File Swapping Fight Goes Global
On March 30, 2004, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) filed the first wave of international lawsuits charging individuals with illegally file-sharing copyrighted music. Along with the recording industry associations of Denmark, Germany, Italy and Canada, IFPI has announced that 247 alleged illegal file-sharers will face legal action, with more suits against major offenders around the globe to follow in the coming months.
The legal actions, following similar successful actions in United States, charge the individuals with illegally uploading hundreds of music tracks for copying, transmission and distribution via file-sharing services. Chairman and CEO of IFPI, Jay Berman, commented on the significance of the international legal action:
"We have made it clear that file-sharing without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal, that it amounts to ‘file-stealing,’ and that it affect jobs and livelihoods across the whole industry. Ultimately, though, we have learned that education alone is not sufficient, and that some people persist because, like shoplifters, they think they can 'get away with it.’ So we have decided that only the prospect of legal action is going to make those people rethink what they are doing. "Today we are makin
g it clear that we are totally prepared to enforce the law, and we will start actions against those people who are breaking it by uploading hundreds of music files on to the Internet. We will not stand by while thousands of people involved in the creation of music see their careers and livelihoods destroyed. The message is that people are at a real risk of being sued or prosecuted if they continue to rip off those who make music."
Other countries have stepped up their 'warning' campaigns against illegal file-sharers, including Sweden, where an instant messaging campaign to users of peer-to-peer networks has been launched. This action follows a similar announcement by the U.K. on March 25, 2004 regarding action against file-swappers.
IFPI.org, March 30, 2004;Read the press release: http://www.ifpi.org/site-content/press/20040330.html
House Taking Aim with Camcorder Crackdown
In a continued effort to crack down on piracy, lawmakers in Washington have proposed new legislation aimed at throwing a wrench into the plans of movie pirates. By adding new language to a broader anti-piracy bill, Reps. Howard Berman (D-California) and Lamar Smith (R-Texas) plan to make it illegal to use a camcorder to record a film in a movie theater. Berman and Smith have offered the camcorder language to the Piracy Deterrence Act: Legislation that would expand the scope of the Dept. of Justice's crimi
nal powers to go after large-scale online file-swappers. The Smith-Berman amendment aims to satisfy a top priority of the Motion Picture Assn. of America (MPAA), which maintains that in nine out of 10 cases, movies that show up within days of their theatrical releases are from copies made by a camcorder. Under the Smith-Berman bill, films in theaters are considered ‘pre-release’ if they have not been officially released on video. This ‘pre-release’ piracy carries a sentence of up to five years in prison,
and up to 10 years for a second offense. In the past two years, lobbyists for the MPAA have succeeded in passing legislation banning camcorder use in theaters in California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.
Yahoo! News, March 29, 2004 (Susan Crabtree);
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/variety/20040330/va_fi_ne/house_taking_aim_with_camcorder_1
Piracy Extradition Case Rejected
An Australian Magistrate has rejected an application to extradite an Australian man that U.S. authorities alleged headed an Internet piracy syndicate. Hew Raymond Griffiths, 41, of Berkeley Vale on Australia’s New South Wales Central Coast, was indicted by a grand jury in the state of Virginia last year with one count of criminal copyright infringement and one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. The U.S. indictment alleged he was the leader of “Drink or Die,” a high-profile pira
cy ring founded in Russia in the 1990s, and later headquartered in the U.S. The indictment alleged Mr. Griffiths controlled access to a ‘drop site’ for pirated software at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) computer network. Authorities allege the group often received software weeks ahead of its official release at the MIT site, cracked the copyright protection and distributed it.
Downing Centre Local Court Magistrate Daniel Reiss said he was not persuaded that the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, acting on behalf of U.S. authorities, had mounted a case for extradition. Reiss emphasized that the offenses were alleged to have occurred in Australia, and that Mr. Griffiths had never traveled to the U.S., and thus had "never been a fugitive fleeing or hiding from the extradition country." In his judgment, Magistrate Daniel Reiss stressed the need for Australian Parliament t
o update extradition laws to take account for new technologies.
