative dates to the 15th century and is from the French commissaire, but the specific Communist sense is a re-borrowing from the Russian.

Cosmonaut, n., an astronaut, esp. a Russian one, from the Russ. kosmonaut, or space sailor, 1959.

Disinformation, n., deliberately false information, esp. that provided by a government to the media, calque of the Russ. dezinformatsiya. Russian word coined in 1949, English use from 1955.

G.R.U., abbrev., the foreign intelligence organization of the Soviet (now Russian) Ministry of Defense, the counterpart of the American Defense Intelligence Agency (D.I.A.), from the initials of Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravlenie or Main Intelligence Administration.

Glasnost, n., a policy of being open to public scrutiny. The Russian word first appears in the 18th century in the sense of publicity. The sense of openness is first used by Lenin. It was used again in 1969 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The first use in English dates to 1971 in reference to Solzhenitsyn’s use of the word. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev declared that glasnost was an official policy of the Soviet Union.

Gulag, n., the Soviet system of labor camps and prisons, an acronym of glavnoe upravlenie ispravitel’no-trudovykh lagereĭ or Chief Administration for Corrective Labor Camps, 1946.

Intelligentsia, n., the intellectual elite of a society, from the Russ. intelligéntsiya, 1907.

Intourist, n., the Soviet state travel bureau, responsible for foreign visitors and tourists, from the Russ. Inturíst, abbrev. of inostránnyĭturíst, foreign tourist, 1932.

K.G.B., abbrev., Soviet intelligence and secret police organization (1954-91), abbrev. for Komitet Gosudarstvennoĭ Bezopasnosti or Committee of State Security. English use dates to 1960.

Kalashnikov, n., a Soviet-manufactured assault rifle, after its inventor, Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov (b.1919). His most famous design is the AK-47, or Avtomat (automatic) Kalashnikov design of 1947. English use of Kalashnikov as a name for the rifle dates to 1970.

Komsomol, n., Communist youth organization, acronym for Kommunistícheskiĭ Soyúz Molodëzhi or Communist Union of Youth, 1934.

Kremlin, n., the medieval fortress in the center of Moscow that houses the upper echelons of the Soviet (now Russian) government. English use is from 1662 and is borrowed from French, which in turn is from the Russ. kreml or citadel. Hence Kremlinology, the study and analysis of the Soviet government, particularly by Western intelligence services, 1958.

Kulak, n., a well-to-do farmer from pre-revolutionary times, later a peasant who grows food for profit, from the Russ. word for fist, signifying a tight-fisted person, in English use from 1877.

Kulturny, adj., cultured, civilized, 1955; its opposite is nekulturny, unenlightened, boorish, 1959.

Liquidate, v., to make someone disappear, to murder, from the Russ. likvidírovat´ to liquidate or wind up one’s affairs, 1924. The legal and business senses of the term date to the 17th century and are directly from Latin, but the sinister sense is from the Russian usage.

Menshevik, prop.n., a more moderate faction of the Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party than the Bolsheviks, from the Russian for member of the minority, in Russian use from 1903, English use from 1907. The Menshevik Party was suppressed in 1922.

MiG, abbrev., a Soviet aircraft design bureau responsible for the creation of a number of Soviet fighter aircraft or aircraft manufactured by that bureau, abbreviation for the names of M[ikoyan] + i (and) + G[urevich], the heads of the bureau, 1942.

Molotov cocktail, n., a makeshift incendiary device consisting of a glass bottle or other breakable container filled with gasoline and stopped with a cloth fuse, 1940. Probably from the Finnish Molotovin koktaili, and used by Finns against Soviet tanks. Named after Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov, who led the disastrous 1939-40 winter campaign against Finland. (Despite overwhelming superiority in numbers, the Soviets suffered horrific losses at the hands of the Finns, but eventually did win through sheer numbers.) Also, Molotov breadbasket, a WWII-era term for a container filled with scatterable bombs, probably from the Finnish Molotovin leipäkori, after a speech in 1939 where Molotov said he would bring bread, not bombs, to Finland. Molotov was the revolutionary name of Vjačeslav Mihajlovič Skrjabin (1890-1986), molot is Russian for hammer.

