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RIAA To Sue Individual's for File Sharing (This could mean you!!!!)
Miami Herald ^ | 06/25/2003 | Ted Bridis

Posted on 06/25/2003 6:15:06 PM PDT by jimmccleod

Music Labels Step Up Internet Piracy Hunt
TED BRIDIS
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The embattled music industry disclosed plans Wednesday for an unprecedented escalation in its fight against Internet piracy, threatening to sue hundreds of individual computer users who illegally share music files online.

The Recording Industry Association of America, citing significant sales declines, said it will begin Thursday to search Internet file-sharing networks to identify music fans who offer "substantial" collections of MP3 song files for downloading.

It expects to file at least several hundred lawsuits seeking financial damages within eight to 10 weeks.

Executives for the RIAA, the Washington-based lobbying group that represents major labels, would not say how many songs on a user's computer might qualify for a lawsuit. The new campaign comes just weeks after U.S. appeals court rulings requiring Internet providers to identify subscribers suspected of illegally sharing music and movie files.

The RIAA's president, Cary Sherman, said tens of millions of Internet users of popular file-sharing software after Thursday will expose themselves to "the real risk of having to face the music." He said the RIAA plans only to file lawsuits against Internet users in the United States.

"It's stealing. It's both wrong and illegal," Sherman said. Alluding to the court decisions, Sherman said Internet users who believe they can hide behind an alias online are mistaken. "You are not anonymous," Sherman said. "We're going to begin taking names."

Shopping at a Virgin Megastore in San Francisco, Jason Yoder was planning to delete file-sharing software he uses from his home computer because of the new lawsuit threat. He acknowledged using the Internet recently to find a copy of a rare 1970s soul recording, but he agreed that illegal downloads should be curtailed.

"It's sort of like a serial drunk driver has to have their license taken away at some point," said Yoder, 30.

Sharman Networks Ltd., which makes the popular Kazaa software and operates one of the world's largest file-sharing networks, said in a statement, "It is unfortunate that the RIAA has chosen to declare war on its customers by engaging in protracted and expensive litigation." Sharman said it was interested in a business relationship with music labels and could protect their songs from illegal downloads using technology.

Country songwriter Hugh Prestwood, who has worked with Randy Travis, Trisha Yearwood and Jimmy Buffett, likened the RIAA's effort to a roadside police officer on a busy highway.

"It doesn't take too many tickets to get everybody to obey the speed limit," Prestwood said.

Critics accused the RIAA of resorting to heavy-handed tactics likely to alienate millions of Internet file-sharers.

"This latest effort really indicates the recording industry has lost touch with reality completely," said Fred von Lohmann, a lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Does anyone think more lawsuits are going to be the answer? Today they have declared war on the American consumer."

Sherman disputed that consumers, who are gradually turning to legitimate Web sites to buy music legally, will object to the industry's latest efforts against pirates.

"You have to look at exactly who are your customers," he said. "You could say the same thing about shoplifters - are you worried about alienating them? All sorts of industries and retailers have come to the conclusion that they need to be able to protect their rights. We have come to the same conclusion."

Mike Godwin of Public Knowledge, a consumer group that has challenged broad crackdowns on file-sharing networks, said Wednesday's announcement was appropriate because it targeted users illegally sharing copyrighted files.

"I'm sure it's going to freak them out," Godwin said. "The free ride is over." He added: "I wouldn't be surprised if at least some people engaged in file-trading decide to resist and try to find ways to thwart the litigation strategy."

The entertainment industry has gradually escalated its fight against piracy. The RIAA has previously sued four college students it accused of making thousands of songs available for illegal downloading on campus networks. But Wednesday's announcement was the first effort to target users who offer music on broadly accessible, public networks.

The Motion Picture Association of America said it supported the efforts, but notably did not indicate it plans to file large numbers of civil lawsuits against Internet users who trade movies online.

MPAA Chief Jack Valenti said in a statement it was "our most sincere desire" to find technology solutions to protect digital copies of movies.

