Music Industry Warns File Swappers
IM feature in popular swapping apps used to send piracy warning.
Joris Evers, IDG News Service
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
Expanding its battle against online piracy, the recording industry is using
the instant messaging feature in file-swapping software to tell users that
sharing copyright protected music is illegal.
Recording industry groups, including the Recording Industry Association of
America, the American Federation of Musicians, and the Christian Music Trade
Association, started sending long messages headlined "COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
WARNING" on Tuesday, according to an RIAA statement.
In the message, file sharers are told they are not anonymous, that they risk
"legal penalties" and that their actions hurt songwriters, musicians, and
all music industry employees. Furthermore, the message warns that
file-swapping applications may make a PC vulnerable to hacker attacks and
expose private files.
Educational Efforts
Sending these messages is part of the recording industry's "educational
efforts," the RIAA said. Many users of applications such as Kazaa, Morpheus,
and Grokster may be under the mistaken impression that anything they do on
these systems is legal, the RIAA said. However, some users may never get the
recording industry's message, as it is simple to turn off messaging in
Kazaa.
The messaging action comes in the wake of a court ruling last week that two
providers of free file-swapping software can't be held liable for the
copyright infringing actions of their users, a major setback in the
recording industry's fight against file sharing.
The industry appears to be stepping up its actions against individual file
swappers, even though analysts have said that suing individual users may
backfire. Earlier this month the RIAA sued four students who allegedly ran
file-sharing networks on their school's local networks.
The RIAA and other entertainment industry organizations have been battling
online piracy in court for years. They compare online sharing of copyright
protected music, movies, and software to shoplifting.
Getting the Message
The full message sent by the recording industry:
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT WARNING:
It appears that you are offering copyrighted music to others from your
computer. Distributing or downloading copyrighted music on the Internet
without permission from the copyright owner is ILLEGAL. It hurts songwriters
who create and musicians who perform the music you love, and all the other
people who bring you music.
When you break the law, you risk legal penalties. There is a simple way to
avoid that risk: DON'T STEAL MUSIC, either by offering it to others to copy
or downloading it on a "file-sharing" system like this.
When you offer music on these systems, you are not anonymous and you can
easily be identified. You also may have unlocked and exposed your computer
and your private files to anyone on the Internet. Don't take these chances.
Disable the share feature or uninstall your "file-sharing" software. For
more information on how, go to
http://www.musicunited.net/5_takeoff.html.
This warning comes from artists, songwriters, musicians, music publishers,
record labels, and hundreds of thousands of people who work at creating and
distributing the music you enjoy. We are unable to receive direct replies to
this message. For more information about this Copyright Warning, go to
www.musicunited.net. http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/...043003X,00.asp 
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