-nik, suffix, meaning one who is characterized by the preceding word, borrowed into English from the Yiddish, which in turn acquired it from Russian. Productively used in English since 1945, usually humorously or pejoratively, e.g., beatnik (1952), peacenik (1965).

N.K.V.D., abbrev., Soviet secret police organization, from the Russ. Naródnyĭ Komissariát Vnútrennikh Del or People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs. Created in 1918, it assumed overall control of the state security apparatus in 1934. It officially ceased to exist in 1946, but its head, Lavrentii Beria, continued to control the secret police until his execution in 1954 and the creation of the K.G.B. English usage of the term dates to 1942.

Nomenklatura, n., the Communist Party elite of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites who held positions of privilege, from the Russian, literally those who are appointed (named), 1959.

O.G.P.U., abbrev., Soviet secret police organization (1923-34), acronym for Ob´´edinënnoe Gosudárstvennoe Politícheskoe Upravlénie or United State Political Directorate, 1923. Also spelled Ogpu.

Orwellian, adj., characteristic of the writings of George Orwell (a.k.a., Eric Blair, 1903-50), particularly of his novel 1984, characteristic of a totalitarian state as envisioned that novel, in use since 1950.

Perestroika, n., from the Russ., literally restructuring. In English it refers to the political and economic reforms attempted in the final years of the Soviet Union. A policy of perestroika was first proposed at the 26th Party Congress in 1979 and implemented under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev starting in 1985. English use dates to 1981.

Politburo, n., the highest policy-making organ of a Communist Party, esp. that of the Soviet Union, officially the politburo was a Party organ but had the de facto control of the government, from the Russ. politbyuró, abbreviation of polit[ícheskoe] (political) + byuró (bureau), 1927. Also politbureau.

Pravda, prop.n., the newspaper of the Soviet (now Russian) Communist Party, from the Russian word for truth.

Presidium, n., the standing committee that presided over the Supreme Soviet, the highest organ of government it was de facto subordinate to the Communist Party, from the Russ. prezídium, which in turn is after the Latin præsidium or garrison, 1924.

Refusenik, n., a Soviet Jew denied permission to emigrate to Israel, partial calque of Russ. otkáznik, from otkazát’ (to refuse) + -nik, 1975.

Resident, n., an intelligence agent stationed in a foreign country, calque of the Russ. rezidént, 1963. Also sometimes spelled rezident in English usage.

Samizdat, n., the clandestine copying and distribution of writings and literature, an underground press, the writings published by clandestine means, from samo- (self) + izdát[el´stvo] (publishing house), 1967.

Smersh, n., popular name of a Russian counterintelligence organization that operated during WWII, abbrev. of smert´ shpionam or death to spies, 1953.

Sputnik, n., an artificial satellite, specifically the first artificial satellite launched 4 October 1957, literally traveling companion, from s + put´ (way, journey) + -nik, 1957.

Stavka, n., the Russian army’s general staff, from the Russ. stavit´, to put, place, 1928.

Tamizdat, n., subversive writings published abroad and then smuggled into the Soviet Union, from tam (there) + izdat[’el’stvo] (publishing house), 1974, cf. samizdat.

Tass, prop.n., the official Soviet news agency, acronym for Telegrafnoe agentstvo Sovetskogo Soyuza, Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union, 1925.

Totalitarian, adj., pertaining to a system of government where all individuals and institutions are completely subordinated to the will of the state, calque of the Italian totalitario, 1926.

Tovarich, n., form of address, from the Russ. továrishch or comrade, 1918. Also tovarish.

U.S.S.R., abbrev., official name of the Soviet Union, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, from the Russ. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, 1927. Often seen as the Cyrillic C.C.C.P.

Zek, n., a prisoner of the Gulag, probably formed in an attempt to represent the pronunciation of z/k, an abbreviation of zaklyuchënnyĭ or prisoner.

Dept. of Legal Affairs: Intellectual Property, Part 1: Copyright

1 October 2003

In this two-part article, we will examine the two types of intellectual property that relate to language, copyright and trademark. There are two other types of intellectual property, patent and trade secrets, that apply to physical inventions and commercial business information.

The point of intellectual property laws is to encourage the advancement of the art, science, and commerce by giving the creators of original works, ideas, and products a limited period within which they can exercise exclusive control over their works and derive profit from them.