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., who has proposed giving the entertainment industry new powers to disrupt downloads of pirated music and movies, said the RIAA's actions were overdue. "It's about time," Berman said in a statement. "For too long ... file-traffickers have robbed copyright creators with impunity."

The RIAA said its lawyers will file lawsuits initially against people with the largest collections of music files they can find online. U.S. copyright laws allow for damages of $750 to $150,000 for each song offered illegally on a person's computer, but Sherman said the RIAA will be open to settlement proposals from defendants.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Technical
KEYWORDS: bearshare; filesharing; grokster; kazaa; limewire; morpheus; music; napster; riaa
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To: wizzler
>>>No, but that's because this is a particular scenario that was covered by a particular (and very famous) case in the Supreme Court many years ago. This was deemed fair use, based on a premise called "time-shifting" that applies to this specific scenario. It has no relevance to music downloads.

Wouldn't this cover recording from the radio?
201 posted on 06/25/2003 9:55:46 PM PDT by Calpernia (Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.)
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To: wizzler
Actually the problem is, as always, the Congress of the United States doing whatever the hell it wants. The Constitution grants the Congress the right to protect the works of authors and inventors for a "Limited time." Bought off by the likes of Disney (Mickey Mouse), Congress has progressively increased the duration of the protection until it is no longer "Limited." Stupid Bastards! Orwell was right. The pigs will take over, and you're obviously one of them. [I hardly ever flame, but I'll make an exception since you are so blatantly biased.]
202 posted on 06/25/2003 9:55:50 PM PDT by Lafayette
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To: Dr Warmoose
Personally I think your in the clear as long as when you do find out others have broken in to your server you attempt to further protect its contents.

I have a music file server. It is also my internet server. I have a firewall and other protections to keep hackers out of it.
203 posted on 06/25/2003 9:57:34 PM PDT by DB (©)
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To: SkooldBiDaStayt
The government will literally have to pry my non-DRM computer out of my dead hands because they will have to murder me to sieze it.

They have no intention of doing that - your sensationalism is extreme. To accuse me of treason is even more absurd.

204 posted on 06/25/2003 9:59:25 PM PDT by Golden Eagle
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To: jimmccleod
COME AND GET ME COPPER!

TOP O' THE WORLD MA! TOP O' THE WORLD!

prisoner6

205 posted on 06/25/2003 10:02:36 PM PDT by prisoner6 ( Right Wing Nuts hold the country together as the loose screws of the left fall out!)
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To: Kevin Curry
I would buy a CD; if there were any of value. There aren't. I stopped buying records/cassettes/CDs when the talented started declining.
206 posted on 06/25/2003 10:04:07 PM PDT by Calpernia (Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.)
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Comment #207 Removed by Moderator

To: John Lenin
Now, let's use that statement you made and look at cover bands. Don't the replay music? Things that make you go hmmm!
208 posted on 06/25/2003 10:14:16 PM PDT by Calpernia (Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.)
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To: wizzler
Boy, aren't we testy?

As I read through this thread, I find varying opinions on the rightness or wrongness of "sharing" music (?), but the greater fascination lies in the strident tenor of the posters who seem to be made up of those who feel they have a personal stake in the subject at hand and those who genuinely wonder what all the fuss is about.

Overall, the rudeness of the totalitarian set resonates discordantly.

Next to mucking stalls, shoveling stale hubris is the suckingest© task in the world.

209 posted on 06/25/2003 10:14:23 PM PDT by Old Professer
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To: DB
Personally I think your in the clear as long as when you do find out others have broken in to your server you attempt to further protect its contents.

So basically, what new rights are given to RIAA is such where if a person were to leave their wallet lying on the ground and it was stolen, it would not be the person who took it's fault, but the crime of "theft" would be instead charged to the wallet's owner. Likewise, leaving the keys in the car ignition would subject the car owner to being arrested and charged with grand theft auto if some kid jumped in and drove the car to a chop shop, also in this case the kid would never be apprehended nor charged. And as one last example, the new legal theory that must be made for RIAA to accomplish this vigillante justice is that a woman should be charged with felony rape if some young thug decides to take advantage of her.

