MESSAGE
DATE | 2003-05-03 |
FROM | Ruben I Safir
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SUBJECT | Subject: [hangout] Re: [fairuse] NY Times Suprise
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Hmm
I wonder if this guy is related to TW lawyer Barry Sorkin
On 2003.05.03 16:54 Ruben I Safir wrote: > > May 4, 2003 > Software Bullet Is Sought to Kill Musical Piracy > By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN > > Some of the world's biggest record companies, facing rampant online > piracy, are quietly financing the development and testing of software > programs that would sabotage the computers and Internet connections of > people that download pirated music, according to industry executives. > > The record companies are exploring options on new countermeasures, which > some experts say have varying degrees of legality, to deter online > theft: from attacking personal Internet connections so as to slow or > halt downloads of pirated music to overwhelming the distribution > networks with potentially malicious programs that masquerade as music > files. > > The covert campaign, parts of which may never be carried out because > they could be illegal under state and federal wiretap laws, is being > developed and tested by a cadre of small technology companies, the > executives said. > > If employed, the new tactics would be the most aggressive effort yet > taken by the recording industry to thwart music piracy, a problem that > the IFPI, an industry group, estimates costs the industry $4.3 billion > in sales worldwide annually. Until now, most of the industry's > anti-piracy efforts have involved filing lawsuits against companies and > individuals that distribute pirated music. Last week, four college > students who had been sued by the industry settled the suits by agreeing > to stop operating networks that swap music and pay $12,000 to $17,500 > each. > > The industry has also tried to frustrate pirates technologically by > spreading copies of fake music files across file-sharing networks like > KaZaA and Morpheus. This approach, called "spoofing," is considered > legal but has had only mild success, analysts say, proving to be more of > a nuisance than an effective deterrent. > > The new measures under development take a more extreme ? and > antagonistic ? approach, according to executives who have been briefed > on the software programs. > > Interest among record executives in using some of these more aggressive > programs has been piqued since a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled last > month that StreamCast Networks, the company that offers Morpheus, and > Grokster, another file-sharing service, were not guilty of copyright > infringement. And last week, the record industry turned a "chat" feature > in popular file-trading software programs to its benefit by sending out > millions of messages telling people: "When you break the law, you risk > legal penalties. There is a simple way to avoid that risk: DON'T STEAL > MUSIC." > > The deployment of this message through the file-sharing network, which > the Recording Industry Association of America said is an education > effort, appears to be legal. But other anti-piracy programs raise legal > issues. > > Since the law and the technology itself are new, the liabilities ? > criminal and civil ? are not easily defined. But some tactics are > clearly more problematic than others. > > Among the more benign approaches being developed is one program, > considered a Trojan horse rather than a virus, that simply redirects > users to Web sites where they can legitimately buy the song they tried > to download. > > A more malicious program, dubbed "freeze," locks up a computer system > for a certain duration ? minutes or possibly even hours ? risking the > loss of data that was unsaved if the computer is restarted. It also > displays a warning about downloading pirated music. Another program > under development, called "silence," scans a computer's hard drive for > pirated music files and attempts to delete them. One of the executives > briefed on the silence program said that it did not work properly and > was being reworked because it was deleting legitimate music files, too. > > Other approaches that are being tested include launching an attack on > personal Internet connections, often called "interdiction," to prevent a > person from using a network while attempting to download pirated music > or offer it to others. > > "There are a lot of things you can do ? some quite nasty," said Marc > Morgenstern, the chief executive of Overpeer, a technology business that > receives support from several large media companies. Mr. Morgenstern > refused to identify his clients, citing confidentiality agreements with > them. He also said that his company does not and will not deploy any > programs that run afoul of the law. "Our philosophy is to make > downloading pirated music a difficult and frustrating experience without > crossing the line." And while he said "we develop stuff all the time," > he was also quick to add that "at the end of the day, my clients are > trying to develop relationships with these people." Overpeer, with 15 > staff members, is the largest of about a dozen businesses founded to > create counterpiracy methods. > > The music industry's five "majors" ? the Universal Music Group, a unit > of Vivendi Universal; the Warner Music Group, a unit of AOL Time Warner; > Sony Music Entertainment; BMG, a unit of Bertelsmann; and EMI ? have all > financed