RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events The RIAA vs. File Sharing

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From PC World Technology:

RIAA Targets Individual Music File Swappers

Paul Roberts, IDG News Service

The Recording Industry Association of America Inc. (RIAA) will soon begin gathering evidence for use in what could be "thousands of lawsuits" against individual music file swappers, the organization said Wednesday.

In a statement, the RIAA cited its efforts to educate the public about the illegality of file swapping and the easy availability of extensive legal downloading services as precursors to its new effort to target individual file swappers who, it contends, are engaged in piracy.

"We cannot stand by while piracy takes a devastating toll on artists, musicians, songwriters, retailers, and everyone in the music industry," the RIAA said in its statement.

Seeking Out Swappers

The industry association will use software that can scan peer-to-peer networks for copyrighted material and download the suspect files while also capturing the date and time of the download as evidence. Additional information obtained from the systems hosting the files will lead the RIAA to the Internet service provider (ISP) of the file swapper.

Those ISPs will then be served with subpoenas under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (news - web sites) (DMCA), requiring them to divulge the name and address of the individual hosting the files, the RIAA said.

Individuals who are found to be swapping copyrighted material could face legal action from the RIAA in the form of civil lawsuits or even criminal prosecution, according to a statement attributed to RIAA president Cary Sherman.

The decision to pursue legal action against individuals is just the latest move by the RIAA to turn up the heat on file swappers on peer-to-peer networks such as Kazaa and Grokster.

In April, the group won a court case forcing Verizon Internet Services to turn over the names of customers who downloaded hundreds of songs over a P-to-P network. The company later turned over the names of four alleged music downloaders.

Given the group's focus on online music swapping, the threat of mass lawsuits shouldn't be surprising, according to one legal expert.

"It's a time-honored American tradition to threaten to sue someone," said Jonathan Zittrain, of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.

The recent court ruling against Verizon will embolden the RIAA to seek customer information from other ISPs, he said.

Threats or Promises?

The RIAA may seek out swappers, but Zittrain said that he considers the prospect thousands of lawsuits unlikely.

"We're probably talking about thousands of threats [of lawsuits]," Zittrain said.

Given the "con" of getting sued and the intangible "pro" of sharing files on line, however, many Internet users may eventually decide to avoid P-to-P networks, he said.

The recording industry sees the current fight, coupled with such tentative efforts at online distribution as Apple Computers' popular ITunes Music Store, as key to its survival, Zittrain said.

"They are against the wall. I think they really believe that if they don't play a strong hand, with defensive moves like [the lawsuits] and offensive moves like ITunes, they're gone," he said.

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From LAUNCH Entertainment News:

Crow, Blige, Dixie Chicks, Carlton, Others Back RIAA's Plan To Sue File Traders

The Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) is vowing to sue those who illegally download music, and some of the biggest names in music are supporting the idea. In a statement issued on Wednesday (June 25), RIAA President Cary Sherman warned, "This activity is illegal, you are not anonymous when you do it, and engaging in it can have real consequences."

Sherman says the RIAA has begun gathering evidence against swappers, and expects to begin filing suits as early as mid-August.

Several big-name artists have issued statements supporting the RIAA's harsh stance against file swapping. Grammy-winner Sheryl Crow said, "Music fans cannot expect their favorite musicians to continue to produce quality albums if they are not willing to pay. People, including musicians, expect to be rewarded for a job well done. It's all about supply and demand. If there is not demand, there will eventually be no supply."

Mary J. Blige said, "If you create something and then someone takes it without your permission, that is stealing. It may sound harsh, but it is true."

According to the Dixie Chicks, "It may seem innocent enough, but every time you illegally download music a songwriter doesn't get paid. And, every time you swap that music with your friends a new artist doesn't get a chance. Respect the artists you love by not stealing their music."

Vanessa Carlton said, "I'm all for getting a taste of something before you buy it, but when it becomes more than a taste and people begin hoarding the entire work, it becomes piracy which results in a system in which artists are not being rewarded for their works."

Other artists siding with the RIAA include Brooks & Dunn, Mandy Moore, Shakira, Peter Gabriel, and songwriter Lamont Dozier.

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Originally posted by Stupid Dogg:

I posted something like this not too long ago...

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From The Electronic Frontier Foundation:

How Not To Get Sued By The RIAA For File-Sharing
(And Other Ideas to Avoid Being Treated Like a Criminal)

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced on June 25, 2003, that it will begin suing users of peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing systems within the next few weeks. According to the announcement, the RIAA will be targeting users who upload/share "substantial" amounts of copyrighted music. The RIAA has stated that it will choose who to sue by using software that scans users' publicly available P2P directories and then identifies the ISP of each user. Then, using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the RIAA will subpoena the ISP for each user's name, address, and other personal information in order to sue that user.

