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Posts with tag RIAA

Music Industry Claims Throwing Away Free CDs is Illegal

by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 10th 2008 at 10:16AM

Music Industry Claims Throwing Away Free CDs is IllegalUniversal Music Group has filed a rather ... interesting legal brief in a case against a man accused of re-selling promotional CDs he legally purchased used at a record shop. UMG has claimed that not only was the man breaking the law by selling the albums, even the act of throwing them in the trash would have been committing music piracy.

The industry seems to be hoping to change the way you buy your music, so that if you purchase a CD you're not buying anything but a bit of plastic. The music on there isn't actually yours and, should you get tired of it, you don't have the right to resell it. This is traditionally known as the first-sale doctrine and is the reason why selling used books, CDs, and movies is legal. So is giving away those items -- for now.

Right now UMG's legal filing covers only promotional CDs, those given out for free to DJs and such, and it remains to be seen whether they'll even have any success making this argument. So, it's not the end of the used music store just yet. However, don't forget that when "buying" music files from stores like iTunes you're actually just licensing it, having sworn away your right to resell anything you download. So before you get too angry at UMG remember that you're embracing this sort of licensing elsewhere!

From TechDirt

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Japanese Internet Providers to Ban File Sharers

by Tim Stevens, posted Mar 17th 2008 at 9:10AM

Japanese Internet Providers to Ban File SharersDebates are raging around the world regarding exactly what role Internet Service Providers, or ISPs, should have when it comes to the illegal swapping of music or movie files. In the U.S., Comcast has already taken steps to block those who would share files, while Verizon has made it clear that it has no intentions to monitor those it provides service to. In Japan, though, the debates are over, as the country's four ISPs have decided to start using software to find, monitor, and potentially disconnect file sharers.

According to the Yomiuri Shinbun newspaper, ISPs have indicated that anyone caught sharing files will be given a warning, upon first offense. Future detections will result in file sharers being temporarily disconnected from their Web access. Those who share files illegally after repeated warnings will lose their Internet connection permanently.

What's unclear is just just many offenses it will take to lose one's license to surf, and whether the ISPs will be punishing only illegal file sharing over peer-to-peer networks or all file sharing.

Japanese surfers will find out next month when the new plan goes into action.

From TechCrunch

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Leaked RIAA Training Video Links Piracy to Drugs and Terrorism

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Feb 22nd 2008 at 9:15AM


Well it's official: the RIAA has lost its collective mind. Some intrepid muckrakers have gotten their hands on a training video from the record industry group and the contents are both hilarious and terrifying.

According to the video, music piracy affects quality of life in communities and is a 'gateway crime.' Music piracy can lead investigators to drug cartels, illegal guns, and of course, terrorist organizations (what doesn't these days). And apparently music pirates have backgrounds of more serious offenses, such as robbery and murder. The RIAA and its ilk are often guilty of overstating their case, but this training video goes much further than any previous insinuations about music piracy's connections to larger crimes.

So now you know that the RIAA thinks you're a drug dealing, homicidal, terrorist. Just stay put and wait for the SWAT team.

From Gizmodo

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Record Industry Wants Anti-Virus Software to Scan for Pirated Files

by Tim Stevens, posted Feb 8th 2008 at 9:01AM

RIAA Wants Anti-Virus Software to Find Illegal Files, TooThe Recording Industry Association of America really, really wants to stop people from downloading illegal music. Over the years it has supported crippling copy protection that would leave your music files unplayable should you get a new computer, has stated that ripping your own CDs to your own MP3 player is illegal, and showed its commitment by hitting a single mother for a $220,000 fine for sharing two-dozen songs online. Now the RIAA wants unfettered access to the contents of your computer as part of a virus scan.

The software, which would either be part of anti-viral scanners or even something your ISP might require you to install, would run through your files on a regular basis and ensure that they are, indeed, your files. Presumably if it found something that wasn't yours it would alert the authorities and you'd be due for a summons.

This raises the question of just how the RIAA would be sure that the files it scans are indeed yours. Especially given those statements that ripping CDs is illegal, would it be flagging every iTunes or Windows Media Player track that didn't have DRM on it? It's a frightening concept even for those who do not illegally download music and one that we at least hope never sees the light of day.

From Fark and Gizmodo

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RIAA Web Site Hacked

by Tim Stevens, posted Jan 22nd 2008 at 12:10PM

RIAA Website HackedThe Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) hasn't made itself very popular over the past few years. Whether it's suing single mothers for a quarter-million dollars for sharing some songs online or telling you that ripping the CDs you purchased is illegal, the RIAA has made a lot of enemies over the past digital-music decade. Many people would like to see it go down. And down is just where the RIAA's site went over the weekend, an apparent victim of a security breach.

