本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Recording industry targets 532 people in renewed push against music piracy
By Mike Freeman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 22, 2004
The recording industry turned up the volume yesterday on its campaign against music piracy, targeting 532 more people for copyright infringement lawsuits.
The renewed push by the Recording Industry Association of America comes just a few days after an industry research firm reported a surge in illegal music downloads over the Internet.
Record companies also are charging ahead despite a federal court ruling in December that made uncovering the names of alleged music pirates more difficult.
"I think this round of lawsuits is a pretty strong statement by the recording industry that they are serious about this," said Michael Cohen, a lawyer with Heller Ehrman in Washington, D.C., who works on music copyright issues.
The latest round of lawsuits continues the recording industry's crackdown on song swappers. Since September, the industry had filed 382 lawsuits targeting those who share music over the Internet for free.
All but a few dozen have settled or are in the process of doing so, according to industry officials. The average settlement amount is $3,000 per person.
Civil court actions filed yesterday in New York and Washington, D.C., targeted what the recording industry called "egregious uploaders" – people who, on average, make more than 850 free songs available on peer-to-peer filing sharing sites such as Kazaa and Grokster.
The people were not identified by name but by Internet Protocol number. The record companies expect to subpoena Internet service providers to get the names and addresses of alleged pirates in coming weeks.
The Recording Industry Association represents big record labels. Some industry analysts believed the companies would begin to cool their crusade against music pirates – in part because of evidence that it has been working.
A survey conducted in December by the Pew Internet Project found that peer-to-peer song swapping dropped 50 percent since May. The industry's own surveys say public awareness that getting music for free online violates copyright law has nearly doubled.
But a poll released this month found that file sharing was making a comeback.
According to research firm NPD Group, the number of U.S. households downloading music from peer-to-peer networks rose 6 percent in October and 7 percent in November.
Record company officials said the new data played no part in the decision to push head with more lawsuits. They contend the suits were filed as part of an ongoing effort to stem music piracy.
CD sales have dropped for four straight years, and record companies blame illegal song swapping over the Internet. The industry claims music pirates cost it $700 million a year.
"This debate isn't digital vs. plastic," said Mitch Bainwol, chief executive the Recording Industry Association. "It isn't old vs. new. Here's what it is: Legitimate vs. illegitimate."
In the spring, record companies endorsed legal online music with the launch of with Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store, which sells downloads for 99 cents each.
Since then, a host of other companies have begun selling music online, including Dell, Napster and San Diego's MusicMatch. More than 19 million songs have been sold on these legal online music services since June, according to Nielsen Soundscan, a market research firm.
In the new round of lawsuits, legal experts expect that once record companies uncover downloaders' identities, they'll refile suits near where the people live. The alleged pirates could be anywhere since many Internet service providers operate nationwide.
"Ultimately, there may be lawsuits all across the country," said Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association.
Up until December, the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act allowed record companies simply to issue subpoenas stamped by a court clerk through a special process available to digital copyright owners to uncover the names of suspected pirates.
But the legal strategy was sidelined when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the industry must file full-blown lawsuits and convince judges to compel Internet service providers to hand over the identities of downloaders.
Because it is now harder for the record companies to round up identities of file sharers, they may be less likely to settle cases for $3,000 as they did before, industry officials said.
But they will try to make a deal. Once they uncover the name of an alleged pirate, they'll offer to settle before amending the lawsuit to include the person's name, said Sherman, the association president.
"Our enforcement program has been ongoing for many months and awareness that this activity is illegal has skyrocketed," said Sherman. "Illegal file sharers can't so easily claim ignorance now."更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
By Mike Freeman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 22, 2004
The recording industry turned up the volume yesterday on its campaign against music piracy, targeting 532 more people for copyright infringement lawsuits.
The renewed push by the Recording Industry Association of America comes just a few days after an industry research firm reported a surge in illegal music downloads over the Internet.
Record companies also are charging ahead despite a federal court ruling in December that made uncovering the names of alleged music pirates more difficult.
"I think this round of lawsuits is a pretty strong statement by the recording industry that they are serious about this," said Michael Cohen, a lawyer with Heller Ehrman in Washington, D.C., who works on music copyright issues.
The latest round of lawsuits continues the recording industry's crackdown on song swappers. Since September, the industry had filed 382 lawsuits targeting those who share music over the Internet for free.
All but a few dozen have settled or are in the process of doing so, according to industry officials. The average settlement amount is $3,000 per person.
Civil court actions filed yesterday in New York and Washington, D.C., targeted what the recording industry called "egregious uploaders" – people who, on average, make more than 850 free songs available on peer-to-peer filing sharing sites such as Kazaa and Grokster.
The people were not identified by name but by Internet Protocol number. The record companies expect to subpoena Internet service providers to get the names and addresses of alleged pirates in coming weeks.
The Recording Industry Association represents big record labels. Some industry analysts believed the companies would begin to cool their crusade against music pirates – in part because of evidence that it has been working.
A survey conducted in December by the Pew Internet Project found that peer-to-peer song swapping dropped 50 percent since May. The industry's own surveys say public awareness that getting music for free online violates copyright law has nearly doubled.
But a poll released this month found that file sharing was making a comeback.
According to research firm NPD Group, the number of U.S. households downloading music from peer-to-peer networks rose 6 percent in October and 7 percent in November.
Record company officials said the new data played no part in the decision to push head with more lawsuits. They contend the suits were filed as part of an ongoing effort to stem music piracy.
CD sales have dropped for four straight years, and record companies blame illegal song swapping over the Internet. The industry claims music pirates cost it $700 million a year.
"This debate isn't digital vs. plastic," said Mitch Bainwol, chief executive the Recording Industry Association. "It isn't old vs. new. Here's what it is: Legitimate vs. illegitimate."
In the spring, record companies endorsed legal online music with the launch of with Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store, which sells downloads for 99 cents each.
Since then, a host of other companies have begun selling music online, including Dell, Napster and San Diego's MusicMatch. More than 19 million songs have been sold on these legal online music services since June, according to Nielsen Soundscan, a market research firm.
In the new round of lawsuits, legal experts expect that once record companies uncover downloaders' identities, they'll refile suits near where the people live. The alleged pirates could be anywhere since many Internet service providers operate nationwide.
"Ultimately, there may be lawsuits all across the country," said Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association.
Up until December, the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act allowed record companies simply to issue subpoenas stamped by a court clerk through a special process available to digital copyright owners to uncover the names of suspected pirates.
But the legal strategy was sidelined when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the industry must file full-blown lawsuits and convince judges to compel Internet service providers to hand over the identities of downloaders.
Because it is now harder for the record companies to round up identities of file sharers, they may be less likely to settle cases for $3,000 as they did before, industry officials said.
But they will try to make a deal. Once they uncover the name of an alleged pirate, they'll offer to settle before amending the lawsuit to include the person's name, said Sherman, the association president.
"Our enforcement program has been ongoing for many months and awareness that this activity is illegal has skyrocketed," said Sherman. "Illegal file sharers can't so easily claim ignorance now."更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net