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261 music file swappers sued; amnesty program unveiled
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| LiquidX |
| quote: | 261 music file swappers sued; amnesty program unveiled
By Jeordan Legon
CNN
(CNN) --The recording industry filed 261 lawsuits against individual Internet music file sharers Monday and announced an amnesty program for people who admit they illegally share music files through the Internet.
The federal lawsuits and amnesty program are the latest moves by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in its fight against illegal music file trading on the Internet, which record companies blame for compact disc sales falling 31 percent since mid-2000.
Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA, said the civil lawsuits filed were against "major offenders" who made available an average of 1,000 copyrighted song files.
"Nobody likes playing the heavy and having to resort to litigation," Sherman said. "But when your product is being regularly stolen, there comes a time when you have to take appropriate action."
Program grants amnesty
Sherman also announced the Clean Slate Program that grants amnesty to users who voluntarily identify themselves, erase downloaded music files and promise not to share music on the Internet. The RIAA said it will not sue users who sign and have notarized a Clean Slate Program affidavit.
"We're willing to hold out our version of an olive branch," Sherman said.
"For those who want to wipe the slate clean and to avoid a potential lawsuit, this is the way to go," added Mitch Bainwol, RIAA chairman and CEO. "We want to send a strong message that the illegal distribution of copyrighted works has consequences, but if individuals are willing to step forward on their own, we want to go the extra step and extend them this option."
But the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, which has criticized the RIAA's use of copyright subpoenas, urged file swappers to ignore the amnesty offer.
"Rather than demanding that 60 million people sharing music files turn themselves in with a so-called 'amnesty' program, the recording industry should take this opportunity to make file-sharing legal in exchange for a reasonable fee," Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Wendy Seltzer said in a statement.
The group cautioned that RIAA doesn't represent all music copyright owners and couldn't guarantee that the person admitting guilt through the amnesty program wouldn't be sued by others claiming copyright infringement.
"Stepping into the spotlight to admit your guilt is probably not a sensible course for most people sharing music files online, especially since the RIAA doesn't control many potential sources of lawsuits," Seltzer said.
Those targeted ineligible
The offer of amnesty will not apply to about 1,600 people targeted by copyright subpoenas from the RIAA. The decision was made a few weeks after U.S. appeals court rulings mandated that Internet providers turn over the names of subscribers believed to be sharing music and movies illegally.
Until now, the only music file-swapping lawsuits filed by RIAA were against four college students accused of making thousands of songs available on campus networks. Those cases were settled for $12,500 to $17,000 each.
Sherman said Monday that RIAA had negotiated settlements in the range of $3,000 with a "handful" of Internet users who had learned from their Internet service providers that they were being targeted for lawsuits. The industry is also pursuing subpoenas at universities around the country seeking to identify music file traders.
More information about RIAA's amnesty program is available at www.musicunited.org.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/intern...ding/index.html |
This suuuucks!!!:whip: :mad: |
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| TigerClaw |
| Hmm, Sucks for those people, But it wont affect us cause they are not using the same means of downloading as we all are. |
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| torontotrance |
Says who?
They will target anybody and everybody eventually and with trance music, who knows who owns which label. They may come after you and it's no joke. THen again, I hope the people sued learn their lesson, don't share crap music. |
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| TigerClaw |
| People have ways of hiding it I believe. |
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| kid nyce |
| quote: | Originally posted by TigerClaw
Hmm, Sucks for those people, But it wont affect us cause they are not using the same means of downloading as we all are. |
downloading? what downloading...i dunno what ur downloading but i havent downloaded anythinG:wtf: |
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| TigerClaw |
| quote: | Originally posted by kid nyce
downloading? what downloading...i dunno what ur downloading but i havent downloaded anythinG:wtf: |
Using FTPs of course |
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| XxGrOoVeERICxX |
FORMAT C:\
Ooops.....:tongue2
What music??? |
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| Lost Inhibition |
| what music? i dont listen to music.....:rolleyes: |
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| whiskers |
| quote: | Originally posted by TigerClaw
Hmm, Sucks for those people, But it wont affect us cause they are not using the same means of downloading as we all are. |
yeah. that's what they want us to think. "we're not using kazaa, so why bother? we're downloading trance, which they don't care about, so why bother?" until it's too late.
the only thing we can do right now is password-protection and staying as underground as possible, meaning less talk about the "hubs". no public listings, nothing. if they don't know we exist, they can't come after us.
| quote: |
...:::DISCLAMER:::...
By Entering our hubs you are agreeing to the following; If not, you must exit
immediately:That our hubs, and the activities that it was intended for, are in
all ways legal.The purpose of our hubs is for users to share their private,
personal files amongst each other.
We do not condone nor encourage the distribution of "warez" or copyright works,
software, etc. If any user participates in the illegal sharing of Any
Copyrighted Material, they assume any and all responsiblity for their actions.
You may not enter our hubs if you are affiliated with, represent,
or are visiting on behalf of;
(1) Any form of law enforcement agency.
(2) Any software corporation.
(3) Any type of Internet Security Expert or hacker.
The person/persons who host and or created this hub are not responsible for the
actions of visitors to the hubs.If you use our private servers and you are not
agreeing to these terms, you are violating code 431.322.12 of the Internet Privacy
Act signed by Bill Clinton in 1995 and that means that you can NOT threaten any
person(s) storing these files, cannot prosecute any person(s) affiliated with this
server which includes family, friends or individuals who run or enter our hubs. |
does a statement like this really protect us, or is it invalid because it's not official and isn't enforced / watched by the 'authorities'? |
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| xKaoSx |
| quote: | Originally posted by whiskers
yeah. that's what they want us to think. "we're not using kazaa, so why bother? we're downloading trance, which they don't care about, so why bother?" until it's too late.
the only thing we can do right now is password-protection and staying as underground as possible, meaning less talk about the "hubs". no public listings, nothing. if they don't know we exist, they can't come after us.
does a statement like this really protect us, or is it invalid because it's not official and isn't enforced / watched by the 'authorities'? |
Doesnt say anything about someone from RIAA coming in. :P
and no- it doesnt protect .
Only people it really affects are the people who use kazaa, MIRC, College Local area hubs (stupid if you ask me). They put themselves at the greatest risk. They're getting all these people because their IP's are right there and easily obtainable and tracable. |
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