The first of these type of intellectual property is copyright, the right of an owner of a creative work to keep others from using it without permission. The term dates to 1735, when the British Parliament passed the first laws granting this right to authors. In the United States, the concept of copyright flows from the Constitution, which in Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the power “to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive rights to their respective writings and discoveries.”

The first important concept to understand regarding copyright is the difference between an idea and the expression of an idea. Copyright only covers the latter. J.K. Rowling, for example, owns the copyright to the Harry Potter books. One cannot copy the text (the expression of her ideas) without her permission. But one is free to write one’s own book about a boy who attends a school for wizards and battles an evil sorcerer who killed the boy’s parents. The idea is not protected; the expression is.

What can be copyrighted?

There are limits on what copyright extends to:

• The work must be original. It must be created, not copied from somewhere else.

• The work must be in tangible form, e.g., on paper, canvas, film, clay, etc. If the idea remains in the author’s head or is simply performed without a script and without taping or filming the performance, then it cannot be copyrighted.

• The work must be creative. Creating an electronic version of an public domain text, for example, is not sufficiently creative; it is simply a mechanical function. One cannot then claim copyright on the electronic version. Translating a text into another language, however, is a creative act. One can claim copyright on the translation.

• The work cannot be the creation of the US federal government. By law, the federal government is prohibited from holding copyright. (It can hold patents.) Anything produced by the federal government is in the public domain.

• Fictional characters can be copyrighted independently of the works they appear. The more specific or developed the character is, the greater the chance of protection. The character of James Bond, for example, is copyrighted. One can write a novel or film a movie about a dashing British secret agent without infringing, but if that spy drives an Aston Martin, drinks shaken, not stirred, vodka martinis, and favors a Walther PPK as a sidearm, it is probably infringement.

• Product design and computer software can be protected by both copyright and patent. Patent protection does not last as long as copyright, but the protection is broader. Patents cover the idea, not just the literal expression.

• Indecent or immoral works cannot be protected. In practice, however, explicit or pornographic works are considered protected unless a court in an infringement lawsuit rules that they are in fact indecent or immoral.

When is a work copyrighted?

A work is copyrighted the moment it is set down in tangible form. One does not have to register the work or even to mark it with the © symbol, although these acts will make it easier to recover monetary damages if a lawsuit is filed.

Under older copyright laws, the work had to be explicitly marked with the © symbol or words stating that the work is under copyright. This is no longer the case.

Who owns the copyright?

In general, the author of the work is granted copyright. For purposes of copyright law, the term “author” refers to the creator. Painters, sculptors, software engineers, and composers are all authors. The exception to this is if the work is created as a work for hire. The author of a work for hire is the person or corporation that commissions the work. A work for hire is one that is:

• Created by an employee in the course of their job.

• Commissioned. It is considered a work for hire and the copyright is owned by the commissioning party if a written work for hire agreement is signed and it falls into one of the following nine categories:
  

  • It is a contribution to a larger, collective work.

  • It is part of a motion picture, e.g., a screenplay.

  • It is a translation.

  • It is a supplement to another work.

  • It is a compilation of other works.

  • It is an instructional text.

  • It is a test.

  • It is an atlas.

  • It is a sound recording.

Can a copyright be sold or transferred?

Yes. Intellectual property like any other form of property can be transferred or sold. But there are some differences between copyright and physical property. Copyright actually consists of several subrights. These are the right to:

• Reproduce the work.

• Display or perform the work in public.

• Distribute the work.

• Prepare derivative works (e.g., film rights to a novel).

When all the rights to a work are transferred unconditionally, the rights are assigned. Typically, when an author writes a book the rights are assigned to the publisher in return for royalty payments. Transfer of individual subrights are known as a license. Licenses can be exclusive or non-exclusive.

How long does a copyright last?

Works published after 1 January 1978 are copyrighted for the life of the author plus 70 years. Works for hire and works created anonymously are protected for a period between 95 years from the date of publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever comes first.

For works published before 1978 the following applies:

• Works published before 1923 are in the public domain.

• Works published between 1923 and 1963 that have not had their copyright renewed are in the public domain.

• Works created before 1978 but not published until after 2002 are in the public domain.

• Works published between 1923 and 1963 that did have their copyright renewed are protected for 95 years from the date of publication.

• Works published between 1964 and 1977 are protected for 95 years from date of publication.

