:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::

:: 4.29.2003 ::

:: RE online music ::

From CNET News.com:
RIAA to file swappers: Let's chat

Tapping into the chat functions built into software programs such as Kazaa and Grokster, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on Tuesday started sending automatic messages to people who are providing copyrighted songs online, warning them that they're breaking the law.

"We're going to be sending messages to the very people who are offering music, in real time, as they do it," said Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA. "The hope is that, this way, we'll be reaching the people who need to know that they are not anonymous, that there are risks of legal consequences if they continue, and also that there are risks to privacy and security."

Whether viewed as an educational campaign or simply as a means of scaring some file-swappers, the new tactics come at a critical time for the industry. A Los Angeles federal court last week ruled for the first time that file-swapping tools such as Grokster and Morpheus were legal, handing copyright holders a serious setback in their efforts to pull the plug on such services.

The court, however, did indicate that individual file-swappers were likely breaking copyright law.

The new campaign, which will be run by an unnamed outside company, will take advantage of automated technology that scans peer-to-peer networks for files that appear to be copyrighted, logs the appropriate user name and Internet address, and then often sends notices to the person’s Internet service provider.

posted by me

:: 8:37:00 PM [+] ::
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