COPYCENSE

“It must be a good time to be at the helm of the Recording Industry Association of America. The RIAA, the primary trade association for the American recording industry with a $27.7 million annual budget, is enjoying a string of recent political and legal victories.

“In last year’s Grokster case, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned a lower court’s ruling that favored file-swapping networks. Federal judges have been upholding stiff fines against individual file swappers, and the online marketplace for music is booming.

“Congress has enacted new laws backed by the RIAA that target peer-to-peer pirates with federal felonies, and a Republican administration is talking up the need for even stiffer ones. (Last year’s new felonies have already led to jail time for some).

“Yet obstacles remain.”

Declan McCullagh. Newsmaker: RIAA’s Next Moves in Washington. News.com. May 25, 2006.

Related Stories & Documents:

Declan McCullagh. Congress Readies Broad New Digital Copyright Bill. News.com. April 23, 2006.

Declan McCullagh. Prison Terms on Tap for ‘Prerelease’ Pirates. News.com. April 19, 2005.

Anne Broache. Justice Dept. Pushes Stiffer Antipiracy Laws. News.com. November 10, 2005.

CopyCense™: The law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.