Free Republic

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Makers of the most popular online file-sharing network are suing entertainment companies for copyright infringement, alleging the companies used unauthorized versions of its software to snoop on users in their efforts to battle piracy. Sharman Networks, the company behind the Kazaa file-sharing software, filed a federal lawsuit Monday, accusing the movie studios and the Recording Industry of America of using ``Kazaa Lite,'' a replica of its software without advertising, to get onto the network. Sharman claims its copyright was violated because Kazaa Lite is an unauthorized version of its free software. Once on the network, the...

<p>It's become a familiar rite of spring and summer around the country: city residents converging on a grassy park hillside, spreading out a blanket and enjoying a free concert.</p> <p>But even "free" concerts come with a price tag — and the organization charged with protecting copyrighted songs is determined to make sure that bill gets paid.</p>

I've used Kazaa to download music files. There, I've said it so I guess it is only a matter of time before the Canadian Recording Industry Association or the Recording Industry Association of America sends me a nasty letter or hits me with a lawsuit for stealing copyrighted music. To be honest, the RIAA's recent decision to fire off 261 lawsuits in the United States sends shivers up my spine. These guys are have become serious -- even if means further alienating their consumers. I guess the RIAA is frustrated that after five years of legal warfare, there are still...

WASHINGTON - A 12-year-old girl in New York who was among the first to be sued by the record industry for sharing music over the Internet is off the hook after her mother agreed Tuesday to pay $2,000 to settle the lawsuit, apologizing and admitting that her daughter's actions violated U.S. copyright laws. The hurried settlement involving Brianna LaHara, an honors student, was the first announced one day after the Recording Industry Association of America (news - web sites) filed 261 such lawsuits across the country. Lawyers for the RIAA said Brianna's mother, Sylvia Torres, contacted them early Tuesday to...

LONDON (Reuters) - The music industry's latest legal crusade to sue online song swappers is copyright holders' clearest message yet to Internet users: not only is the Net's "free ride" over, but it can be expensive. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on Monday said it sued 261 music fans in the U.S. as much as $150,000 per song distributed online.The film and software industry are biding their time, arming themselves to jump in with similar legal maneuvers to protect their copyright-protected movies, video games and operating systems from the massive black market that's emerged on Internet file-sharing services...

The RIAA has nailed one of the most prolific file-traders in the U.S., filing a lawsuit against 12-year-old Brianna LaHara. When not at the playground with her friends, "Biggie Brianna" is trading music files from her home in New York. The little girl received one of the 261 lawsuits filed by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) on Monday, according to the New York Post. She may look like a sweet and innocent child, but the RIAA says it's only going after major copyright violators at the moment. So you make the call. "I got really scared. My stomach...

The day after a report suggested the compact disc is heading the way of the 8-track tape, the world's largest music label conglomerate promised a steep cut in music CD pricing. Universal Music Group on Wednesday said it will slash its wholesale prices and reduce its suggested retail pricing for music CDs to $13, from between $17 and $19. The company, a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal, is home to a number of record labels, including Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, and Philips. "Music fans will benefit from the price reductions we are announcing...

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 3 — The world’s largest recording company said Wednesday it would slash wholesale CD prices in hopes of reviving music sales, which have dropped 31 percent industrywide in the last three years. UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP said it would cut the suggested sale price on a majority of its CDs by $6 to $12.98. The company hopes retailers will follow its lead and drop their CD prices to around $10 or less. The price changes would go into effect by Oct. 1.       “We expect (this) will invigorate the music market in North America,” UMG Chairman and...

An anonymous California computer user went to court Thursday to challenge the recording industry's file-trading subpoenas, charging that they are unconstitutional and violate her right to privacy. The legal motion, filed in Washington, D.C., federal court by a "Jane Doe" Internet service subscriber, is the first from an individual whose personal information has been subpoenaed by the Recording Industry Association of America in recent months. The RIAA has used court orders to try to identify more than 1,000 computer users it alleges have been offering copyrighted songs on file-trading networks. It plans to use the information gained to file copyright...

They used to say "home taping" was killing music, now it's meant to be internet downloaders. But the real pirates these days are crime bosses - and the rewards are plentiful. The net has given rise to many novel ways of doing business but the methods of the Recording Industry Association of America has got every twisted e-commerce scheme beaten. Last month, the association began suing hundreds of its customers. For the RIAA - which represents the major US recording companies - this makes perfect sense. The people being sued are sharing music with millions of others via peer-to-peer networks...