The site fell to a so-called SQL injection attack, where attackers put malicious text into search fields to gain access to databases. It's about the simplest form of Web site attack, requiring no special tools and not a lot of knowledge, a situation that doesn't say much for the state of the RIAA's site in the first place. Thankfully, SQL injection attacks impact only websites and not the people who visit them, so you at least don't have to worry.

In this case the attackers wiped out all of the site's text over the weekend, which has since been restored ... hopefully with a few more security checks thrown in there for good measure.

From BetaNews

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RIAA Claims Ripping CDs for Personal Use is Illegal

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 11th 2007 at 6:50PM

RIAA Claims Ripping CDs for Personal Use IllegalJust as it seemed as though the record industry was starting to figure this whole thing out, here it goes and does something that makes us at the Switched offices shake our heads. The RIAA has filed a brief in an Arizona U.S. District Court against Jeffrey and Pamela Howell, an average Joe and Jane couple who have ripped their CD collection to MP3s for easy sharing throughout their home and -- presumably -- iPods. The brief claims that ripping CDs to MP3s is a violation of copyright laws and the fair use doctrine.

The audacity of the RIAA's claim wouldn't be too surprising, given its penchant for overzealous attacks of digital media, if it weren't in direct contradiction of arguments made by RIAA lawyers in a case filed in 2005. In the case, MGM Vs. Grokster, representation from the RIAA explicitly said that making digital copies of music for personal use was protected.

Atlantic Vs. Howell is scheduled to have its first hearing on January 24. Here's hoping that this case gets tossed out, because if the courts find in favor of Atlantic, it will place all of us with digital audio devices on the RIAA's hit list.

[Addendum: Looks like the RIAA has also included language about the fact that the Howells put their files on file sharing networks, which could give the RIAA a leg to stand on here. That said, this case remains interesting due to the language the RIAA is including regarding one's rights to rip his own CDs.]

From Boing Boing



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Software Pirates Could Get Up to 10 Years In Prison

by Tim Stevens, posted Dec 7th 2007 at 10:45AM

Piracy Penalties Set to Increase


So listen to this, casual users of copied software: If you get caught violating U.S. copyright laws, by, say, copying and distributing songs and movies illegally, you could face up to 10 years in prison and pay a cool half-million dollar fine. Sounds frightening, right? Well, not to a some politicians who are supporting the "Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007." The bill calls for increased penalties and the creation of specific offices to track down and combat piracy.

To anyone who either follows U.S. politics or the copyright wars of late, it should come as no surprise who is really behind this bill. Its primary political supporters have received plenty of campaign donations from both the MPAA (the movie industry association) and the RIAA (the music industry association). The always-on-the-offensive RIAA recently won a $220,000 settlement from Jammie Thomas, who was found guilty of sharing a whole 24 songs online. Many considered that sum to be outrageous, but this new bill could make penalties and fines even harsher and higher.


Still downloading tunes illegally? If so, you might want to think twice before you do it again.



From TorrentFreak



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RIAA Defendant Appeals $220K Fine

by Tim Stevens, posted Oct 16th 2007 at 2:48PM

RIAA Defendant Appeals $220K FineThe trials and tribulations just don't stop for RIAA lawsuit defendant Jammie Thomas -- or at least the trials, anyway. Ms. Thomas has officially filed her appeal to the findings of the lawsuit brought against her for illegal file sharing, citing "unconstitutionally excessive" damages. Jammie is asking that the RIAA fine her any actual damages it suffered rather than the seemingly arbitrary amount of $220,000, which she was earlier ordered to pay.

This appeal is certainly a step back from her initial pledge to fight the notion that simply sharing a song on a P2P network like Kazaa is actually illegal. Now, it seems her plan is simply to reduce the fine that she was assessed by the court. Given the feelings of one juror in the case, who called her a liar and that her "defense sucked," perhaps this is the smartest move.

Thomas' idea of fair? $151.20.

From Slashdot

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Juror Calls RIAA Defendant a Liar

by Tim Stevens, posted Oct 10th 2007 at 11:28AM

Jurors Calls RIAA Defendant a LiarThings just got a little tougher for Jamie Thomas, the mom of two who was recently fined $220,000 by a court for illegally sharing copyrighted music. Yesterday, Thomas pledged to appeal the verdict that ordered her to pay nearly $10,000 to the RIAA for each of the 24 songs she was accused of sharing. But, judging by comments made by one juror who is speaking out, Thomas' appeal doesn't look too promising.