While there is no way to know exactly what the RIAA is going to do, who it is going to sue, or even how much music qualifies as a "substantial" amount, users of P2P networks can take the following steps to reduce their chances of being sued:

Either:

- Make sure there are no potentially infringing files in your shared folder. This would ordinarily mean that your shared folder contains only files 1) that are in the public domain, 2) for which you have permission to share, or 3) that are made available under pro-sharing licenses, such as the Creative Commons license or other open media licenses, and

- Remove all potentially misleading file names that might be confused with the name of an RIAA artist or song (e.g., "Usher" or "Madonna") from your shared folder.

Or:

Disable the "sharing" or "uploading" features on your P2P application that allow other users on the network to get copies of files from your computer or scan any of your music directories. We hate this option, but it does appear that it will reduce your chances of becoming an RIAA target right now. For instructions on how to do this for particular applications, EFF suggests (but cannot guarantee) the following links:

• Grokster
• Morpheus
• KaZaA
• Aimster/Madster for Windows or Aimster/Madster for Mac
• Mactella
• Gnucleus
• Gnotella
• LimeWire for Mac or LimeWire for Windows
• BearShare
• iMesh
• WinMX

If you receive notice that your ISP has been subpoenaed for your name and address, consider contacting www.subpoenadefense.org, where you can find information about how to defend your privacy and a list of attorneys willing to help.

Contact your ISP and ask the people there to notify you immediately if they receive a subpoena seeking your identity.

If you receive a cease and desist letter from the RIAA, consider contacting Chilling Effects, where EFF and several law school clinics are creating a gallery of cease and desist letters along with basic information about the claims being made and your rights online.

Don’t like the idea of turning off file-sharing or changing your file names to prevent stupid robots or RIAA employees from mistaking your files for infringements?

Neither do we!

Join EFF's campaign to make file-sharing legal while getting artists paid:

• Contact your Congressional Representative and demand that Congress hold immediate hearings on ways to save P2P technology and file-sharing while ensuring that artists get paid.
• Learn more about alternatives. EFF's peer-to-peer web pages gather together some of the best ideas and describe how similar sorts of technology changes have been handled in the past.
• Tell a friend, family member, colleague or even stranger on the street about the damage that the RIAA is doing to the Internet, innovation, and consumer choice. There are over 57 million Americans who use P2P file-sharing -- more than voted for President Bush -- and millions more worldwide -- so chances are good that the person sitting next to you on the bus, walking beside you on the sidewalk or driving in the car in front of you is using file-sharing, too. Start the conversation.

Join EFF and support our efforts to protect file-sharing.

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Peter Gabriel

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Originally posted by Wednesday:

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Originally posted by Stupid Dogg:

I posted something like this not too long ago...

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Sorry Dogg, didn't know. I would've just amended to that thread.

Dogg's Thread

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its ok, ya don't gotta link to it. this threads better anyways

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Originally posted by Dave:

Isn't the way around it to go with an overseas ISP? How are they going to track you down if your ISP is in China (as mine is)?

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From USA Today:

Net services promise anonymous file sharing -- eventually

Jefferson Graham USA TODAY

With the record industry preparing to sue its customers -- at least those who download without paying -- now comes the next step: file-sharing services that promise to keep users anonymous.

Recording Industry Association of America officials say they can find any song swapper on services such as Kazaa and Grokster using simple tracking software. But new services such as Earth Station 5 and eDonkey2000 say they can protect the identity of their users. And established file-sharing services say they will adapt to protect their customers.

The RIAA's actions ''will force us to come up with solutions that will make it harder, if not impossible, to detect who the users are,'' says Elan Oren of Imesh, a song- and game-swap firm based in Israel. ''It's the never-ending game of the firewall and the hacker.''

Imesh -- which has been in operation since 1999 and somehow never was sued, unlike Napster, Scour, Aimster, Audio Galaxy, Kazaa, Morpheus and Grokster -- has 50 million registered users. Oren suggests that, instead of suing its customer base, the RIAA make peace with file sharers and learn to co-exist.

''By attacking its users, they are motivating them not to pay,'' he says. ''We met with them and begged them to make their material available on Imesh for a fee, because we know our users would gladly pay. (The RIAA) refused.''

Songs on Imesh are traded the traditional way -- click on a title to download the file, and it ends up on your hard drive. New programs such as eDonkey and Earth Station 5 do it differently, cutting a file into little pieces and reassembling it when it arrives at your hard drive -- a process that makes it harder for file sharers to be tracked and unmasked.

Still, Internet detective Mark Ishikawa insists that despite new technologies, if it happens online, he'll find it. ''If five buddies are sharing in their dorm room, that's one thing,'' says the CEO of BayTSP, which works for studios and record labels. ''Once it gets to critical mass and goes out onto the Internet, you can't hide.''

Another avenue that analysts expect to lure file sharers is instant messaging. AOL, MSN and Yahoo's chat programs have nearly 100 million users among them. Besides conversing with buddies, users of the software can send photos and music files to each other, without being tracked by the record industry.

For now, the RIAA says it will stay focused on the more established file-sharing programs. ''We can't solve every problem, only the biggest ones before us,'' says RIAA president Cary Sherman.