Brave new world.

210 posted on 06/25/2003 10:17:52 PM PDT by Dr Warmoose (Just don't leave any brass with your fingerprints on it behind, OK?)
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To: SkooldBiDaStayt
To be proud of a second-rate product because your country made it is more absurd.

Than accusing me of treason? No it's not. Because in the post righ before it you accused me of being nationalist. Fact is, you have no answers other than personal attacks on my credibility.

Concerning the rest of your comments, nothing more than libertarian extremism, whereby you continue your barage on America and quote "our government, our military, and our citizenry".

Again, if you have such a problem with us all, why don't you just leave?

211 posted on 06/25/2003 10:21:03 PM PDT by Golden Eagle
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To: metalboy
RIAA is going to get the info by "sniffing" the major networks (Verizon, AOL, yada) on tcp port 1214 (Or demanding the carriers do teh sniffinf and turn over the logs). They can identify back the users on those ports back to their IP's and check for the amount of traffic a particualar IP address is using. From their, it's a matter of homing in on the IP and the IP/user correlation. They don't need to go into anyone's box. The p2p'er, if offering up anything is going to broadcast what it has anyway. They'll move down the run. Eventually, they'll start hitting the folks with a couple hundred mp3's, but for the most part, they'll go after the ones with large libraries.

The p2p network on 1214 is an easy hit. I'm wondering how their going to combat underground FTP servers, torrents, ogg servers and the likes.

212 posted on 06/25/2003 10:23:06 PM PDT by Michael Barnes
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To: John Lenin
OH! Now let's add onto this, the wav and midi files out their that make "elevator music" out of peoples songs.

These are free downloads. So why are they different than mp3?

Matter of fact, I lied on this thread earlier. I said I downloaded one song. According to the language here this evening, it is illegal (well, said to be) to download MP3 files.

The song I downloaded is a wav :)

It is an actually song; but, in wav format.

So, that makes it ok? Right? And if not, what about the elevator versions? I'm listening to one right now :)

Isn't the elevator version much like a cover band? So where do we stop with this law?
213 posted on 06/25/2003 10:24:26 PM PDT by Calpernia (Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.)
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To: unix
OR, if you login on a major server; then JUST download to a not so known server and store your files there! Simple :)

214 posted on 06/25/2003 10:27:31 PM PDT by Calpernia (Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.)
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To: Dr Warmoose
No.

Under any copyright you don't "own" the work you own the right to use it under the terms of the copyright.

If you borrow your neighbor's car you could leave his keys on the sidewalk as well. But if it is stolen you failed to take reasonable care of his property and therefore legally share in the responsibility of it being stolen. You have an obligation to take reasonable care of someone else's property in your care. This is well established case law.
215 posted on 06/25/2003 10:32:31 PM PDT by DB (©)
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To: Calpernia
your still doing the tango in the p2p domain though..ALl that traffic (searches, requests, etc..), all that data can be captured. So saving it elsewhere won't really help. Your p2p client is still doing the brunt of the work, and it's a chirpy little thing on the network.
216 posted on 06/25/2003 10:34:58 PM PDT by Michael Barnes
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To: unix
I disagree. I would explain; but, I'm off to bed. Have a goodnight :) Maybe I'll come back and give details on how to do this tomorrow....OR...better yet, maybe I'll make it an ebook and auction it on ebay. hmmm. ciao.
217 posted on 06/25/2003 10:42:19 PM PDT by Calpernia (Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.)
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Comment #218 Removed by Moderator

Comment #219 Removed by Moderator

To: SkooldBiDaStayt
Just wait until a group of hardcore P2P pirates find a way for John Q. Citizen to tunnel his Kazaa activities over SSH

Apparently no extremes you're not willing to go to to perpetuate your thievery.

220 posted on 06/25/2003 10:50:02 PM PDT by Golden Eagle
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