RIAA to Start Monitoring Downloads

[Guest Nevermortal]

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-06-...big-suits_x.htm

 

There we go. I'm turning off my sharing as we speak.

[Guest redbaron51]

well...

 

if I delete KaZaA, i can free up about 4.5 Gig of free space

[Guest Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye]

Still not worried.

[Guest MaxPower27]

There we go. I'm turning off my sharing as we speak.

I did that a LONG time ago.

[Guest razazteca]

Don't expect me to buy any CD's any time soon.

 

Screw them I'll get my MP3s from another source.

[Guest I'm That Damn Zzzzz]

What alternatives are there? The best I can think of are connecting to foreign OpenNap servers (lots of them seem to exist in Germany for some reason...)

[Guest Eagan469]

Get Kazaa Lite, change your name to a default name like "Kazaa Lite User" and turn off file-sharing.

 

There, you're safe.

[Guest chirs3]

Heh, I stopped sharing music a long time ago. All I share now are, what I would assume to be, non-copyrighted things. Anime music videos, a few of the wrestling parodies some people made in the WWE folder... everything else is strictly no-share.

[Guest Bannable Offense]

RIAA only can sue for music, right? Does that mean my 4 Gigs of Porn are safe?

 

Seriously though, RIAA refuses to turn losses into gains, and makes more people turn against them instead of changing with the times...silly RIAA, your attempts at tyranny are no match for our so-called communism.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

I pretty much just use my Kazaa Lite for tv shows and movies anyway

[Guest Youth N Asia]

Music labels to sue hundreds of music sharers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The music industry disclosed aggressive 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 substantial sales declines, said it will begin Thursday to search Internet file-sharing networks to identify users who offer "substantial" collections of MP3-format music 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 will 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, Carey 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."

 

"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 were mistaken. "You are not anonymous," Sherman said. "We're going to begin taking names."

 

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 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.

 

"We have no hard and fast rule on how many files you have to be distributing ... to come within our radar screen," Sherman said. "We will go after the worst offenders first."

 

The RIAA said it expected to file "at least several hundred lawsuits" within eight to 10 weeks but will continue to file lawsuits afterward on a regular basis.

 

------------------------------------

 

there's the whole thing. I love how they make us out to be nothing more then petty shoplifters. The real crooks are the ones charging $15 for a cd.

 

I don't think downloading is hurting the industry as much as bad music is.

[Guest chirs3]

I love how they make us out to be nothing more then petty  shoplifters. The real crooks are the ones charging $15 for a cd.

 

I don't think downloading is hurting the industry as much as bad music is.

It's not even the CD prices that bug me - personally, I'd gladly fork over $15 for a CD, as long as it's good. But there's really not much good right now... not to me, anyway.

 

Not to mention that a shoplifter, if he liked what he stole, wouldn't go back to the store and pay for it. Like I do.*

 

*(when stealing music, that is. I don't pay for what I actually shoplift. )

[Guest RenegadeX28]

You think that a little empty threat by RIAA will scare me? NO.

 

I am not a heavy Kazaa user in the first place. I DL like one song, then I log off the thing.

[Guest SP-1]

Good thing I cut all the songs out of my Kazaa folder and place them elsewhere then, eh?

 

it's so incredibly easy to get around. A ten year old with a light knowledge of cut, paste, and delete can get around it.

[Gert T]

My question is, couldn't a guilty party just say that they were unaware that this was happening, that someone else must have hacked into their files, I know lawsuits are not exactly like the justice system, but couldn't that be an out? And whoever said a 10 year old knowing copy & pasting can outsmart them is right.

[Guest MrRant]

Good thing I cut all the songs out of my Kazaa folder and place them elsewhere then, eh?

 

it's so incredibly easy to get around. A ten year old with a light knowledge of cut, paste, and delete can get around it.

They also setup fake accounts for you to download off them and then trace your IP back to your ISP who then gives up your name.

 

Fun stuff.

[Guest Cancer Marney]

If so, that's not too bright. Assuming they do manage to make it hard for real file-sharers to function on a given network, a court could easily consider offering fake files entrapment.