Kazaa, the most popular swap service with more than 240 million users, shows no sign of slowing down despite the legal threats: 890 million files were being traded Thursday afternoon by 4.3 million users.

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Originally posted by Stupid Dogg:

its ok, ya don't gotta link to it...

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From Reuters Entertainment:

RIAA Sues Puretunes.com Music Web Site

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A recording industry trade group said on Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit against a Spanish company that operates Puretunes.com, a music download service launched in May.

The lawsuit, filed last Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., against Sakfield Holding SA, alleges the company engaged in copyright infringement and unfair competition.

The lawsuit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group representing the music industry, also claimed that Puretunes had defrauded its customers into believing that its service was licensed by record companies.

A representative for Puretunes could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.

Matt Oppenheim, senior vice president for business and legal affairs for the RIAA, said the group was seeking damages and an injunction against the Web operator.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. federal court because the service operated as a business in the United States, selling U.S. recordings to U.S. consumers, he said.

The RIAA is a trade group for major labels Sony Music, AOL Time Warner's Warner Music, Vivendi Universal's Universal Music, Bertelsmann AG's BMG, and EMI .

The group has been increasingly aggressive in its efforts to crack down on online piracy as fans have turned to such unauthorized services for music and the industry struggles with a steep decline in CD sales.

Javier Siguenza, a Madrid-based lawyer representing Puretunes, told Reuters in May the new company abided by Spanish copyright laws.

Puretunes had also previously said it was a legal service operating under licensing agreements from various Spanish trade associations representing performers and recording artists.

Unlike other download services such as Kazaa, Puretunes manages a music library and says it will pay royalties to performers. Eight hours of downloads cost $3.99 while unlimited downloads for a month cost $24.99, a steep discount from industry-sanctioned services such as Pressplay and those operated by Britain's OD2.

Reuters/VNU

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From Yahoo! Technology:

Record Labels Send ISPs Subpoenas in Piracy Battle

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Recording Industry Association of America on Wednesday said it sent out subpoenas to Internet service providers as it prepares to sue hundreds of individuals who illegally distribute songs over the Web.

"This should not come as a surprise to anyone. Filing information subpoenas is exactly what we said we'd do a couple of weeks ago when we announced that we were gathering evidence to file lawsuits," said a spokeswoman for the RIAA, the music recording industry's leading trade body.

Sharply escalating the industry's battle against online piracy, which had so far focused on shutting down peer-to-peer services themselves, the trade group in late June said it would track down the heaviest users of these services and sue them.

Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, ISPs are required to provide copyright holders with such information when there is a good-faith reason to believe their copyrights are being infringed, according to lawyers for the RIAA.

The trade group said it will probably file several hundred lawsuits this summer.

ISP EarthLink said it has received three subpoenas from the RIAA since the group pledged to track sites like Kazaa for heavy users.

RIAA last month said the time was right to go after individual users because a recent U.S. court ruling made it easier to track down copyright violators.

A federal court ordered Verizon Communications to reveal names of suspected song-swappers in April, prompting the Internet service provider to ask a higher court to stay the order while it appeals the case.

On June 4, the U.S Court of Appeals in Washington declined to suspend the order, allowing RIAA investigators to easily obtain the names of other Internet users it suspects of trading music illegally.

David Blumenthal, a spokesman for EarthLink, said the company had received three subpoenas in recent weeks asking the company to identify individuals.

"It is our intention to do so, based on the ruling on June 4," said Blumenthal. But, he added, "we disagree with the method that is being used here and while we support the right of them to enforce copyrights, we think this is the wrong method for doing so."

"We're urging the RIAA and other copyright holders to find a less intrusive method for protecting their intellectual property," he said.

The RIAA is the trade group for the world's major record labels include AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Music, Bertelsmann AG's BMG Entertainment, EMI Group Plc EMI Recorded Music, Sony Corp's Sony Music and Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group.

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From Reuters Entertainment:

Bill Would Put Internet Song Swappers in Jail

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Internet users who allow others to copy songs from their hard drives could face prison time under legislation introduced by two Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday.

The bill is the strongest attempt yet to deter the widespread online song copying that recording companies say has led to a decline in CD sales.

Sponsored by Michigan Rep. John Conyers and California Rep. Howard Berman, the bill would make it easier to slap criminal charges on Internet users who copy music, movies and other copyrighted files over "peer-to-peer" networks.

The recording industry has aggressively pursued Napster, Kazaa and other peer-to-peer networks in court and recently announced it planned to sue individual users as well.

In a series of hearings on Capitol Hill last spring, lawmakers condemned online song swapping and expressed concern the networks could spread computer viruses, create government security risks and allow children access to pornography.

Few online copyright violators have faced criminal charges so far. A New Jersey man pleaded guilty to distributing a digital copy of the movie "The Hulk" in federal court three weeks ago, but the Justice Department has not taken action against Internet users who offer millions of copies of songs each day.

