COPYCENSE

"File-swapping wasn’t such a big deal when all you had to lose was a lousy download. But ever since the RIAA has gotten serious about making people pay for what they play, it’s a different story.

"The RIAA is one of the industry groups that have joined forces with a Justice Dept. task force formed to combat intellectual-property theft.

"The task force is chaired by David Israelite, deputy chief of staff and counselor to Attorney General John Ashcroft. In contrast to the RIAA, which has focused on filing civil lawsuits against accused pirates, Israelite can slap scofflaws with criminal charges."

Patricia O’Connell. Piracy and "Economic National Security". BusinessWeek Online. August 2, 2004.