• Works created before 1978 but published between 1978 and 2002 are protected through 2047.

Can one legally use a copyrighted work without permission?

Yes, under limited circumstances. This is called fair use. Fair use covers such things as quoting a work in an academic journal, making a taped copy of a CD one has purchased to play on one’s car stereo, brief (e.g., less than 30 seconds) samples of musical performance. Fair use is a defense used when a lawsuit is brought for infringement. One cannot determine precisely whether or not a particular use is fair until it has been adjudicated, but there are some guidelines and rules of thumb based on judicial precedent. Whether or not a particular use is fair depends on four factors:

• The purpose and character of the use, e.g., commercial or non-commercial. Not-for-profit educational uses are more likely to be considered fair use than commercial uses. If the purpose of the use is to transform or add creative value, as in a literary criticism or a parody, it is more likely to be a fair use.

• The nature of the copyrighted work. Copying an informational, as opposed to an entertaining, work is more likely to be considered fair use. Use of a clip from a news broadcast is more likely to be considered fair use than a clip from a movie.

• The amount used relative to the work as a whole. There is no hard and fast rule how much can by used without permission, but quoting up to 250 words from a book-length manuscript or sampling less than 30 seconds of a song is generally considered fair use. The amount acceptable as fair use can also be influenced by the purpose of the use. The amount allowed to be quoted in an academic book or journal is generally held to be larger than that quoted in a trade book (usually 500 words from a book-length manuscript). In some cases, an entire work can be copied, as in recording a television program for later viewing or “ripping” a music CD that one has purchased so that it can be played on an MP3 player.

• The effect on the market value of the copyrighted work. The more likely a use is to diminish the commercial value of the original work, the less likely it is to be fair use.

What happens to those who infringe on copyrighted works?

The recourse a copyright holder has is to file a lawsuit to prevent further violation and collect monetary damages. There are several defenses against copyright infringement. These include:

• Statute of limitations. If three years has passed between discovery of the infringement (or when it should reasonably have been discovered) and the lawsuit, the suit can be dismissed.

• The infringement is fair use.

• The infringement was innocent—the infringer had no reason to know that they were violating copyright, e.g., there was no copyright notice placed on the work. In such cases, the infringer is typically ordered to cease infringing, but pays no monetary damages.

• There is no infringement. The copier is either has a license or created the work independently.

There are also provisions for criminal prosecution of copyright violations.

Does copyright apply internationally?

Usually. There are several treaties that govern international enforcement of copyright. The most important of these is the Berne Convention, which is signed by over 100 countries, including all of the major industrialized states. Under the Berne Convention the signatories pledge to enforce the copyrights of other signatories. The details of protection can vary from country to country. The length of copyright under the Berne Convention, however, must be at least the life of the author plus 50 years and copyright must be automatic (no registration required).

Within the United States, copyright law is federal and uniform. There are no state copyright laws.

Book Review: Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions

1 October 2003

Do you know the difference between crisps and chips? How about between a boot and a trunk? Or between an identity parade and a lineup? The difference is that in each case the first term is British and the second is American. Otherwise, they are the same.

Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions, by lexicographer Orin Hargraves, is a must-have book for anyone interested in the differences between the British and American dialects. Hargraves systematically documents and explains these differences. 

Chapter one addresses spelling and morphological differences, such as the American tendency to use a single L where the British would use LL as in woolen/woollen or ending words in –og or –ogue, as in analog/analogue. The next chapter deals with variations in word choice, such as the American tendency to use around where the British tend to use about.

Then we come to the core of the book. The next nine chapters address various aspects of life and society and document the linguistic differences between American and British vocabularies. There is a chapter on money and business, one on government and law, on sports, medicine, and education. Every major aspect of life in either country is covered.

In addition to simply documenting the vocabulary differences, Mighty Fine Words is useful as a cultural guide as well. For example, the book does not simply say that the US House of Representatives and the US Senate correspond roughly to the British House of Commons and House of Lords, but it also describes the fundamental rules of these bodies and how the legislative process works in each country. The rules of baseball and cricket are compared and contrasted as is the difference in the “news” covered by the Sun v. the National Enquirer. And the process by which doctors are educated in both countries is described.

