GuitarTabs.com and other "tablature" music sites are under copyright attack from the National Music Publisher's Association -- alleging that posting individual musician's "notes" for how to play songs cuts into their business of selling sheet music books. Query, would they go after individual sites or blogs in the same way? What about individual amateur guitar players who keep a notebook where they scribble down their own notations while listening to the original song on their iPod?

Read the cease-and-desist letter from the NMPA here. Apparently the site (and others like it) has taken down the "infringing" material, but what about their contention that they serve an "educational" purpose? Is it just too expensive to make that argument in court? Also, why do you think the NMPA decided to go after GuitarTabs.com now, after its been online for ten years? Is this one of those "desperate measures" to protect the old-school copyright regime mentioned by Kevin Kelly?

Thanks to Jim for bringing up this example -- comment away...