[Guest MrRant]

They won't be fake files.

[Guest Cancer Marney]

Obviously not; I worded that too ambiguously. If the files were fake there would be nothing illegal about it. The point is, if the RIAA actually cuts down on file-sharing significantly, and continues to offer files online in the hope of catching people downloading them, the defense would be sitting pretty. The burden of proof would be on the RIAA. Even before any reduction in file-sharing is seen, I can envision a good defense lawyer making a case for dismissal and countersuit on the basis of entrapment. They're going about this in a very reckless and bullheaded way, and in one way or another, it will backfire on them.

[Guest Nevermortal]

Wait, they're going to host illegally pirated files too? Hypo-fucking-critical.

[Guest Cancer Marney]

Not really... just stupid. And now that I think of it, they wouldn't have to do that at all. Even if the files were fake all they'd need to do would be to prove intent to commit an illegal act. Still, they'd run into the entrapment problems I mentioned above. Arguably, merely hosting an MP3 on an file-sharing network is an illegal act, whether or not anyone else downloads it or not - and I think the RIAA would agree. But in that case, they have no legal grounds to prosecute because they have in effect propositioned anyone who downloads whatever they offer. If Rant's information is correct, the RIAA is behaving extremely foolishly.

 

But then that's hardly unusual.

[Guest JMA]

Hm. I wonder if people will boycott the RIAA now. They sure deserve it. Fascist bastards.

[Guest SP-1]

Yeah, Rant. That's pretty shady. Oh well. Goodbye, Kazaa, for now. I have enough friends who buy CD's that I can just rip what I want sooner or later. The points Marney pointed out above give me a little hope for an entertaining backfire down the line so I'll wait for that and count it as the entertainment potentially lost by the lack of downloading.

 

So, does this only count for songs? Are they not caring about video files and such?

[rising up out of the back seat-nuh]

GAH! I only just found out about this. And I had a shedload of stuff sharing. Oh well, I'll keep my head down and hope nothing happens.

 

Damn fascists, not letting me get stuff for free

[Guest redbaron51]

Yeah, Rant. That's pretty shady. Oh well. Goodbye, Kazaa, for now. I have enough friends who buy CD's that I can just rip what I want sooner or later. The points Marney pointed out above give me a little hope for an entertaining backfire down the line so I'll wait for that and count it as the entertainment potentially lost by the lack of downloading.

 

So, does this only count for songs? Are they not caring about video files and such?

if you make your own video and put it on KaZaA, you won't get fined, this is good for compilations, and stuff like that, but if you download a whole music video you can get into major trouble by you and the person who put it on.

[Guest razazteca]

What use is a P2P network if nobody shares?

[Guest redbaron51]

you can still share everything else.

 

Text documents, shareware, pr0n, everything.

 

Except anything that deals with music, like music videos, mp3's, rare junk, etc...

[rising up out of the back seat-nuh]

a little note for those outside the US:

 

I live in the UK, but US computer users will be able to access the songs I share on file-swapping networks. Will the RIAA sue me?

 

No. The RIAA's UK equivalent, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), says this is a US action that is affecting only music downloaders in the US because international laws are different. The RIAA cannot take action against people outside the US.

 

Is the BPI planning to sue UK users?

 

It has said it will not rule out suing individual users, but that it would be a "last resort". The BPI says it is currently trying to educate people - including sending out leaflets to colleges and large business - to tell people where they can download music legally.

 

It also says using peer-to-peer services risks downloading viruses. But if the RIAA's actions are successful, a similar system could be on the cards for the UK.

 

www.bbc.co.uk

 

so those of you outside the states should be safe.

[Guest redbaron51]

so that leaves out Britian,

 

but what about Canada, i mean, every nation has different rules and policies

[Guest CanadianChris]

so that leaves out Britian,

 

but what about Canada, i mean, every nation has different rules and policies

Pretty sure this covers it...

 

The RIAA's UK equivalent, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), says this is a US action that is affecting only music downloaders in the US because international laws are different. The RIAA cannot take action against people outside the US.