Hargraves has done yeoman’s work in the research. Inevitably, when one writes a book of this broad scope there are bound to be a few errors. For example, Hargraves identifies the cloture rule with the US House of Representatives when it is really a term with significance in the Senate. But these errors are few and minor.

Also of value is that Hargraves takes a culturally neutral stance. This is a book that will be valuable on both sides of the Atlantic. He does not simply seek to explain Britain to Americans or America to the British, but he explains the language to audiences on both sides of the pond.

This book deserves a space on the shelves of word lovers in both Britain and North America and the copies purchased will quickly become well-thumbed and creased from continual reference.

Hardcover, 320 pp., Oxford University Press, November 2002, ISBN: 0195157044, $27.50.

Book Review: Slayer Slang

1 October 2003

Michael Adams, English professor at Albright College, has produced what will probably be the definitive study of the language associated with a rather unique television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Buffy, or BtVS, made its debut on the WB network in the spring of 1997 and continued until the series concluded this past spring (making a shift to the UPN network along the way). BtVS was one of the most innovative shows in television history. It cannot be pigeonholed into a genre, being simultaneously a horror show, a comedy, a teen drama, a feminist saga, and a martial arts show.

But perhaps the most innovative aspect of the show was its use of language. Buffy and her friends continually engaged in creative banter. Vampires might give someone the wiggins, hearing the events of a hot date to a friend is to engage in vicarious smootchies, and a bad cream rinse is neither creamy nor rinsey. The writers used a combination of real teen slang, created words, and pop culture references to produce a show filled with linguistic delights.

Slayer Slang is the ultimate compendium of the language used on the show. Adams has written four essays on the show’s use of language. These essays constitute the first half of the book. The second half is a lexicon of the various words and phrases used on the show, used in the BtVS novels that have been written, and used by fans of the show in Internet chat rooms.

One caution for those thinking of buying this book, this is a serious study of language. While the research subject may be light-hearted, this book is not. The words and usages described in it are a lot of fun, but the core of the book is serious academic study. Fans of the show looking for a light-hearted look at fun Buffy words may be daunted by the serious nature of the Slayer Slang.

Those who may want a brief look at the slang used on BtVS may wish to take a look at the two articles on the subject that appeared in the October and November 2002 (Vol. 1, Nos. 3 &4) issues of A Way With Words.

Hardcover, 308 pp, Oxford University Press, June 2003, ISBN: 0195160339, $19.95

Word of the Month: File Sharing

1 October 2003

This past month has seen the issue of duplicating and distributing copyrighted music files over the Internet become front-page news. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed lawsuits against several hundred people who have “shared” music files over the Internet. So our word of the month is file sharing, n., the distribution of data files, such as music, in a peer-to-peer network.

While on the surface this issue is about music, there is a deeper issue regarding intellectual property in electronic media. The new stories about file sharing have focused on the music industry, with a secondary focus on Hollywood and the movies, but at its core the issue affects all types of copyrighted material. Music is not the only thing that can be shared over networks like Napster, Morpheus, and Kazaa. Any type of files can be distributed, text, photos, movies (actually, the bulk of material distributed over these networks is not music, but pornography).

Presented below is a glossary of terms associated with peer-to-peer file sharing.

analog, adj., descriptive of a technology that measures data based on a physically measurable quality, such as length, height, voltage, 1946. Cf. digital.

ASCAP, abbrev., American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. A rights-licensing organization. Radio stations and other organizations that use music for commercial purposes pay ASCAP a flat license fee instead of making individual royalty payments to each copyright holder. ASCAP then distributes the royalties to its members. 1914. See BMI.

bandwidth, n., the rate of data transfer across a network, usually measured in bits per second. Originally an analog term, 1930, for the frequency range required to transmit a given signal.

bit rate, n., the number of bits recorded per second in a digital recording, 1982. A higher bit rate equates to higher fidelity. Most MP3s are encoded at a bit rate of 128kbps (kilobits per second).

BMI, abbrev., Broadcast Music Inc., a rights licensing organization similar to ASCAP, 1940.

bootleg, v., an illegally produced recording, 1929. From the sense of illicit liquor, which was smuggled in the legs of boots, 1889.

bps, abbrev., bits per second.

broadband, adj., descriptive of a high-bandwidth network, 1982, examples of broadband Internet connections include cable access, DSL, T1, and T3 lines. Originally an analog broadcasting term, 1956.

burn, v., to permanently record data on a blank compact disc. To burn in/into, meaning to render indelible dates to c.1840.

