MESSAGE
| DATE | 2003-09-14 |
| FROM | Ruben I Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [hangout] Public could care less about RIAA
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Background
[menu]
Americans? attitude towards copyrighted material online has remained
dismissive, even amidst a torrent of media coverage and legal cases
aimed at educating the public about the threat file-sharing poses to the
intellectual property industries. Consumers argue, in some news reports,
that downloading simply supplements their regular music purchasing
habits or serves as a form of sampling new music. Some consumers have
also been quoted as saying that the prices of CDs and DVDs are too high
with too little profit going to the artists, while others say the music
they want simply isn?t available offline because it is out-of-print or
otherwise hard to find. Still others say that they are entitled to make
?fair use? of the music they purchase by sharing it with friends over
these networks.
Whatever the argument, it is clear that millions of Americans have
changed the way they find and listen to music. When we last issued a
report on the growing popularity of downloading music online in 2001,
the legal battle to protect copyright was focused on the efforts of the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to challenge large
file-sharing networks like Napster. Though the RIAA won its case against
Napster and effectively forced the site to shut down in 2001, a myriad
of decentralized file-sharing services emerged and millions of Internet
users simply migrated to the new systems. In all, the recording industry
attributes a 25% drop in CD sales since 1999 to online piracy. However,
some have disputed this notion, citing a slumping economy, rising CD
prices and fewer titles being released.
This year, the RIAA lost an important case against the makers of the
Morpheus and Grokster peer-to-peer software when a federal judge in Los
Angeles ruled that the file-sharing software itself was legal, even if
it was being used to distribute illegal copies of copyrighted music and
movies. The court ruling prompted a shift in the RIAA?s tactics from
suing file-sharing companies to targeting individuals who allegedly use
file-sharing software to download and share copyrighted material.
In January 2003, the RIAA won a landmark case against Verizon, forcing
the company, under the provisions of the 1998 Digital Millennium
Copyright Act, to release the names of subscribers who were suspected of
copyright infringement. Verizon appealed the ruling, citing customer
privacy concerns and the lack of court oversight required for the
subpoena process. However, the ruling was ultimately upheld and paved
the way for the recording industry and other copyright holders to begin
suing individuals believed to be infringing on copyright protections.
As of July 28, 2003, the RIAA has sent out close to 1,000 subpoenas
requesting information from Internet Service Providers in order to
identify and contact customers who are potential copyright infringers.
The lobbying arm of the recording industry has said it would focus its
subpoena campaign on users who were allowing a ?substantial? number of
files to be shared from their computers. However, some users claim they
are unaware that they are making their files available to others because
programs like KaZaA include default settings that automatically allow
sharing with others on the network. Other users say they have assumed
that because Napster was shut down, any file-sharing service that
remained in operation must only permit legitimate or ?fair? uses.
However, while Napster was unsuccessful in using a fair use defense in
its case, it remains to be seen how successful this line of defense will
be for the cases involving individual Internet users.
In addition to the lawsuits being filed by the RIAA, two pieces of
federal legislation were introduced that are intended to curb the
illegal use of file-sharing networks. The Piracy Deterrence and
Education Act of 2003 (HR 2517), sponsored by Lamar Smith (R-Texas),
proposes warning, education, and enforcement programs that would require
the involvement of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the
Department of Justice. The Author, Consumer, and Computer Owner
Protection and Security Act (HR 2752), proposed jointly by John Conyers
(D-Michigan) and Howard Berman (D-California), would impose criminal
penalties of up to five years in prison for online copyright
infringement. Additionally, it proposes an allocation of $15 million to
the Department of Justice to enhance domestic and international
enforcement of copyright laws.
Table of Contents: On 2003.09.14 23:19 Ruben I Safir wrote: > >
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=96 > > Despite Alex
Pilofosts stupidity, studies are showing that > the only thing the
public gives a shit about P2P trading is that > it continues without
interuption. > > Ruben > > -- > __________________________ > 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 > -- __________________________ 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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