The Conyers-Berman bill would operate under the assumption that each copyrighted work made available through a computer network was copied by others at least 10 times for a total retail value of $2,500. That would bump the activity from a misdemeanor to a felony, carrying a sentence of up to five years in jail.

It would also outlaw the practice of videotaping a movie in the theater, a favorite illicit method of copying movies.

"While existing laws have been useful in stemming this problem, they simply do not go far enough," said Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

The Recording Industry Association of America praised the bill and said it would help them fight illegal online copying.

One copyright expert said the bill paints online song-swapping with too broad a brush as much of that activity does not rise to a criminal level.

"We don't think it should be the role of the FBI to treat all copyright infringement as criminal," said Mike Godwin, staff counsel at Public Sector, a nonprofit group that frequently disagrees with the RIAA.

A Conyers staffer said the bill had won the backing of many Democrats but Republicans had yet to endorse it.

The staffer said backers hoped to discuss the bill at a hearing on Thursday and combine it next week with another sponsored by Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith, who chairs an intellectual-property subcommittee.

"Once we have the opportunity to analyze the bill language we will be able to determine how it affects our fight against piracy," a Smith spokesman said in an e-mail message.

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From AP Industry Entertainment:

Music Industry Wins Approval of Subpoenas

By TED BRIDIS, AP Technology Writer

WASHINGTON - The music industry has won at least 871 federal subpoenas against computer users suspected of illegally sharing music files on the Internet, with roughly 75 new subpoenas being approved each day, U.S. court officials said Friday.

The effort represents early steps in the music industry's contentious plan to file civil lawsuits aimed at crippling online piracy.

Subpoenas reviewed by The Associated Press show the industry compelling some of the largest Internet providers, such as Verizon Communications Inc. and Comcast Cable Communications Inc., and some universities to identify names and mailing addresses for users on their networks known online by nicknames such as "fox3j," "soccerdog33," "clover77" or "indepunk74."

The Recording Industry Association of America has said it expects to file at least several hundred lawsuits seeking financial damages within the next eight weeks. U.S. copyright laws allow for damages of $750 to $150,000 for each song offered illegally on a person's computer, but the RIAA has said it would be open to settlement proposals from defendants.

The campaign comes just weeks after U.S. appeals court rulings requiring Internet providers to readily identify subscribers suspected of illegally sharing music and movie files. The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act permits music companies to force Internet providers to turn over the names of suspected music pirates upon subpoena from any U.S. District Court clerk's office, without a judge's signature required.

In some cases, subpoenas cite as few as five songs as "representative recordings" of music files available for downloading from these users. The trade group for the largest music labels, the Washington-based RIAA, previously indicated its lawyers would target Internet users who offer substantial collections of MP3 song files but declined to say how many songs might qualify for a lawsuit.

"We would have to look at historic trends, but that is a very high number," said Alan Davidson of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a civil liberties group that has argued against the subpoenas. "It doesn't sound like they're just going after a few big fish."

Music fans are fighting back with technology, using new software designed specifically to stymie monitoring of their online activities by the major record labels.

A new version of "Kazaa Lite," free software that provides access to the service operated by Sharman Networks Ltd., can prevent anyone from listing all music files on an individual's machine and purports to block scans from Internet addresses believed to be associated with the RIAA.

Many of the subpoenas reviewed by the AP identified songs from the same few artists, including Avril Lavigne, Snoop Dogg and Michael Jackson. It was impossible to determine whether industry lawyers were searching the Internet specifically for songs by these artists or whether they were commonly popular among the roughly 60 million users of file-sharing services.

The RIAA's subpoenas are so prolific that the U.S. District Court in Washington, already suffering staff shortages, has been forced to reassign employees from elsewhere in the clerk's office to help process paperwork, said Angela Caesar-Mobley, the clerk's operations manager.

The RIAA declined to comment on the numbers of subpoenas it issued.

"We are identifying substantial infringers and we're going to whatever entity is providing (Internet) service for that potential infringer," said Matt Oppenheim, the group's senior vice president of business and legal affairs. "From there we'll be in a position to begin bringing lawsuits."

A spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said the clerk's office here was "functioning more like a clearing house, issuing subpoenas for all over the country." Any civil lawsuits would likely be transferred to a different jurisdiction, spokeswoman Karen Redmond said.

Verizon, which has fought the RIAA over the subpoenas with continued legal appeals, said it received at least 150 subpoenas during the last two weeks. There were no subpoenas on file sent to AOL Time Warner Inc., the nation's largest Internet provider and also parent company of Warner Music Group. Earthlink Inc., another of the largest Internet providers, said it has received only three new subpoenas.

Depaul University in Chicago was among the few colleges that received such subpoenas; the RIAA asked Depaul on July 2 to track down a user known as "anon39023" who was allegedly offering at least eight songs.

There was some evidence the threat of an expensive lawsuit was discouraging online music sharing. Nielsen NetRatings, which monitors Internet usage, earlier this week reported a decline for traffic on the Kazaa network of one million users, with similarly large drops across other services.

