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Copyright Infringement

RIAA Sues Another 751 File-Swappers for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 16, 2005 - 8:53am.
Washington - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sued another 751 alleged music file-swappers for copyright infringement. The "John Doe" defendants named in the suits included students at Harvard, USC and Drexel. The RIAA said it also filed 105 new lawsuits against defendants whose identities were revealed by their Internet service providers through previous "John Doe" actions. "The end of the year is an especially important time for the music community, and an especially fortunate time for music fans, with a great slate of new releases in stores," said RIAA president Cary Sherman. "We must do everything to protect the integrity of the marketplace. That means educating fans about steering clear of pirated product and continuing to enforce our rights to send a clear message that stealing music will bring consequences." To date, the recording industry has sued more than 17,000 file-swappers for copyright infringement.
tags: Law | RIAA | File-Swappers | Copyright Infringement |

Hong Kong BitTorrent User Convicted of Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 25, 2005 - 7:03am.
Hong Kong - In the world's first copyright infringement case involving the BitTorrenet peer-to-peer file-sharing network, a Hong Kong man has been convicted of copyright infringement for uploading several movies to the Internet, according to a report in The China Post. Thirty-eight year-old Chan Nai-Ming was arrested in January on charges he offered films including "Daredevil," Miss Congeniality" and "Red Planet" on BitTorrent. Chan pleaded not guilty, but was convicted on Monday after a four-day trial; he will be sentenced on Nov. 7. A customs spokesman told The China Post that the department was "delighted" with the outcome, and that it has seen a "sharp fall" in the use of BitTorrent to upload movies since the case.
tags: Law | BitTorrent | Hong Kong | Copyright Infringement |

RIAA Sues Another 757 File-Swappers for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 30, 2005 - 3:32am.
Los Angeles - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sued another 757 suspected Internet song-swappers for copyright infringement. Among those sued were 64 allegedly trading songs on college campus computer networks, including some using the i2hub service on the ultra-fast Internet2 network. This latest round of lawsuits brings the total number of individuals the RIAA has sued over file-sharing to over 14,800. In addition to the "John Doe" defendants sued in the latest batch of lawsuits, the RIAA said it filed copyright infringement lawsuits against 163 individuals earlier this month who were identified by their ISPs through previous "John Doe" lawsuits. In the wake of a recent Supreme Court ruling that found providers of file-sharing software also liable for copyright infringement, the RIAA has also recently sent letters threatening legal action against seven of the most popular file-sharing firms, prompting WinMX to shut down and eDonkey to announce plans to convert to a legal, for-pay service.
tags: Law | RIAA | Sues | File-Swappers | Copyright Infringement |

Record Labels Sue Chinese Search Engine Baidu for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 16, 2005 - 10:36am.
New York -- The world's four major record labels (EMI, Sony BMG, Universal, Warner) have sued Baidu.com, China's most popular Internet search engine, for copyright infringement, alleging the site provides illegal links to free music downloads, Reuters reported. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) told Reuters three of the suits were filed in July in Beijing, with Sony BMG filed its suit earlier this month. Baidu, which saw its share price rise from $27 to $122 on the day of its initial public offering on the Nasdaq in August, has since lost a third of its market value -- blamed largely on the company's overvaluation.
tags: Law | Sue | Copyright Infringement | Baidu | Record Labels | Chinese Search Engine |

Aussie Court: Kazaa Guilty of Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 6, 2005 - 6:27am.
Sydney -- An Australian federal court has ruled that Sharman Networks, distributor of the Kazaa file-sharing application, is guilty of copyright infringement and must filter out copyrighted songs traded on its peer-to-peer network within two months. Federal Court Justice Murray Wilcox said in his ruling that it was in the financial interest of Sharman "to maximize, not minimize, music file-sharing," and ordered Australia-based Sharman, U.S.-based partner Altnet and several other defendants to pay 90% of the music industry's court costs. A separate hearing will be held to determine copyright infringement damages against Sharman and its partners. "On the heels of the unanimous Grokster ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, this decision reflects a growing, international chorus: those who promote theft can be held accountable no matter how they may attempt to escape responsibility. A corrupt business strategy of attempting to hide 'off-shore' is not off-limits to the enforcement of rights by creators or law enforcement," said RIAA CEO Mitch Bainwol. Sharman plans to appeal the ruling. "While the judgment has yet to be studied in detail, Sharman Networks is obviously disappointed with the decision. However, we will appeal this decision vigorously and are confident that we will win on appeal," the company said in a statement.
tags: Law | Copyright Infringement | Kazaa | Aussie Court | Guilty |

