Recording Industry Sues 762 for Net Music Swaps

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A recording-industry trade group said on Thursday it had filed a new round of lawsuits against 762 people it suspects of distributing its songs for free over Internet "peer to peer" networks like Kazaa and eDonkey. The Recording Industry Association of America has now sued roughly 5,400 people over the past year in an effort to discourage the online song copying that it believes has cut into CD sales.

"We want music fans to enjoy music online, but in a fashion that compensates everyone who worked to create that music," RIAA President Cary Sherman said in a statement. Among those sued were students at 26 different colleges and universities, where the prevalence of high-speed networks and cash-poor music fans has led to an explosion of peer-to-peer traffic.

News source: Reuters

Cont...

Currently SCi has released no details of what it's planning to do with Highlander, but creative director Patrick O'Luanaigh weighed in with his thoughts on the franchise, which the company clearly reckons has a lot of potential. You can see his point, too - it is, after all, a game about scary men with big swords hacking each other up.

"There are so many great opportunities with such a rich licence as the Highlander franchise," O'Luanaigh commented. "We will be working closely with Peter Davis and Bill Panzer to develop the Highlander universe further. The concept is ideal for a game."

It's not yet clear whether there will "be only one" Highlander game, but there will be only one 'be only one' gag in this item. Except those two. Ignore 'em. And expect to hear more about Highlander soon.

#1 glitch409 on 30 Sep 2004 - 20:50

first post

#2 moeburn on 30 Sep 2004 - 21:01

What is the value of this newspost? A reminder? Fanning the flames of hatrid?

(1 reply) #3 Xylene on 30 Sep 2004 - 21:04

Everyone must love the RIAA for sueing little kids who don't know any better.

#3.1 helloalexb on 30 Sep 2004 - 21:06

here here to that =D

#4 =Perihelion= on 30 Sep 2004 - 21:05

poor kittens...

#5 scoobydoobie on 30 Sep 2004 - 21:07

Then those little kids better get on the fast track to education. It's the way things are going. Bitch and moan all you want, there is no stopping "illegal" downloading.

The sooner people get this thru thier heads the better off they will be.
There are enough legit online music stores that offer "most" everyones tastes in music. The debate is over. get over it and get on with it.

#6 ripgut on 30 Sep 2004 - 21:27

This is why i only support artists from my hometown and surrounding area ( northern Kalifornia) these new fake artists now suck imho theres no such thing as true R&B anymore let alone hip or "rap" and there jsut doing this to get paid more saying the "artists are suffering from thie "file sharing" but has anyone watched MTV cribs? i have to differ when they say there suffering.

DMX quit rapping because he doesnt own the music he was making anymore its the record companies property now. and for this i respect him sooo much

(5 replies) #7 TGD on 30 Sep 2004 - 22:19

It's very easy to blame the RIAA, and I hate their tactics, but there's no getting away from the fact it is illegal. People act like they have a right to download muic for free just because it has become common. I download tons of MP3s, but I'm in no illusions about the fact it's illegal

#7.1 Darkinspiration on 30 Sep 2004 - 22:27

it's quite legal for me for i live in canada and i pay taxes on my cdroms ... so as long as i dont profit from it i can download all i want.

#7.2 neo_joel on 30 Sep 2004 - 23:01

Ahhh how i love being canadian

#7.3 YaddaMe on 01 Oct 2004 - 10:55

Remember however that Canada has not ever ruled that sharing/uploading is legal. Downloading is fine according to the rulings, but no where has it been established that uploading is legal as well.
There has been so much false reporting of the Canadian rulings that many people actually think it's ok to upload/share...

#7.4 IceCube on 01 Oct 2004 - 14:23

Canada HAS in fact ruled that sharing IS legal. In fact there are 2 rullings: one that says downloading for personal use is legal and more recently another ruling, that is expected to be apealled, that says sharing IS also legal. Here's an article that confirms it:

http://news.com.com/Judge+File+sharing+legal+in+Canada/2100-1027_3-5182641.html?tag=nl

#7.5 YaddaMe on 01 Oct 2004 - 20:43

Like I stated... false reporting.

The case you link to didn't ever get to the point of ruling on file-sharing, they merely denied the CRIA authorization to identify 29 alleged file swappers, due to the CRIA's weak evidence. They ruled that putting a file in a shared folder did not constitute sharing & was dismissed at that time.

Yes, there have been ruling that downloading is legal, and yes the case mentioned above stated that just b/c a file is in a shared folder does not mean it's being shared... however the case never dealt with the legalities whether actually sharing was legal or not.

No doubt it was a blow to the CRIA, but they'll learn from their mistakes, take von Finckenstein's comments, and do a better job next go-round. Next time they'll download the file themselves & prove that the person was actually sharing and the case will actually get heard.

The court may rule in favor of the file-sharers, but have not done so to this point.

So again, Canada has not ever ruled that sharing/uploading is legal. And until that time, Canadians are not in the clear, despite what misleading/false article titles may say.

Downloading is legal, putting a file in your shared folder is legal, but allowing someone to download the files is an unknown at this time, as no Candian case has reached the point to deciding that last issue.

Last edited by 10547 on 01 Oct 2004 - 20:58

(1 reply) #8 PlainLazy on 30 Sep 2004 - 23:05

Does anyone have any statistics showing that cd sales have gone up, since the RIAA started sueing people? I doubt there would be much of a difference, people will only find other ways to get their music

#8.1 sigloiv on 01 Oct 2004 - 01:46

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A34300-2004Mar29?

There it is. File sharing is no threat to music sales. I got a million more if anyone wants them.

#9 NinjaGinger on 30 Sep 2004 - 23:57

Under talented and overpriced. Thats what should be sorted first.

#10 ups_slave on 01 Oct 2004 - 01:51

Why is it when you buy a item and its not what you expect you can return it for a full refund but when you crack the seal on music and it sux your just plain screwed ? fix that and you will at least start to will the swap wars.

#11 nX07 on 01 Oct 2004 - 03:24

Like Ice-Cube says

..
**** THE POL ---- RIAA!!

#12 krzystealth on 01 Oct 2004 - 06:10

I don't download movies or music. Is it because I'm afraid of the consequences? Hell no. The vast majority of it is trash anyway. I have to assume filesharing has helped more than it has hurt. Afterall, its free marketing research!

QUOTE

cash-poor music fans has led to an explosion of peer-to-peer traffic

RIAA Quote: Perfect, lets go after those people. They can't afford our ****ty music anyway!

#13 Jugalator on 01 Oct 2004 - 06:30

*pisses on RIAA and happily proceeds to legally download copyrighted music*

#14 Checky on 01 Oct 2004 - 13:27

Just out of curiousity... is there a list online of all the artists they allegedly look after? and can they only sue the people that download one of the artists songs on their list.. or can they just sue anyone who shares any type of music?

#15 cyruspoonawala on 01 Oct 2004 - 13:35

when will RIAA learn.....:

US courts affirm Kazaa 100% legal!
The 9th Circuit Appeal Court declared that p2p software does not infringe US copyright laws. READ MORE!

burn in hell RIAA...i bet the owner even uses kazaa or another p2p proggy