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From Boycott RIAA:

Michael Jackson on ACCOPS

"It is wrong to illegally download, but the answer cannot be jail."

So says Michael Jackson on the Berman / Conyers Computer Owner Protection and Security Act (ACCOPS). Under it, anyone uploading copyrighted material could land in jail for up to five and/or be fined up to $250,000.

Hollywood Howard Berman is, of course, so deeply mired in the machinations of the entertainment industry that he'll never see the light of day again. But there have been expressions of surprise at Conyers' involvement.

The two congressmen, both Democrats, introduced ACCOPS on July 16. But it's patently unenforceable.

How are you gong to throw 60 million people - the estimated number of file sharers, and most of them teenagers and students - into jail?

There's a intriguingly apt posting on the Ars Technica Newsdesk.

"It's a well known fact that in the US jails and prisons are filled with drug offenders, ranging all the way from hard core drug king pins to youths busted under the auspices of drug possession," says Ken Fisher. "The majority of those busted are often classified as 'non-violent offenders,' and its to these that people look when they want to criticize prison overcrowding.

"Well, a new problem may be coming our way, because some law makers are suggesting extremely stiff penalties for P2P use, including jail time.

"And the best part is, just as drug possession is classified by intent, measured through 'how much' someone has in their possession, this bill proposes that we assume criminal P2P activity and intent by simply multiplying 'damages' by 10."

Conyers was at the Sentencing Guidelines Symposium in 1997 and said although he understood and appreciated the original intent behind the creation of the guidelines - to create, "more uniformity and fairness in sentencing" - he had, "deep concerns" about them.

"I am particularly troubled by the Sentencing Guidelines involving drug offenses. It seems to me that we have overly harsh sentences for drug offenses, especially for non-violent drug offenders."

But it's OK to throw someone into jail for uploading Madonna's latest disaster.

"More Americans are using file sharing software than voted for President Bush in 2000," says Electronic Frontier Foundatin (EFF) laywer Jason Schultz. "Throwing the book at music swappers makes great political theater, but ... is not good business, nor does it put a single penny into the pockets of artists."

And speaking of artists, "Here in America we create new opportunities out of adversity, not punitive laws, and we should look to new technologies ... for solutions," Jackson is quoted as saying in a number of reports.

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From AP Industry - Entertainment:

Schools Call Music-Use Subpoenas Illegal

By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press Writer

BOSTON - Boston College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have moved to quash subpoenas seeking the names of students suspected of Internet music piracy, saying they're illegal because they weren't filed properly.

The schools said the subpoenas, issued by the Recording Industry Association of America didn't allow for adequate time to notify the students, as mandated by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.

Boston College spokesman Jack Dunn said Tuesday the school did not object to providing the information.

"We're not trying to protect our students from the consequences of copyright infringement," he said. "Once the subpoenas are properly filed, we will comply with the subpoenas."

Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the RIAA, said the association was "disappointed that these universities have chosen to litigate this and thus deny us and other copyright holders the rights so clearly granted by Congress."

Lamy said the association followed federal law when it filed the subpoenas.

This spring, following a challenge by Verizon Communications Inc., a federal judge affirmed the constitutionality of a law allowing music companies to force Internet providers to release the names of suspected music pirates upon subpoena from any federal court clerk's office. Verizon has appealed.

The recording industry association has filed at least 871 subpoenas in U.S. District Court in Washington this month, demanding information from universities and Internet service providers about users of the online file sharing network KaZaA.

It's part of a strategy to jolt Internet music fans to stop file-sharing by pursuing small-time downloaders along with heavier users.

The subpoenas request the names and numbers of one MIT student and three Boston College students who allegedly obtained the music under various screen names.

BC argued in a motion to quash the subpoenas filed Monday that the subpoenas broke federal law because they were served in Boston, more than 100 miles from where they were filed in federal court in Washington D.C.

It also said the subpoenas gave the schools less than a week to produce the information — too little time to properly notify the students under the privacy act.

In a statement, MIT didn't specify why it believed the subpoenas were illegal, but also cited the privacy act to explain why it filed a motion to quash the subpoenas. The school said its decision didn't mean it was taking sides in the debate over downloading music on the Internet for free.

"But we are required by federal law to disclose student information only if we have a valid subpoena and have given the necessary advance notice," Professor James Bruce, Vice President for Information Systems at MIT, said in a statement. An MIT spokesman said the school would have no further comment.

Not all Boston-area schools who've received a subpoena are fighting it. Northeastern University spokesman Rick Mickool said school officials will provide by Wednesday the name of the one student subpoenaed. He said the university's legal counsel had no objection.

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From AP Health (???):

Music-Sharing Subpoenas Targets Parents

By TED BRIDIS, AP Technology Writer

WASHINGTON - Parents, roommates — even grandparents — are being targeted in the music industry's new campaign to track computer users who share songs over the Internet, bringing the threat of expensive lawsuits to more than college kids.