the development of counterpiracy programs, according to > executives, but none would discuss the details publicly. Warner Music > issued a statement saying: "We do everything we feel is appropriate, > within the law, in order to protect our copyrights." A spokeswoman for > Universal Music said that the company "is engaging in legal technical > measures." > > Whether the record companies decide to unleash a tougher anti-piracy > campaign has created a divide among some music executives concerned > about finding a balance between stamping out piracy and infuriating its > music-listening customers. There are also questions about whether > companies could be held liable by individuals who have had their > computers attacked. > > "Some of this stuff is going to be illegal," said Lawrence Lessig, a > professor at Stanford Law School who specializes in Internet copyright > issues. "It depends on if they are doing a sufficient amount of damage. > The law has ways to deal with copyright infringement. Freezing people's > computers is not within the scope of the copyright laws." > > Randy Saaf, the president of MediaDefender, another company that > receives support from the record industry to frustrate pirates, told a > congressional hearing last September that his company "has a group of > technologies that could be very effective in combating piracy on > peer-to-peer networks but are not widely used because some customers > have told us that they feel uncomfortable with current ambiguities in > computer hacking laws." > > In an interview, he declined to identify those technologies for > competitive reasons. "We steer our customers away from anything > invasive," he said. > > Internet service providers are also nervous about anti-piracy programs > that could disrupt their systems. Sarah B. Deutsch, associate general > counsel of Verizon Communications, said she is concerned about any > program that slows down connections. "It could become a problem we don't > know how to deal with," she said. "Any technology that has an effect on > a user's ability to operate their computer or use the network would be > of extreme concern to us. I wouldn't say we're against this completely. > I would just say that we're concerned." > > Verizon is already caught in its own battle with the recording industry. > A federal judge ordered Verizon to provide the Recording Industry > Association of America with the identities of customers suspected of > making available hundreds of copyrighted songs. The record companies are > increasingly using techniques to sniff out and collect the electronic > addresses of computers that distribute pirated music. > > But the more aggressive approach could also generate a backlash against > individual artists and the music industry. When Madonna released > "spoofed" versions of songs from her new album on music sharing networks > to frustrate pirates, her own Web site was hacked into the next day and > real copies of her album were made available by hackers on her site. > > The industry has tried to seek legislative support for aggressive > measures. Representative Howard L. Berman, Democrat of California, > introduced a bill last fall that would have limited the liability of > copyright owners for using tougher technical counterpiracy tactics to > protect their works online. But the bill was roundly criticized by > privacy advocates. "There was such an immediate attack that you couldn't > get a rational dialogue going," said Cary Sherman, president of the > recording industry association. He said that while his organization > often briefs recording companies on legal issues related to what he > calls "self help" measures, "the companies deal with this stuff on their > own." > > And as for the more extreme approaches, he said, "It is not uncommon for > engineers to think up new programs and code them. There are a lot of > tantalizing ideas out there ? some in the gray area and some illegal ? > but it doesn't mean they will be used." > -- > __________________________ > Brooklyn Linux Solutions > __________________________ > DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS http://fairuse.nylxs.com > > http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Consulting > http://www.inns.net <-- Happy Clients > http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software > http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive or stories and > articles from around the net > http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/downtown.html - See the New Downtown > Brooklyn.... > > 1-718-382-0585 > To stop the messages from coming see http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/appl/fairuse/gone.html > ____________________________ > New Yorkers for Fair Use - > because it's either fair use or useless.... > -- __________________________ Brooklyn Linux Solutions __________________________ DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS http://fairuse.nylxs.com
http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Consulting http://www.inns.net <-- Happy Clients http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive or stories and articles from around the net http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/downtown.html - See the New Downtown Brooklyn....
1-718-382-0585 ____________________________ NYLXS: New Yorker Free Software Users Scene Fair Use - because it's either fair use or useless.... NYLXS is a trademark of NYLXS, Inc
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