Archive for October 2004
RIAA Files 762 More P2P Lawsuits
"The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed 762 new lawsuits against alleged file-traders using P-to-P (peer-to-peer) services, with the total number of lawsuits filed since September 2003 now reaching more than 5,500.
"The 762 lawsuits announced Thursday included 32 people at 26 U.S. universities who allegedly used their university networks to distribute music files on P-to-P networks."
Grant Gross. RIAA Files 762 New File-Trading Lawsuits. InfoWorld. Oct. 1, 2004.
See also:
Brooks Boliek. Music Industry Files More Piracy Lawsuits. Reuters. Oct. 1, 2004.
DRM: Eliminating Growth in Online Music
"Rival technologies that baffle consumers will run more companies out of business in the nascent music download market than will head-to-head competition, one of the lead creators of MP3 playback technology warned Wednesday.
"Consumers nowadays can store thousands of songs in a pocket-size device, play music and videos on their mobile phones, and buy albums at the click of a button.
"But to their chagrin, a bewildering number of competing playback compression technologies and antipiracy software options determine which songs play on which devices."
Reuters. MP3 Creator Warns Tech Impasse Dooming Downloads. News.com. Sept. 29, 2004.
Telecoms and Tech Companies Unite on Induce Act
"The Business Software Alliance, along with the Computer Systems Policy Project and the Information Technology Industry Council have informed Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in no uncertain terms what’s wrong with the Induce Act and what is needed for any bill that expands copyright liability."
Electronic Frontier Foundation. BSA to Hatch — We’re with the Tech & Telecom Industries on Induce. Sept. 30, 2004.
See also:
Tom Zeller. Panel Considers Copyright Bill. The New York Times. Sept. 30, 2004.
Business Software Alliance, Computer Systems Policy Project, Information Technology Industry Council. S.2560, The "Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004". (.pdf). Sept. 29, 2004.
(Editor�s Note: The Times allows free access to their stories on the Web for seven days before sending the stories to the paper�s fee-based Archive.)
Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2004 Passed By House
"In a move that takes aim at file-swapping networks, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to boost penalties for online piracy and increase federal police powers against Net copyright infringement.
"By voice vote, politicians on Tuesday approved a sweeping copyright bill that would make it easier for the FBI and federal prosecutors to investigate and convict file swappers. Other sections criminalize unauthorized recordings made in movie theaters and encourage the Justice Department to target Internet copyright infringement.
"Opponents had mounted an unsuccessful, last-ditch campaign earlier in the day to urge House leaders to remove the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act from the floor schedule."
Declan McCullagh. House Votes To Target P2P Pirates. News.com. Sept. 28, 2004.
See also:
Ted Bridist. House Votes to Make Video Cameras in Movie Theaters a Federal Crime. Technology Review. Sept. 29, 2004.
COPYCENSE 