Worried about a music lawsuit? Check here

The Houston Chronicle ^ | July 26, 2003 | Dwight Silverman

[Pern]

Nervous music file-swappers who worry they may be on the list of 871 people targeted by recording industry subpoenas now have a Web site where their fears can be allayed -- or confirmed.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit group that fights for personal and privacy rights in cyberspace, has set up a Web site that lets users of file-sharing services check to see if their screen names have been targeted for legal action by the Recording Industry Association of America.

According to information on the site, the data is gathered from electronic court records and may not be complete. The database is updated when new names are available.

Users of file-sharing services such as Kazaa, Grokster or Morpheus usually sign on with an alias commonly known as a screen name. The alias is associated with a number known as an IP address that's assigned every computer that connects to the Internet.

The RIAA is presenting 871 subpoenas to Internet service providers demanding to know the real name and contact information tied to the IP address and screen name. Recent court rulings require providers to give up the information.

At the end of August, the association has said, it will begin filing lawsuits against file swappers.

The RIAA is going after people who are making music available for download, rather than file-swappers who are downloading music. The association has indicated it will sue offenders who offer as few as eight copyrighted songs via file-sharing services.

The association has suggested one way to keep from getting sued is to turn off shared folders so no songs are visible to other users. Critics of this approach have pointed out that, if everyone does this, it will cripple file-sharing services because no music will be available for download.

Millions of people use file-sharing services every day, with estimates ranging as high as 43 million in the month of May, according to a recent study by the NPD Group. The music industry is turning to suing swappers themselves after legal action against the file-sharing services failed to shut them down.

The music industry is suffering through one of the worst slumps in its history and blames the rise of digital music for its much of its pain.

[LanPB01]

I had to remove Kazaa for the same reason. I installed Kazaa Lite Saturday, and it's been great thus far.

[Wondervixen]

If so, I guess I have nothing to worry about...I'm a Top 40 and greatest hits girl and the only CD's I've compiled as much as 90% of, I already own, but I don't have the technology software to convert them to MP3.

[Wondervixen]

Also, my suspicion is that the REAL attack dogs in this whole thing are the people backing today's rap, hip hop, and youth groupies who are still building their fortunes.

[FLAMING DEATH]

"I found the anal probe by the pasty-looking TSA guy pleasurable."

Ha Ha!

[FLAMING DEATH]

Aint that the truth. When this whole thing started, I began to do a mental inventory of the "mainstream" music that I listened to. I couldn't find any.

Everytime I tell people I play in a band, they are always interested in what kind of music I play or listen to.

And they've never heard of a single one when I tell them.

[temp]

Do I need to burn my library card?
How many books, magazines, and news papers have I
checked out or read at the library?
I'm sure that the writers and publisher of
of all these books/magazines/News papers that are being shared through the library have no plains to sue anybody.