The case in question, Elektra v. Perez, follows the pattern of the numerous other file-sharing lawsuits brought by the RIAA. After MediaSentry discovered a number of songs in a Kazaa user’s download folder, the RIAA filed a “John Doe” lawsuit which was supplanted once the defendant, Dave Perez, was identified by his ISP as the owner of the account allegedly used to share music.
In his response, Perez denied the accusations of file sharing and said that even if he was responsible for the “perez@kazaa” account, merely making the files available in a shared folder for other Kazaa users falls short of infringement.
Judge Aiken ruled in favor of the RIAA. In her order, the judge noted that in a copyright infringement case, the plaintiff needs to do two things: demonstrate ownership of the material and show that the party accused of infringement “violated at least one exclusive right granted to copyright holders under 17 U.S.C. § 106.” Making songs available for download fulfills the second requirement, wrote Judge Aiken.
This appears to be the first instance in which a judge presiding over a file-sharing case has ruled that having a shared folder available on Kazaa constitutes copyright infringement.
our entire economy is becoming one big extortion racket — instead of making better products and selling them, companies now simply shakedown anybody else making money using anything remotely similar or smacking of copyright infringement — no matter how tenuous.
it’s cheaper to sue money out of people than it is earn it apparently — and that’s where the entire american economy is headed.
it sickens me to no end.
13, Intellectual Property does not exist.
You can’t own an idea, or a piece of information. What you can own is the exclusive right to produce a product that is based solely on an idea.
DRM is about piracy? Please… DRM is about when I purchase a product, I have a right to use it in any way that does not involve me reproducing the product. Note that we have a tradition of saying its okay to time shift and space shift for personal use. DRM reflects a completely different attitude that content is licensed, and you NEVER own the things you buy.
I have no interest in licensing property.
13, Intellectual Property does not exist.
You can’t own an idea, or a piece of information. What you can own is the exclusive right to produce a product that is based solely on an idea.
DRM is about piracy? Please… DRM is about when I purchase a product, I have a right to use it in any way that does not involve me reproducing the product. Note that we have a tradition of saying its okay to time shift and space shift for personal use. DRM reflects a completely different attitude that content is licensed, and you NEVER own the things you buy.
Just buy an iPod or some music CD-R’s, people, and keep the receipts.
Since the RIAA receives a portion of the proceeds from the sales of these items, “to offset the ‘losses’ incurred by the horrid crime of illegally sharing music”, having purchased one of these items means you actually have bought a receipt that states that you have already been billed for the privelege of downloading free music, doesn’t it?
Or do you routinely pay good money for things you have no intention of using? ;~D
Support the musical groups you like listening to by buying their albums from them directly, either through their website or from a concert venue.
But whatever you do, stop paying the RIAA principals by buying those dreadfully-overpriced retail CD’s; when you buy a CD from Walmart or Amazon for $18, you are effectively giving the artist less than 5% of the sale price, with the bulk of your cash going to the corporations whose lawyers make up the RIAA!
All that does is enrich these evil corporations that have done their level best to screw over the performers ever since the very beginning of the industry.
So, vote with your pocketbooks, and remember who gets what from those retail CD’s.
(But, if you don’t want to buy an iPod, #15 speaks truth.)
How do those guys on MTV Cribs get those places with just 5% of the retail? The math doesn’t add up.
@36 If an artist sells 3 million cd’s (a conservative figure according to some of the multi-platinum selling artists sales records) 5% of 18 dollars times 3,000,000 is 2,700,000 dollars. then you add the money they make from concerts, appearances, memorabilia, and other means of income and you get the money that they would need for the MTV cribs type of houses. All of that is if they only have one big hit cd. The artists deserve their money, they are the ones who bring us the enjoyment and sometimes the message we are interested in. I don’t steal music nor do I share my music but the cost of manufacturing has dropped to cheaper than that of cassette tapes and we are still paying the price we paid when it was new technology and a CD-R cost 5 dollars instead of 15 cents. If you are looking for ethics in the younger generation I think you should begin to look for it in the older generation first. Is it ethical for a large organization to threaten and sue small children ethical? Is it ethical for companies to make accounting adjustments ala Enron? being unethical in business will get you promoted but if you are unethical when it comes to someone elses business then you have gone to far unless you take the company over in the act. Think historically of all of the unethical acts that lead to our current world and then tell me that the younger generation is to blame.
“How do those guys on MTV Cribs get those places with just 5% of the retail? The math doesn’t add up.”
Because they get huge advances. Sony will give an artist a million bucks to sign to their label. But the artist then has to pay it back with CD sales. If the CD doesn’t sell they still owe the money back, it was an advance of a payment, not a payment itself.
The artist is generally too stupid to recognize the difference. He or she has a million bucks and starts to blow it immediately.
Plus they get money for concerts, endorsement deals, TV appearances, etc.
OK RIAA, you win. I used to listen to Internet radio and buy CDs of music I like. Until you finish your death spiral, I’ll dispense with the “buy CDs” part.