RIAA Sues Another 754 Song-Swappers for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 1, 2005 - 6:50am.
Los Angeles -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced on Wednesday that it has sued another 754 individuals for copyright infringement of songs on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. The "John Doe" lawsuits, filed in federal courts in California, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C., will seek to obtain the identities of individuals from their Internet service providers. The industry's last wave of 765 file-swapper lawsuits was filed in late July; defendants have usually settled with the record labels for between $3,000 and $5,000 each. The RIAA has now sued over 14,000 individuals since launching its legal anti-piracy campaign in Sept. 2003.
tags: Law | RIAA | Sues | Copyright Infringement | Song-Swappers |

RIAA Sues Another 754 Song-Swappers for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 31, 2005 - 4:43am.
Los Angeles -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced on Wednesday that it has sued another 754 individuals for copyright infringement of songs on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. The "John Doe" lawsuits, filed in federal courts in California, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C., will seek to obtain the identities of individuals from their Internet service providers. The industry's last wave of 765 file-swapper lawsuits was filed in late July; defendants have usually settled with the record labels for between $3,000 and $5,000 each. The RIAA has now sued over 14,000 individuals since launching its legal anti-piracy campaign in Sept. 2003.
tags: Law | RIAA | Copyright Infringement | Song-Swappers |

Aussie Court Convicts MP3 Site Operator, ISP of Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 14, 2005 - 10:02am.
Sydney -- An Australian federal court has convicted both an operator of a site that linked to free MP3 files and his ISP of copyright infringement, ZDNet reported. The major record labels sued MP3s4free.net operator Stephen Cooper, his ISP Comcen, and other parties in October 2003 for operating the site, and for collaborating with one another to improve the site's traffic and increase ad revenue. Australian Federal Court Justice Brian Tamberlin on Thursday ruled against Cooper; Comcen; a Comcen employee; Comcen's parent company, E-Talk Communications; and a director of both companies. "This is a very significant blow in the war against piracy," said Michael Kern, general manager of the Australian trade group Music Industry Piracy Investigations. "The court has found against all the respondents. It sends the message that ISPs who involve themselves in copyright infringement can be found guilty…The verdict showed that employees of ISPs who engage in piracy can be seen in the eyes of the court as guilty."
tags: Law | ISP | Copyright Infringement | Aussie Court | MP3 Site Operator |

RIAA Sues Another 717 Alleged Song-Swappers for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 31, 2005 - 5:04am.
Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced last week that it has sued another 717 alleged music file-swappers for copyright infringement. The "John Doe" lawsuits, filed to obtain the identities of peer-to-peer users from their Internet service providers, include 68 directed at individuals on 23 college campuses. "In a world that is becoming more and more connected through the wonders of digital technology, students need to understand that just because someone else’s property or creations can be obtained easily and freely without anyone seemingly knowing, there are consequences because it is stealing," said RIAA general counsel Steven Marks. The latest batch of lawsuits follows on several hundred filed by the RIAA in December, and brings the total number of individuals sued by the RIAA for copyright infringement on file-sharing services to nearly 8,500.
tags: RIAA | Sues | Copyright Infringement | Song-Swappers |

RIAA Sues Another 754 Music File-Swappers for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 17, 2004 - 10:45am.
Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced on Friday that it has sued another 754 alleged Internet song-swappers for copyright infringement, bringing the total number of individuals sued by the group to over 7,000. The "John Doe" suits, which will seek to obtain the identities of the peer-to-peer users from their Internet service providers, were served against individuals in seven states and the District of Columbia, including students at Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and four other schools. "With legal online retailers still forced to compete against illegal free networks, the playing field remains decidedly unbalanced," said RIAA president Cary Sherman. "That's why continued enforcement against individuals stealing and distributing music illegally is essential, as is holding accountable the businesses that intentionally promote and profit from this theft." The RIAA is currently embroiled in an Australian copyright case against Sharman Networks, operator of the Kazaa file-sharing exchange, and recently received word that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear its appeal of a federal court ruling that found file-sharing networks are not liable for any copyright infringement committed by users of their software.
tags: Music | RIAA | Copyright Infringement | Music File-Swappers |

