Record industry to sue downloaders

Thursday, June 26, 2003 Posted: 1:39 AM EDT (0539 GMT)


WASHINGTON (AP) -- The embattled music industry has threatened 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 music files for downloading.

It expects to file at least several hundred lawsuits seeking financial damages within eight to 10 weeks as it tries to put an end to music piracy.

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.

Facing the music
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."

Public resistance?
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.

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.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/T...index.html

I thought that the shoplifting analogy was pretty good.

Yada Yada Yada. I'm in Blighty the RIAA can kiss my arse.

I still buy music, i just testrun what music i decided to buy first.I only share while i'm downloading.

mmm...lemme see...
Can they trace users of software like Direct Connect? Nope!

Can they trace users who download music from sites like www.mp3mediaworld.com (!pop-ups!)? Nope!

Can they trace my identity when i'm in a LAN configuration? Nope!

Is suing 13-yr olds a solution to the problems of the Industry? Nope!

Usually sueing your buyers is not a good marketing strategy, but i guess they've little to loose here.

Blindly trying to save a business model that is doomed for a few years now is a bit pathetic though.

Totally useless.

The best they can come up with is to sue their customers? Good grief...I look forward to the day when music production is fully decentralized and everyone in the RIAA is unemployed.

If record labels REALLY wanna get consumers to actually go to a record store and buy a CD,they should do two things...


***Lower the price of CDs---how absurd is it to pay $16 for a CD by your favorite artist?

***Stop releasing so much crap---most CDs today have one or two good songs and a bunch of crappy filler.No wonder people don't wanna waste their hard-earned money by buying the whole CD!!

SpcMs said:

As much as I hate the music industry, I have to agree with their shoplifting analogy... if I wonder about a product at the store, such as, say, Preparation H suppositories, and I steal a package and shove it up my ass to see if I like it before buying another, they would have me thrown in jail for shoplifting. My saying "I was just going to shove them up my ass to try them out before buying," would not keep me out of jail.

DavidEye said:

Exactly...I have NO sympathy for these mother fuckers.

So they can not stop the SPAM coming through my private email address.

They can not stop those telemarketers from calling my house at all times of the day.

They will not reduce the cost of a lousy cd to $9.99

but they can sue me for downloading a song.


paleeze

IceNine said:

Preparation H cannot be duplicated digitally.

DavidEye said:

THIS IS THE TRUTH!

There is no reason for a CD to cost so much... the actual price should be $9.99... this would drive sales WAY up.

You are so right.

teller said:

It is still a product that is offered for sale.

Isn't it curious that new DVD releases cost less than music CD's?

IceNine said:

Yes, but you're not stealing it, you're copying it.

teller said:

Quite curious indeed! Music is totally overpriced and they really should lower the retail price a lot. I honestly think that their sales would increase substantially if they dropped the fucking prices... and then they wouldn't have to worry so much about theft on the internet.

Then again, there are those who would steal the music at any price.

Should you be sued for recording a song off the radio?

teller said:

Copying material that is offered for sale and is protected by copyright law is illegal and is equal to stealing the physical goods in that the thief does not purchase the tangible product as would have been necessary if copying was impossible.

teller said:

You cannot download an entire album from the radio.

IceNine said:

So you would advocate suing everyone in the 1980's who shared music on cassette with friends?

IceNine said:

So? Each song is copyrighted.

Stepping back for a moment...I have to say that I am fully in favor of copyright laws, but I'm also not in denial about the forces of nature. File-sharing must be adapted to, not sued.

One person bootlegging your CD is a criminal issue...millions of people copying music is a marketing issue. Creativity, not litigation!

IceNine said:

hmmm...I may have to leave the country for a few months. C U guys later

teller said:

Tape trading was small beans compared to the MASSIVE theft on the internet. The industry wansn't too concerned with the minor amount of music traded on cassette, but the wholesale theft of music on the internet is a different story. The lack of a physical product and the availability of a worldwide network makes internet file theft a major concern, whereas tape trading required physical transfers of materials and was basically limited to a select few people.

teller said:

I wouldn't expect the RIAA to care about minor things like recording a song from a radio broadcast. Recording a song from a radio broadcast is a one-off thing and it is not spread like a virus to thieves all over the planet who are anxiously awaiting the opportunity to steal.

so i propose renting cds.


I will open a store, like blockbuster, or Tower and carry every title. Have a subscription service and you can rent any cd in the store, overnight or up to three days, for $3.00 (like a video/dvd rental), box sets would be $5

hey, i think I have something here

I know this dosn't apply to everyone, but for me, if the companies actually released the music that I wanted to hear and sold it at a price in the UK which isn't extrotionary I wouldn't bother downloading music.

jthad1129 said:

Me too, open your store and I'll also buy a hugh quantity of blank CD-R off U.

IceNine said:

Millions of thieves. A nation of theives. Something's not right with this picture when normal everyday people are doing this...the world has changed, and the music industry simply has to come up with a better offer...or die.

teller said:

Instead of producing billions of copies of the same album they should release fewer copies of several different albums. They should give us a better choice, then piracy might not be as damaging.