Nervous music file-swappers who worry they may be on the list of 871 people targeted by recording industry subpoenas now have a Web site where their fears can be allayed -- or confirmed. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit group that fights for personal and privacy rights in cyberspace, has set up a Web site that lets users of file-sharing services check to see if their screen names have been targeted for legal action by the Recording Industry Association of America. According to information on the site, the data is gathered from electronic court records and may not be complete....

Congress mulls prison terms for KaZaA users By Thomas C Greene in Washington Posted: 17/07/2003 at 12:40 GMT Not satisfied with hacking P2P networks, or destroying the computers of file sharers, House Hollywood sock puppet Howard Berman (Democrat, California) is now sponsoring legislation that would jail people who trade as little as one MP3 on the Internet. Berman has hooked up with House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (Democrat, Michigan) to produce this Hobbesian proposal. "While existing laws have been useful in stemming this problem, they simply do not go far enough," Conyers is quoted as saying. Details are...

http://au.news.yahoo.com//030717/11/kvue.html Thursday July 17, 11:15 AM Bill Would Put Internet Song Swappers in Jail Internet users who allow others to copy songs from their hard drives could face prison time under legislation introduced by two Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday. The bill is the strongest attempt yet to deter the widespread online song copying that recording companies say has led to a decline in CD sales. Sponsored by Michigan Rep. John Conyers and California Rep. Howard Berman, the bill would make it easier to slap criminal charges on Internet users who copy music, movies and other copyrighted files over "peer-to-peer" networks....

<p>Two derivatives of the popular Kazaa peer-to-peer filesharing service now actively attempt to block scans by the RIAA and other agencies, escalating the P2P war to a new level.</p> <p>Both Kazaa K++ and Kazaa Lite, two very similar modifications to the Kazaa file-sharing system by Sharman Networks, now contain hooks to the PeerGuardian database of IP addresses. Both updates were published to the Web at the end of last week.</p>

<p>When the recording industry said Wednesday it would sue heavy music sharers, it left one unnerving question unanswered: Just who would they consider a heavy sharer?</p> <p>In a conference call with reporters, the Recording Industry Association of America's President Cary Sherman said the group will begin collecting evidence against those who offer "substantial" amounts of music online to others over peer-to-peer networks, then will file hundreds of copyright-infringement lawsuits beginning in August. But he declined to say specifically what "substantial" means.</p>

Music Labels Step Up Internet Piracy Hunt TED BRIDIS Associated PressWASHINGTON - The embattled music industry disclosed plans Wednesday for an unprecedented escalation in its fight against Internet piracy, threatening to sue hundreds of individual computer users who illegally share music files online. The Recording Industry Association of America, citing significant sales declines, said it will begin Thursday to search Internet file-sharing networks to identify music fans who offer "substantial" collections of MP3 song files for downloading. It expects to file at least several hundred lawsuits seeking financial damages within eight to 10 weeks. Executives for the RIAA, the Washington-based...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday he favors developing new technology to remotely destroy the computers of people who illegally download music from the Internet. The surprise remarks by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during a hearing on copyright abuses represent a dramatic escalation in the frustrating battle by industry executives and lawmakers in Washington against illegal music downloads. During a discussion on methods to frustrate computer users who illegally exchange music and movie files over the Internet, Hatch asked technology executives about ways to damage computers involved in such file trading. Legal experts have...

Music piracy 'great', says Robbie Williams challenged record labels about pirate copies Singer Robbie Williams has said he believes music piracy is a "great" idea. He made the comment at a music trade fair in Cannes, predicting it would anger his record company EMI. Williams said he had investigated the issue of music piracy before renegotiating his new recording contract last year. The heads of the record labels don't know what to do about it Robbie Williams He said: "I think it's great, really I do. "There is nothing anyone can do about it. "I am sure my record label...

WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday he favors developing new technology to remotely destroy the computers of people who illegally download music from the Internet. The surprise remarks by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during a hearing on copyright abuses represent a dramatic escalation in the frustrating battle by industry executives and lawmakers in Washington against illegal music downloads. During a discussion on methods to frustrate computer users who illegally exchange music and movie files over the Internet, Hatch asked technology executives about ways to damage computers involved in such file trading. Legal experts have said...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Concert tickets, DVDs and even laptops will be used to encourage users of the online bazaar known as Kazaa to swap legal files instead of pirated movies and music. The Peer Points Manager program announced Monday will essentially be Internet file-sharing's version of frequent flyer miles. Kazaa users earn points for making legal files available to others over the Internet. The points can be redeemed for small prizes like computer games or for sweepstakes entries to win larger items. The program is being run by Altnet, a Kazaa partner trying to promote sharing of legal files...