Australian IT, March 25, 2004 (Simon Hayes);
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,9071448%5e15331%5e%5enbv%5e15306-15319,00.
New Lawsuits Waiting to Happen? Here’s Just a Sample of Active File-Swapping Sites…
Aimster, Apple Soup, AudioGnome, Amster, Bodetella, BitchX, BeNapster, Clip2, Direct Connect, Espra, FreeNet, Filetopia, File Navigator, FreeBase, Furi, Gnutella, Gnutella, gnutella hosts, reflecto, limewire, bearshare, freepeers, Gnucleus, Gnotella, Gnutallica, Gnute, Gnewtella, Gnapster, Gtk-Gnutella, Gnumm, Gnarly!, Gnut, Gnut - console, Hagelslag, JNapster, Knapster, Metallicster, Mactella, MyGnut, MyTella, MojoNation, Naphoria, Napigator, NapAmp, N-Tella, NapSack, OpenNap, OnShare, Ohaha, P2P Italia, P
2P work group, P2P News, Pynap, RomNet, Rapster, Snap, SnoopStar, Swaptor, Tellaseek, Toad Node, Teknap, Trademail, UMX, WebNap, Wired/P2P, Zeropaid.Com
Quick Bits and Bytes
Pirate DVD Seller Sent to Jail
Matthew Rogers of Leicester, U.K. has been given a total of nine months in jail after he was caught running an illegal DVD business from his home. The thirty-one year-old man made over £18,000 from selling illegally copied DVDs, CDs and computer games. When Trading Standards officers raided his house in November 2002, they found a catalogue of over 4,000 items. Rodgers, who had been convicted of 15 prior offenses under the video recording and trademark acts, took orders over the internet, produced the DVD
copies in his bedroom, then sent them out to buyers.
His defense said the operation originally started with him copying items for family and friends but then grew. The entire catalogue compiled by Rodgers’ illegitimate business has been ordered to be destroyed. Trading Standards officers said that the case brings a developing problem to light: advancements in technology have allowed piracy to reach a new scale. The officers noted that a pirated DVD could be produced on readily available equipment in less than 30 minutes.
BBC NEWS March 19, 2004;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/3551663.stm
U.S. Plots China Piracy Move
The U.S. is considering action against China unless the country cracks down on counterfeiting and piracy. The threat follows Washington's recent complaint to the World Trade Organization over the Asian nation's chip industry. In a budget hearing at the U.S. House of Representatives, Robert Zoellick, the U.S. Trade Representative, reportedly said that many U.S. companies might be reluctant to complain to Beijing directly for fear of causing problems for their own operations in China. The Federal government i
s not so shy, he said, and is unwilling to let China "off the hook". Chinese counterfeiters are believed to have ripped off everything from software to movies to technology designs.
Computer Business Review Online, March 26, 2004;http://www.cbronline.com/todaysnews/e15d7b16aaa692c580256e6300385745
University of Rochester, Napster to Provide Online Music to Students
The University of Rochester has become the first private university in the nation to sign a digital music agreement with Napster. Beginning this semester, the university will offer access to Napster’s Premium Service, allowing Rochester students to stream and locally download an unlimited amount of music from Napster’s digital library of over 500,000 tracks. Students will also gain access to over 50 fully interactive radio stations, videos on demand, decades of Billboard charts, an online magazine (Fuzz) a
nd additional community features like the ability to peer into other members’ collections and send tracks to friends. Permanent downloads—to burn to CDs or transfer to any of 60 portable music devices—can be purchased for 99 cents each or $9.95 for an album.
The university, who also plans to offer the service to faculty and staff at a discounted rate, will fund the monthly fees for the Premium Service. “Based on the success and popularity of Napster’s groundbreaking program with Pennsylvania State University, a public institution, many schools have since sought to institute similar programs with us,” said Napster’s senior vice president of business development, Larry Linietsky. “We are thrilled that the University of Rochester will become our first private scho
ol partner and we look forward to a successful roll-out with them as well as other institutions down the road.”
Read the press release: University of Rochester, February 4, 2004;
http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=1684
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