According to juror Michael Hegg, the jury simply didn't believe her defense. The unanimous response to Thomas' claim that her personal information had been stolen was, "Oh my God, you got to be kidding." Hegg goes on to call Thomas a liar after it was revealed that she turned over a different hard drive to RIAA investigators than the one she used to download music. "There was no defense," Hegg says. "Her defense sucked."

Thomas should actually consider herself lucky. During deliberations, Hegg claims, some of the jurors wanted to fine her the maximum amount allowed, which would have been $150,000 per track for a total of $3.6 million. That's a whole lot of "I'm sorry."


From Slashdot

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Mom of Two Stung With $220K RIAA Penalty

by Tim Stevens, posted Oct 5th 2007 at 11:28AM

Mother of Two Slapped With $220,000 RIAA PenaltyYou're looking at the face of online music piracy. Jammie Thomas, a 32-year-old single mother of two accused by the RIAA of sharing 24 songs on peer-to-peer service Kazaa, has lost her protracted legal battle. Yesterday she was ordered to pay a whopping $222,000 in damages, which amounts to $9,250 for every song shared -- this despite the fact that the RIAA was never able to prove Thomas even had Kazaa installed on her machine. Thomas maintains her innocence.

Though the RIAA has sent threatening letters to more than 26,000 people it believes are guilty of illegally sharing copyrighted music, Ms. Thomas is the first to actually fight the RIAA in court. Most others have either quietly settled for fines of a few thousand dollars or had their cases dismissed for lack of evidence, as did an Oklahoma mother last year who was targeted by the RIAA.

We hate to play right into the RIAA's hand, but the Thomas verdict should serve as a warning to the rest of you file-sharers out there. This victory will certainly encourage the RIAA to get even cockier in its strong-arm tactics against accused sharers. So, if you are one of those 26,000 people who received a threatening letter from the RIAA, we hate to say it, but your options are looking pretty limited.

From BBC News

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LimeWire Music Site Goes Legit

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 17th 2007 at 8:08AM

LimeWire Goes Legit
Music file-sharing site LimeWire never enjoyed the popularity of its spiritual predecessor, Napster, but it certainly has enjoyed as much legal trouble due to all the swapping of illegally-copied music that takes place with its software (particularly on Macs). For example, the RIAA is demanding $150,000 for every illegally shared song on LimeWire, which we're sure would be an almost incalculable amount.

In response, LimeWire is attempting to clean up its act by announcing its plans to launch a new legal music download store (very much in the footsteps of Napster and even BitTorrent). The store will offer 256 kbps songs without copy protection and will offer both one-off purchases and a subscription service. Prices have yet to be announced, but regardless of how much it charges, LimeWire will have to attract more support from distributors and major music labels if it wishes to compete with iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody, or the legit version of Napster. Currently only IRIS Distribution and Nettwerk Productions have struck deals with LimeWire, which may net you access to Chromeo and Barenaked Ladies, but, as they say, man can not live by novelty singles alone.

From BetaNews

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Canadians May Face iPod Tax

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jul 23rd 2007 at 3:20PM

Canadians May Face iPod Tax
It seems that -- despite opposition from everyone except the recording industry -- the Copyright Board of Canada has approved extending a tax on recordable media to iPods and removable flash cards. The tax is based on the premise that any device that can be used to store audio files should make money for the recording artists as well as the retailer and manufacturer. Critics claim the new tax assumes that all consumers of digital media are criminals having illegally downloaded their music.

The tax is also worded vaguely, opening up the possibility that this tax could be extended to cell phones, computers, hard drives -- anything that can be used to store digital music files.

The various offices of the Canadian government have gone back and forth on the issue since 2003, with the court striking down previous levies on digital audio players.

From Beta News

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Internet Radio Isn't Dead Yet

by Tim Stevens, posted Jul 2nd 2007 at 3:31PM

Internet Radio Offered Olive BranchFacing extinction thanks to new (much higher) per-track and per-user fees being levied on them by the RIAA come July 15, thousands of Internet radio stations last week held a "Day of Silence" in which they didn't broadcast a single sound, giving listeners a preview of what to expect after the financial bloodbath. Despite the silence, it seems people were listening. SoundExchange, the royalty-collection arm of the RIAA, has offered a $2,500 per month cap on royalty payments per channel. The earlier fee structure was set at $500 per month per stream, on top of per-song and even per-user fees. For services such as Pandora and Live365, which operate thousands of streams, the fees originally proposed by SoundExchange spelled certain death.

The catch is that this cap is only temporary until 2008. The Digital Music Association, which represents the Internet radio stations, has agreed to the new proposal, but only if it is extended until at least 2010. No word yet on whether the provision will be accepted by SoundExchange, but it does seem that there is still some hope left for Internet radio.

From Slashdot

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