Guardian/Observer : US music industry sues 261 for online song copying
Yap Yok Foo
Wednesday September 10, 2003
US music industry sues 261 for online song copying
Gary Younge in New York
A 12-year-old girl in New York, a professor at Yale University and an
elderly man in Texas who rarely uses his computer have been included
in the first wave of civil actions against people accused of illegally
sharing songs on the internet.
The Recording Industry Association of America, which is bringing the
cases, said yesterday that the 261 people it was suing were "major
offenders" who had illegally distributed an average of more than 1,000
copyrighted music files.
But some of them insisted yesterday they had been wrongly accused.
Durwood Pickle, 71, from Richardson, Texas, said his teenage
grandchildren had downloaded the music on to his computer during
visits to his home.
"I didn't do it, and I don't feel like I'm responsible," he said. Mr
Pickle found out that he was being sued from the press.
"I'm not a computer type person. They come in and get on the computer.
How do I get out of this?"
Brianna LaHara, a 12-year-old on the Upper West Side, discovered she
was being sued on Monday as she prepared for her first day back at
school.
Her mother paid a $29.99 (£20) monthly service charge three months ago
for a music swapping service call Kazaa.
"I got really scared. My stomach is all turning," said Brianna. "I
thought it was OK to download music because my mom paid a service fee
for it. Out of all people, why did they pick me?"
It is believed that the music industry is bringing the cases to show
music sharers that it is prepared to get tough.
"Nobody likes playing the heavy and having to resort to litigation,"
said Cary Sherman, the RIAA's president.
"But when your product is being regularly stolen there comes a time
when you have to take appropriate action."
The RIAA picked the most prolific sharers rather than those who
download the music, in an attempt to strike at the core of the
network.
US copyright laws allow for damages of between $750 and $150,000 for
each song offered illegally on a person's computer. Roughly 60 million
Americans, half of whom are thought to be teenagers, take part in
file-sharing networks using software that makes it simple for computer
users to locate and retrieve almost any song for free.
Norm Coleman, the Republican senator for Minnesota, has promised
congressional hearings on the issue.
He suggested that the industry was being heavy-handed. "They have a
legitimate interest that needs to be protected, but are they
protecting it in a way that's too broad and overreaching?
"I don't want to make criminals out of 60 million kids, even though
kids and grandkids are doing things they shouldn't be doing."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Record labels settle first of file-sharing lawsuits
Agencies
A group representing major US record labels today reached a $2,000
(£1,250) settlement with the mother of a 12-year-old girl accused of
downloading illegal music files.
It is the first and most high-profile case to be settled since the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) launched 261 music
piracy suits against individual internet users yesterday.
Sylvia Torres, mother of Brianna Lahara, a New York schoolgirl who had
illegally offered more than 1,000 copyrighted songs on the family's
personal computer using the Kazaa file-sharing service, said: "We
understand now that file-sharing the music was illegal. You can be
sure Brianna won't be doing it any more."
Brianna added: "I am sorry for what I have done. I love music and
don't want to hurt the artists I love."
The RIAA's suits against Brianna and 260 other computer users saw it
take its battle against online piracy into the homes of individuals
who copy music online - having already targeted file-sharing service
providers such as Napster.
The organisation has promised to sue hundreds more people in the
coming weeks as it strives to stamp out music piracy it blames for a
three-year slump in CD sales. Critics say the tough crackdown may
prove ineffective. "The real hope here is that people will return to
the record store," said Eric Garland, CEO of BigCampagne LLC, which
tracks peer-to-peer internet trends.
"The biggest question is whether singling out a handful of copyright
infringers will invigorate business or drive file-sharing further
underground, further out of reach."
The RIAA itself was sued today by a California attorney, who accused
the music trade group of "unfair, misleading and fraudulent business
practices" for promoting an amnesty program aimed at music
file-shares.
The RIAA's "Clean Slate" program would allow file-sharers who step
forward and pledge to cease downloading files illegally to avoid being
sued. An RIAA spokesman declined to comment directly on the suit.