CD, abbrev., Compact Disc. A digital recording medium, invented by Philips Electronics in 1979. Also CD-R, Compact Disc-Recordable, a blank CD that can have data recorded on it. CD-ROM, Compact Disc-Read-Only Memory, a CD containing non-musical data. CD-RW, Compact Disc-Rewritable, a Compact Disc that can erased and reused.

CDDA, Compact Disc-Digital Audio, also CDA, Compact Disc-Audio, the file format used on commercially produced musical CDs, 1991.

celestial jukebox, n., a theoretical streaming-music service with a vast selection of recordings, 1994.

client, n., a computer that requests another data or an application from another (server) computer, 1978.

client-server, adj., a network architecture consisting of multiple clients and one or more centralized servers that manage the network, 1983.

codec, abbrev., compressor-decompressor, a software tool to encode or decode a compressed data format, such as MP3, 1981.

convergence, n., the process by which distinct technologies combine in a single device, for example playing music on a computer or transmitting photos on a mobile phone. Convergence is a seldom-realized ideal in the high-tech industry 1978.

copyright clearinghouse, n., an organization that grants permission to use a work and accepts royalty payments on behalf of the copyright holders. Cf. ASCAP, BMI.

copyright, n. & v., the exclusive right given to an author to publish and sell copies of his work (1735), to protect a work via copyright laws (1878).

DAT, abbrev., digital audio tape, a digital storage medium using magnetic tape.

decoder, n., a device or software program that decompresses and plays a file, a standard CD player is a decoder for CDDA files, an MP3 player is a decoder for MP3 files.

derivative work, n., a work substantially based on another work, but which has sufficient original material to allow it to be copyrighted in its own right. Examples include a movie made from a novel, a jazz version of a rock and roll song, a translation. Creation of derivative works based on copyrighted material requires permission.

digital, adj., relating to data represented by discrete numeric values, usually 0s and 1s, 1952. Unlike analog data, digital data can be recopied in successive generations without distortion or degradation.

DMCA, abbrev., Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a federal statute that prohibits the removal of digital copy protection devices such as watermarks, prohibits the production and sales of a product intended to circumvent copy protection devices, and takes other steps to protect copyright of digital works. The law also exempts Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from liability for copyright infringement conducted by their customers. Enacted in 1998.

download, v. & n., to transfer data from a distant computer to a local one, esp. but not necessarily from a server to a client, of a song (or any other computer file) from a server to a personal computer, the process of downloading or the data downloaded, 1977. Cf. upload.

encoder, n., a device or software program that converts data from one format into another, e.g., from CDDA to MP3.

ephemeral recording, n., a temporary recording made in preparation for a later, licensed use, e.g., a disc jockey taping a song from a CD as part of pre-recorded broadcast or a copies made during editing for a television broadcast.

fair use, n., provision in American copyright law that permits individuals to copy excerpts of copyrighted material and publish or use them for limited purposes without express permission or payment of royalties. The law does not define a specific excerpt length, but music samples under 30 seconds are generally considered fair use.

first sale doctrine, n., US legal provision that allows the purchaser of copyrighted work to do what they will with the purchased copy, e.g., destroy it, sell it, give it away, or rent it. The name comes from the principle that the copyright holder only controls the copy until it is sold to the first user.

format, n., a data structure that can be processed by a computer or other device, e.g., MP3, 1955.

framing, n., the display of another, copyrighted website, within a frame of another. This constitutes the creation of derivative work because it alters the appearance of the original page and is copyright infringement if done without permission.

freedom of speech, n., the US Constitution prohibits the government from restricting a person’s ability to express themselves. This prohibition is not absolute, however. There are several exceptions, copyright law being one of them. Fair use is an attempt to compromise between freedom of speech and protecting an author’s rights.

FTP, abbrev., file transfer protocol, the most basic and common means of transferring files over a TCP/IP network.

Gnutella, n., a peer-to-peer, file-sharing network, jocular name based on GNU, the name of an open-source software language, and Nutella, a tradename for a chocolate-hazelnut spread, 2000.