"Within five minutes, if I can get hold of her, this will come to an end," said Gordon Pate of Dana Point, Calif., when told by The Associated Press that a federal subpeona had been issued over his daughter's music downloads. The subpoena required the family's Internet provider to hand over Pate's name and address to lawyers for the recording industry.

Pate, 67, confirmed that his 23-year-old daughter, Leah Pate, had installed file-sharing software using an account cited on the subpoena. But he said his daughter would stop immediately and the family didn't know using such software could result in a stern warning, expensive lawsuit or even criminal prosecution.

"There's no way either us or our daughter would do anything we knew to be illegal," Pate said, promising to remove the software quickly. "I don't think anybody knew this was illegal, just a way to get some music."

The president of the Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group for the largest music labels, warned that lawyers will pursue downloaders regardless of personal circumstances because it would deter other Internet users.

"The idea really is not to be selective, to let people know that if they're offering a substantial number of files for others to copy, they are at risk," Cary Sherman said. "It doesn't matter who they are."

Over the coming months this may be the Internet's equivalent of shock and awe, the stunning discovery by music fans across America that copyright lawyers can pierce the presumed anonymity of file-sharing, even for computer users hiding behind clever nicknames such as "hottdude0587" or "bluemonkey13."

In Charleston, W.Va., college student Amy Boggs said she quickly deleted more than 1,400 music files on her computer after the AP told her she was the target of another subpoena. Boggs said she sometimes downloaded dozens of songs on any given day, including ones by Fleetwood Mac, Blondie, Incubus and Busta Rhymes.

Since Boggs used her roommates' Internet account, the roommates' name and address was being turned over to music industry lawyers.

"This scares me so bad I never want to download anything again," said Boggs, who turned 22 on Thursday. "I never thought this would happen. There are millions of people out there doing this."

In homes where parents or grandparents may not closely monitor the family's Internet use, news could be especially surprising. A defendant's liability can depend on their age and whether anyone else knew about the music downloads.

Bob Barnes, a 50-year-old grandfather in Fresno, Calif., and the target of another subpeona, acknowledged sharing "several hundred" music files. He said he used the Internet to download hard-to-find recordings of European artists because he was unsatisfied with modern American artists and grew tired of buying CDs without the chance to listen to them first.

"If you don't like it, you can't take it back," said Barnes, who runs a small video production company with his wife from their three-bedroom home. "You have all your little blonde, blue-eyed clones. There's no originality."

Citing on its subpoenas the numeric Internet addresses of music downloaders, the RIAA has said it can only track users by comparing those addresses against subscriber records held by Internet providers. But the AP used those addresses and other details culled from subpoenas and was able to identify and locate some Internet users who are among the music industry's earliest targets.

Pate was wavering whether to call the RIAA to negotiate a settlement. "Should I call a lawyer?" he wondered.

The RIAA's president wasn't sure what advice to offer because he never imagined downloaders could be identified by name until Internet providers turned over subscriber records.

"It's not a scenario we had truthfully envisaged," Sherman said. "If somebody wants to settle before a lawsuit is filed it would be fine to call us, but it's really not clear how we're going to perceive this."

The RIAA has issued at least 911 subpoenas so far, according to court records. Lawyers have said they expect to file at least several hundred lawsuits within eight weeks, and copyright laws allow for damages of $750 to $150,000 for each song.

The AP tracked targets of subpoenas to neighborhoods in Boston; Chicago; St. Louis; San Francisco; New York and Ann Arbor, Mich.

Outside legal experts urged the music industry to carefully select targets for its earliest lawsuits. Several lawyers said they were doubtful the RIAA ultimately will choose to sue computer users like the Pate family.

"If they end up picking on individuals who are perceived to be grandmothers or junior high students who have only downloaded in isolated incidents, they run the risk of a backlash," said Christopher Caldwell, a lawyer in Los Angeles who works with major studios and the Motion Picture Association of America.

The recording industry said Pate's daughter was offering songs by Billy Idol, Missy Elliot, Duran Duran, Def Leppard and other artists. Pate said that he never personally downloaded music and that he so zealously respects copyrights that he doesn't videotape movies off cable television channels.

Barnes, who used the Napster service until the music industry shut it down, said he rarely uses file-sharing software these days unless his grandson visits. The RIAA found songs on his computer by Marvin Gaye, Savage Garden, Berlin, the Eagles, Dire Straits and others.

Barnes expressed some concern about a possible lawsuit but was confident that "more likely they will probably come out with a cease and desist order" to stop him sharing music files on the Internet.

"I think they're trying to scare people," Barnes said.

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From PC World Technology

Share a Song, Go to Jail?

Liane Cassavoy, PCWorld.com

The war over digital content is hitting the airwaves in search of new troops. Both Hollywood and a digital civil liberties group are vying for public support through aggressive marketing campaigns.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is launching its "Let the Music Play" campaign with a full-page ad in the August 7 issue of Rolling Stone (currently on newsstands). Pictured are several music fans in a police lineup under the heading "Tired of being treated like a criminal for sharing music online?" The ads will run in various magazines and online for the next three months.

