Posted on 07/04/2006 7:00:49 AM PDT by Fawn
Louise: "No these are not my songs." They are however downloaded right onto her computer.
Louise:"I was embarrassed when they gave me a print out of these songs."
She got this printout because of lawyers. She also got this letter telling her she was being sued for copyright infringement.
Parents, there are other popular file sharing programs you need to know about:
Morpheus: morpheus.com
Kazaa: www.kazaa.com
Bearshare: www.bearshare.com
Limewire: www.limewire.com
Louise: "I was in shock..I was stunned."
The letter is part of a music industry crackdown.Singers, songwriters and music companies tired of people downloading and burning copies of music without paying.
The letter to Louise says: "Copyright theft is not a victimless crime. Not just recording artists and songwriters but session players, sound engineers, cd plant workers, wharehouse personnel, record store clerks...that depend on sale of recordings to earn a living."
Louise: "I didn't intentionally try to take money from these people...I didn't know what was going on!"
Louise says it was her 16 year old doing the downloading. But that doesn't matter--these lawyers are offering to settle for a price.
Louise: "3700....I dont have 3700."
But Louise has to pay even though she had no idea, this music has been hanging around on her harddrive. Louise says her son didn't know that downloading the songs was illegal either but because she didn't take the music industry's first settlement offer the price has now gone up: 4500 or they will take her to court.
Interestingly enough, during our investigating today, we found the country of Austrailia has banned the use of Kazaa. And guess where Kazaa's parent company is located?
You guessed it! Sydney, Australia.
Do you ever record movies off cable?
I don't have cable. If I did, however, I would not use it to steal stuff. I live by the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. If I were a musician or a movie maker, would I welcome people stealing from me?
I....might have a few (hundred) songs on my iPod that I've downloaded for free. Off of one of the sites mentioned in the article.
I wonder if they can come after me since I'm not in the U.S.?
No, I never have made a copy of movie on my VCR.
The industry is right to be concerned about people who intentionally make music available or copy music from online sources for the express purpose of avoiding the purchase price. This is not about making a backup copy of something for which you have already pusrchased a use license, this is about avoiding the purchase altogether, which makes it theft. The courts have agreed. It's a clear cut issue. If you have no moral problem with it, then you do so in full knowledge of the law and at your own risk. Best of luck.
Late Ping
Do they sue radio station owners for broadcasting the songs over the air where people might record them? No. They spend millions of dollars every year promoting that activity.
It's just nuts. The technology is different, but the actual activity is the same.
Well...I'll make sure you're not forgotten....where exactly are you?
Baghdad.
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