RIAA Sues Another 750 Alleged Song-Swappers for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 29, 2004 - 4:27am.
Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced on Friday that it has sued another 750 alleged music file-swappers for copyright infringement, including 25 users from 13 different universities. In addition to the 750 "John Doe" lawsuits filed to obtain file-swappers' identities from their Internet service providers, the RIAA said it filed 213 separate lawsuits against defendants in 34 states and the District of Columbia identified through previous "John Doe" suits who declined or ignored an RIAA settlement offer. The RIAA has now sued a total of over 6,100 individual file-swappers for copyright infringement. The students targeted by the RIAA on Friday include some studying at Iowa State University, Ohio State University, Grinnell College and Indiana State University. "In order for legitimate services to continue their growth, we cannot ignore those who take and distribute music illegally," said RIAA president Cary Sherman. "There must be consequences to breaking the law or illegal downloading will cripple the music community's ability to support itself now or invest in the future." The RIAA also announced this week that CD shipments increased 10.2% in the first half of 2004.
tags: Law | RIAA | Sues | Copyright Infringement | Song-Swappers |

European Record Labels Sue 459 File-Swappers for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2004 - 2:51am.
London -- In the first major music industry action against peer-to-peer file-swappers in Europe, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announced on Thursday that record labels have sued 459 individuals in six countries for copyright infringement. For the first time, file-swappers in the U.K. and France were sued; residents of Italy, Denmark, Germany and Austria were also targeted with a combination of criminal and civil actions. In the U.K., the British Phonographic Industry said it sued 28 individuals, while in France 50 music uploaders were sued. "We are taking this action as a last resort and we are doing it after a very long public awareness campaign," said IFPI chairman and CEO Jay Berman. "Now, finally, we are at the point where the law has to be enforced. There is quite simply no longer any excuse for illegally file-sharing. People who love music should buy it online and not swap files illegally." The IFPI said that the first wave of European suits in March against file-swappers in Germany and Denmark have resulted in 80 settlements for amounts up to $15,000. The IFPI's counterpart in the U.S., the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), has now sued over 5,700 file-swappers for copyright infringement.
tags: Law | Sues | File-Swappers | Copyright Infringement | European Record Labels |

RIAA Sues Another 762 Suspected File-Swappers for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 1, 2004 - 3:27am.
Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced that it has sued another 762 individuals suspected of copyright infringement on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, bringing the total number of people the record label trade group has filed suit against to nearly 5,400. Those sued as "John Doe" defendants, whose identities must be provided my their Internet service providers, included students at 26 colleges; the RIAA also said it sued 68 defendants whose identities had been revealed as a result of past "John Doe" suits, and had declined out of court settlements. The RIAA has offered to settle its copyright infringement suits against file-swappers for an average of $5,000 each. Since a landmark ruling that found companies distributing file-sharing software are not liable for copyright infringement, the recording and motion picture industries have sought to lobby lawmakers for new laws enabling them to sue companies like Kazaa's Sharman Networks. Other proposed legislation would empower the FBI to take action against file-swappers who share over 1,000 songs, providing a penalty of up to three years in prison.
tags: Law | RIAA | Sues | File-Swappers | Copyright Infringement |

Appeals Court Says "Unrecognizable" Sample is Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 9, 2004 - 4:59am.
Cincinnati -- The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati has ruled that any "sample," or piece of one song that is used in a new work -- even if the sample is unrecognizable -- should be licensed, and if not amounts to copyright infringement, the Associated Press reported. "If you cannot pirate the whole sound recording, can you 'lift' or 'sample' something less than the whole? Our answer to that question is in the negative," the court said. "Get a license or do not sample. We do not see this as stifling creativity in any significant way." The case involved a sample of a guitar riff from Funkadelic's "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" that was sampled in the NWA song "100 Miles and Runnin," and eventually appeared in the 1998 movie "I Got the Hook Up" from rapper Master P. The two-second guitar sample was lowered in pitch and looped for the NWA version, to the point that it was not recognizable, according to the court, which still likened the unlicensed sample to copyright infringement. The 6th Circuit remanded the case back to the lower court.
tags: Law | Copyright Infringement | Appeals Court | Unrecognizable Sample |

RIAA Sues Another 482 Song-Swappers for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 22, 2004 - 8:12am.
Los Angeles -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on Tuesday filed another 482 copyright infringement lawsuits against alleged music file-swappers, bringing the total number of individuals sued since the group began its legal campaign a year ago to 3,429. The new lawsuits were filed against "John Doe" subscribers to Internet service providers, and included 206 in Washington, D.C., 213 in St. Louis, 55 in Denver and six in New Jersey. The "John Doe" suits against individual defendants are a step the RIAA must now take in order to compel ISPs to identify their accused customers. Most defendants have settled their cases with the RIAA out of court, agreeing to pay an average of $3,000 to have charges dropped. "Illegal downloading continues to cause enormous harm to the entire music community," said RIAA general counsel Steven Marks. "We must stay on the path of education, enforcement, and offering great legal services."
tags: Law | RIAA | Sues | Copyright Infringement | Song-Swappers |