Following fast onto TV and movie screens are a series of public service announcements featuring entertainment industry workers ranging from famous actors to behind-the scenes technicians. The spots show them all talking about how piracy could affect their livelihood.

Airwaves Adversaries

These are not the first ads in the digital rights debate. PC maker Gateway launched a controversial television ad earlier this year, as part of a campaign called RipBurnRespect. Aimed at supporting consumers' fair-use rights, it opposed peer-to-peer services. A year earlier, Gateway ran a television spot featuring the company's chief executive and singing cow mascot. That ad urged consumers to download music from Gateway, voicing consumers' rights to enjoy digital music legally. The CBS television network, for one, refused to run both Gateway ads. The new ads from EFF and the MPAA are just the latest proof that the digital rights conflict is moving to a new level.

For example, after years of taking the Napsters and Kazaas of the world to court, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and other industry groups are going after end users of peer-to-peer file-sharing sites.

The EFF says that shift prompted its advertising campaign.

"We've noticed the game changing. The music industry is not only going after the technologists; now they're going after the users themselves," says Shari Steele, EFF's executive director. "We decided it's important to let users know it doesn't have to be this way."

The EFF says that file-sharing shouldn't be illegal and that the more than 60 million users of peer-to-peer file-swapping services shouldn't be treated like criminals. The organization has filed supporting briefs and even helped defend file-sharing sites challenged in court by copyright-holders in Hollywood and the music industry.

Now, Steele says the EFF wants to facilitate discussion.

"We shouldn't be talking about how to punish users," Steele says. "We should be talking about how to fix the copyright laws, how to compensate artists."

But the battle lines as drawn leave little room for negotiation.

"We are happy to have a debate with anyone about music piracy and how it impacts artists, songwriters, and everyone else who works to bring music to the public," says Cary Sherman, RIAA's president. But, he adds, "Proposals to 'legalize file-sharing' are not the solution."

Hollywood Strikes Back

The entertainment industry's ads are spearheaded by the Motion Picture Association of America, an RIAA ally in efforts to rein in distribution of digital content. The film and TV industries are collaborating on the series of spots they say are designed to raise consumer awareness about the threat that digital piracy poses.

The ads aired in prime time one day this week and will be shown in movie theaters. They're also available online at respectcopyrights.org, a Web site launched in conjunction with the campaign. Participants include animators, crew, and other backstage personnel.

The effort is endorsed by a number of entertainment industry unions, including the Directors Guild of America, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and Screen Actors Guild.

The ads also reflect the entertainment industry's stance that current copyright laws are appropriate and applicable to new media, a view challenged by the EFF.

"Before we jeopardize the most creative and vibrant creative community in the world for the sake of some theoretical, unproven scheme, let's give the marketplace and the copyright laws on the books a chance to work," says the RIAA's Sherman.

No Compromise?

Several solutions have been proposed to solve the dilemma of how to compensate artists while allowing users to trade files on peer-to-peer networks. One proposal calls for a virtual tip jar on sites. Another model follows the example of Apple's iTunes music store. Yet another is a compulsory licensing model, which would charge users a fixed fee, similar to a tax, perhaps on their monthly ISP bill or through a surcharge on the purchase of a CD burner.

EFF's Steele emphasizes that none of these solutions is the perfect answer, and that EFF does not endorse any one proposal. She charges that the RIAA is not open to any of them.

"They want us to make it clear that this behavior is criminal, and that file sharing systems should all be shut down," Steele says.

The RIAA has no complaint with Apple's iTunes, which lets Macintosh users download and burn tunes for 99 cents each. A comparable site for Windows users, BuyMusic.com, launched this week.

Nevertheless, Sherman says the only way the music industry can support file-sharing is by imposing compulsory licensing. But he contends that approach opens the door to government regulation, which would probably extend further than any party would like.

Conceivably, the government could set prices for music, Sherman says. "To date, the government has avoided regulating the Internet, and it shouldn't start now. When was the last time that government-dictated pricing worked better than the free market?" he concludes.

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From NewsFactor Business:

Backlash Predicted in File-Swapping Wars

James Maguire, www.NewsFactor.com

Responding to the music industry's threats of legal action against a mass of individual P2P users, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has created a Web page where users can check to see if they are being targeted by the RIAA, the industry trade group bringing the suits. The EFF's Web page enables users to check for their user names before a subpoena reaches them. At least two ISPs say that if a user responds within seven days, the ISP can deny the RIAA's subpoena and refuse to turn over personal contact information.

The move by the EFF followed a new offensive by the RIAA; the group has sent out over 900 subpoenas to ISPs since July 26th to gain the information necessary to file civil lawsuits against individual file swappers.