ID3, n., a 128-byte tag at the end of an MP3 file that contains data about the song, including, title, artist, title, album name, genre, and brief commentary. A blend of Id[entification] + [MP]3, 1996.

Internet radio, n., a programmed music stream, like that in a radio broadcast, that is transmitted via TCP/IP instead of via the airwaves, 1993. The term refers to both programming created expressly for the Internet as well as the online streaming of terrestrial broadcasts. 

iPod, n., brand name of a digital audio player made by Apple Computers, 2001.

Kazaa, n., a file-sharing network and software application, 2000.

label, n., a company that produces, copyrights, and distributes music, originally from the physical label at the center of a phonograph record, 1952.

Liquid Audio, n., a proprietary digital music file format, 1996. Liquid Audio files are copy protected and rarely distributed via file-sharing networks.

major, n., one of the five largest recording labels: Warner Music, BMG, EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Group. These five companies publish about 75% of all commercial music CDs.

Morpheus, n., a file-sharing network, 2001. Named after the mysterious cyber-warrior in the 1999 movie The Matrix. Unlike its predecessor Napster, Morpheus is decentralized and impossible to shut down via a single legal action.

MP3, abbrev., MPEG-1, audio layer 3, a digital audio format that achieves a compression factor of about 12:1 compared to CDDA while preserving sound quality. MP3 is the most popular format for storing and playing digital music on the Internet. MP3 is a proprietary format, but is free to consumers. The license fees are paid by device and software manufacturers.

MPEG, abbrev., Moving Pictures Experts Group, an organization that sets standards for digital audio and video formats, the standards set by that organization, 1989. MPEG also is used to refer to the standard itself. MPEG-1 is the original digital video standard set by the organization; it is used in VCDs. MPEG-2 is the standard used in DVDs and digital television. MP3 is a later addition to the MPEG-1 standard that improves the audio quality.

Music Locker, n., trade name for an Internet service that allowed CD owners to access their music from any Internet-connected computer, 2000.

MusicNet, n., record-label alliance between BMG, EMI, and Warner Music that licenses music for online distribution.

Napster, n., file-sharing network and the company that created it, 1999. Napster was the first widely used file-sharing network. Napster’s free service was shut down as the result of litigation in 2001. The company launched a subscription service in 2002.

network, n., a system of interconnected computers.

Ogg Vorbis, n., an open-source digital music format, 2000.

peer-to-peer, adj., also P2P, descriptive of networks of computers without servers, 1982. Most commonly used for file sharing, P2P networks have a variety of other uses.

personal use, n., provision of American copyright law that permits individuals to copy purchased works for their own use, e.g., copying a CD onto a cassette.

piracy, n., a common term copyright infringement, 1771 for this specific sense. The term has no legal significance.

playlist, n., a programmed list of songs that play one after another, 1975. A playlist can standardized, as in a radio station’s programming, or custom-made by an individual on their computer.

Pressplay, n., online music subscription service started as a joint venture between Sony Music and Universal Music Group in 2001.

public domain, n., that which is open for use by the entire community, especially a work that is not protected by copyright.

RealAudio, n., proprietary digital audio format. RealAudio was the first streaming format, 1995.

RIAA, abbrev., Recording Industry Association of America, a trade and lobbying group representing the five largest record labels and many smaller ones. The RIAA is one of the most aggressive organizations combating copyright infringement.

rip, v., to extract a song from a CD and encode it into another digital format, such as MP3.

sampling, n., the use of a brief segment of a musical performance in the creation of a new work, 1975.

SDMI, n., Secure Digital Music Initiative, a joint technology venture between major record labels to create a secure file standard, 1999. SDMI has yet to achieve any substantial success.

server, n., a computer that provides data or applications to other computers on its network.

streaming, n., to begin playback of an audio or video file before it has been completely downloaded to the client device. One of two conceptual frameworks for providing digital music over the Internet, the other being downloadable files.

terrestrial, adj., pertaining to traditional over-the-airwaves broadcast.

upload, v. & n., to transfer data from a local computer to a distant one, esp. but not necessarily from a client to a server, the process of uploading or the data uploaded, 1985. Cf. download.

watermark, n. & v., identification embedded in a digital file that either prevents unauthorized copying or enables the tracing of the copies to the source.

WAV, n., a digital audio format. WAV maintains a very high fidelity at the cost of large file size.