But RIAA vice-president Matt Oppenheim defended its policy of legal
action against individuals and said it would continue to pursue users,
no matter how young.
Mr Oppenheim said: "We know that there are a lot of young people who
are using these services and we totally expected that we would end up
targeting them. As we have said from the beginning ... there is no
free pass to engage in music piracy just because you haven't come of
age. We're not surprised and we're not deterred."
"As this case illustrates, parents need to be aware of what their
children are doing on their computers," added Mitch Bainwol, RIAA
chairman and chief executive officer.
US laws allow for damages of between $750 and $150,000 for each song
offered illegally on a person's computer.
In Britain, the British Phonographic Industry has indicated it is
unlikely to follow the US example of pushing for prosecution of music
file-sharers. Its strategy will instead focus on "educating" people to
use legitimate downloading sites that paid royalties to artists.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
http://www.observer.co.uk/
*************From Uncle Yap**************
** Berita Malaysia - Free Malaysian News & Discussion Group **
Archives/manage subscription: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beritamalaysia
Subscribe : Blank e-mail to: beritamalays...@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: Blank e-mail to: beritamalaysi...@yahoogroups.com
** bmalaysia - Just The Malaysian News (Free of charge) **
Archives/manage subscription: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bmalaysia
Subscribe : Blank e-mail to: bmalaysia...@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: Blank e-mail to: bmalaysia-...@yahoogroups.com
Yap Yok Foo
wrote:
>Record labels settle first of file-sharing lawsuits
>Agencies
>
>A group representing major US record labels today reached a $2,000
>(£1,250) settlement with the mother of a 12-year-old girl accused of
>downloading illegal music files.
>From Melbourne Age
It all turns out fine for 12-year-old internet pirate
By David Teather
New York
September 12, 2003
A trade group representing six of the biggest file-sharing websites
have promised to pay a $US2000 ($A3035) fine on behalf of a
12-year-old girl who illegally downloaded music from the internet.
Brianna Lahara of New York - or more precisely, her mother - was fined
as a settlement to a lawsuit by the music industry for illegally
copying and offering pirated music on the internet.
The Recording Industry Association of America said the case was the
first of 261 lawsuits filed in an effort to clamp down on illegal
music-swapping on the internet.
Earlier, music industry officials had agreed to settle a copyright
infringement lawsuit against the 12-year-old for $US2000. She could
have faced fines of up to $US150,000 for each copyright infringement.
In an apparent attempt not to turn Ms Lahara into a cause celebre, the
statement included an apology from her for downloading the music. "I
love music and don't want to hurt the artists I love," she said.
But the P2P United group stepped in, offering to pay the fine.
"We don't condone copyright infringement, but it's time for the RIAA's
winged monkeys to fly back to the castle and leave the Munchkins
alone," said the group's executive director, Adam Eisgrau.
His group, formed in July to protect the rights of people who file
share, represents Streamcast Networks, Grokster, LimeWire, BearShare,
Blubster and EDonkey.
Mr Eisgrau said others charged by the RIAA included a 71-year-old
grandfather and a university student whose father died of cancer
recently.
The RIAA's bid to stem rampant online piracy of copyrighted songs has
been criticised by some as a heavy-handed invasion of privacy that
could alienate music fans.
It had charged that the computer used by the girl offered more than
1000 copyrighted song tracks via the KaZaa file-sharing service.
RIAA chairman Mitch Bainwol said the group was trying to send a
message that the public was not anonymous when participating in file
sharing. "As this case illustrates, parents need to be aware of what
their children are doing on their computers," he said.
Ms Lahara had more than 1000 copyrighted songs stored on her computer
hard drive. By using the desktop file-sharing program, the songs were
available for other users to copy for free.
According to court papers she had copied songs from other computer
users, including Madonna's Material Girl, Dido's Here with Me and
Paula Abdul's Opposites Attract.
- Guardian, AFP