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Company claims ability to wipe out file-sharing Music, movie sharing doomed, say Finns By : Monday 18 April 2005, 12:13 A FINNISH COMPANY, Viralg Oy, says it can wipe out file-sharing in an instant. The company says it has developed digital rights protection software that can be incorporated into digital movie, music or software releases and set to play havoc with P2P networks on which releases may appear. Viralg says it has a "virtual algorithm" which is capable of, "mixing together files in P2P networks in a way that the illegal downloader will end up downloading useless garbage instead of...

Last spring, the public got a firsthand look at spyware's pervasiveness when it was discovered that peer-to-peer file-swapping app Kazaa was bundling a program designed to form a giant distributed network -- composed of Kazaa users' computers -- that could transmit information back to Brilliant Digital Entertainment, the company that created it. In effect, this network would use people's computers to perform work for Brilliant Digital. The program had been distributed with Kazaa since the fall of 2001, according to a document that Brilliant filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April. Even though Brilliant said it...

<p>A California Democrat introduced a bill Thursday that would make sharing of copyrighted files illegal, and would indemnify copyright holders from taking whatever actions they chose to prevent the sharing of those files.</p> <p>The effect, if approved by Congress and signed into law, would be to virtually outlaw file-sharing as is commonly known. The bill was authored by and introduced by Rep. Howard L. Berman, a California Democrat representing the 26th Congressional District, which includes North Hollywood. Berman is the ranking member of the Congressional Committee on the Judiciary's subcommittee on courts, the Internet, and intellectual property.</p>

<p>Country music, that bastion of soulful, twangy Americana, was responsible for something very out of character this week. Steve Earle, an on-again, off-again alternative country star, hit an off-note by recording a sympathetic ballad about the travails of a certain young ex-Taliban soldier from Northern California.</p>

WASHINGTON – Responding to the widespread creation and free distribution of CDs, videos, DVDs and books over the Internet without regard to copyright laws, as well as other major areas of copyright and patent infringement, a consortium of groups met yesterday to find a solution to the piracy of intellectual property. The Institute for Policy Innovation, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank founded to develop solutions to public policy problems, co-sponsored the forum, entitled "Invasion of the Idea Snatchers," along with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, an organization dedicated to free enterprise and limited government. Guests from the entertainment, software, hardware and...

"...A MAN WITH SOUL SO DEAD..." : In a shocking turn of events, it appears that Steve Earle, whose new song "John Walker's Blues" is being hailed from Baghdad to Mogadishu, has also written a new version of his hit song, "I Ain't Ever Satisfied" : I Have Been Osamafied (Cat Stevens Earle) My arms sport some serious tracks And my brain's been fried by horse and crack Spent some hard time in the man's prison where I felt the pain of my brother Muslim Aie-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei I have been Osamafied Aie-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei-ei I have been Osamafied Now I know nothing about...

'U.S. Taliban' Inspires Controversial Ballad Mon Jul 22,11:00 AM ET By Aly Sujo NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Reuters) - A new country-rock song that compares American Taliban John Walker Lindh to Jesus Christ is drawing both raves and howls of indignation just days after the 21-year-old pleaded guilty to aiding the former Afghan regime. Recorded in Nashville by the maverick Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Steve Earle, "John Walker's Blues" is a stately ballad punctuated by the sound of Arabic prayers, and makes reference to Lindh's interest in music videos, boy bands, and religious fanaticism. Over a layered backdrop of electric guitars recorded backward, the...

<p>NASHVILLE — American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh is glorified and called Jesus-like in a country-rock song to be released soon by maverick singer-songwriter Steve Earle.</p> <p>The controversial ballad called "John Walker's Blues" is backed by the chanting of Arabic prayers and praises Allah.</p>

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The record industry pleaded on Wednesday with consumers to stop downloading and recording music for free because piracy was strangling the multi-billion-dollar industry. Profits have plummeted, especially in Europe. CD sales in Germany last year were 185 million whereas the number of blank CDs used to copy music was estimated at 182 million. Record executives also believe there are now more unauthorized music files available on the Internet than at the height of Napster ( news - web sites)'s success in the field. "Music for free means less new music, fewer new artists, less choice, thousands less...