Although some industry observers say the RIAA's targeting of individuals will create a backlash, RIAA spokesperson Jonathan Lamy told NewsFactor the group's efforts are working. "If you look at the lawsuits we filed against four college students who were running mini-Napster networks, within days of that announcement nearly two dozen similar networks across the country came down."

But Yankee Group analyst Mike Goodman told NewsFactor that "this is going to make a lot of people unhappy. And who do you think these people will turn to? Their congressman. At that point, all the PAC [political action committee] money in the world won't save you.

"I would love to see the first time a senator's or a congressman's kid gets a subpoena," Goodman said.

Subpoena Database

At the EFF site, users can enter their file-sharing moniker to see if they are being subpoenaed. The site queries a database that includes a list of subpoenas filed in the Washington, D.C., district court.

If an individual's moniker is in the database, that does not necessarily mean they are being subpoenaed. Many file-sharing nicknames are used by more than one person.

For each nickname used, the EFF lists a link to the PDF file of the subpoena. This includes the ISP name, the IP address of the individual, and the list of songs an individual has distributed.

For those individuals involved, the Subpoena Defense Alliance lists attorneys and additional legal information.

Could Target Anyone

The RIAA's new wave of subpoenas is intended to target heavy P2P users, according to the trade group. But what precisely constitutes a heavy user is unclear.

Experts say the action is most likely to target users who have a T-1 connection, keep their systems on continuously, and share thousands of files. Also most likely to be targeted are supernode P2P users, individuals whose systems are used as major network connection points for services like Kazaa.

Although such users are most commonly found in universities, any user with a high-speed connection may fit these profiles.

The RIAA will begin filing these suits in late August or early September, coinciding with the start of the new school year. As for the penalty, "we'll leave it up to the court to decide" dollar amounts, RIAA's Lamy said.

The RIAA's court filings show the organization is likely to use snapshots of a P2P user's shared file folder as evidence in lawsuits.

ISP Struggles

Under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a copyright owner can issue a subpoena to force an ISP to turn over the name of suspected copyright infringer.

Verizon, an ISP, has been attempting to overturn this law. Verizon, along with another ISP, SBC Communications, has informed users that they seven days to challenge a subpoena. If the ISP does not hear from the user's attorney in that seven-day period, it will turn over the information to the RIAA.

Losing Battle

"This is one of those wars where they're going to win every battle and lose the war," Goodman said of the RIAA's efforts to combat P2P piracy. "P2P networks are like cockroaches. As soon as you eliminate one, a dozen new ones come scurrying forth."

As an alternative to legal action, Goodman said that digital rights management [DRM] software could be used to create files to be posted on P2P networks that would create profit for the music industry. Users would pay for such files because they are virus free and clearly labeled, he said.

He pointed to Altnet, which runs in conjunction with the Kazaa network and charges fees to downloaders. As of two months ago, "they were doing about two million licenses a month, and about a third of them are paid," Goodman said.

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RIAA will take 2191.78 years to sue everyone

Sum hope


By INQUIRER staff: Tuesday 29 July 2003, 10:31

READER MICHAELA STEPHENS says that if the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is right and that 60 million US folk are file sharing, it's going to take the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a mighty long time to get round to them all.
She said: "I pulled out my calculator to see just how long it would take the RIAA to sue all 60 million P2P music file traders at a rate of 75 a day. 60,000,000/75 = 800,000 days to subpoena each person or 800,000 days/365 days in a year = 2191.78 years to subpoena each person".

Michaela points out that it's unrealistic to suppose that the RIAA will have any money left in 2191 years, and she even wonders whether the trade association will exist then.

Plus, she points out, given the rate of tech advancement, it's likely that we'll have moved on to many different types of music media in even a hundred years.

She continues: " So let us consider more realistic numbers. The RIAA plans to sue thousands of file sharers. Working in increments of 5000: 5,000 people/75 subpoenas a day = 66 days How are they going to keep track of all these lawsuits going on? 10,000 people/75 subpoenas a day = 133 days or about 2/3 of a year.

"Keep in mind suing 10,000 people is still only going to impact only one six thousandth (1/6000) of the file traders out there. And who is getting rich off of this? The lawyers. Betcha not a single musician will see a cent of this money.

"15,000 people/75 subpoenas a day = 200 days (1 out of every 4000 affected) 20,000 people/75 subpoenas a day = 266.6 days (1 out of every 3000 affected)

"When might this actually start affecting us? When 1 out of every 10 is affected? That would mean they'd have to sue six million people. That would take,...(6,000,000/75 = 80,000)... 80,000 days.. or 219 years! They'd have to sue our great grand children!"

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From USA Today: Technology

Hollywood hunts for pirates

By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY

If you're thinking about downloading a bootlegged copy of X2: X-Men United or The Matrix Reloaded, you might want to look over your shoulder for the feds.

After watching the music industry be financially hammered by piracy, Hollywood moguls want to follow its recent lead and go after individual consumers who illegally download or file share copyrighted films.

"We can't allow what happened to the music industry to happen to the movie industry," says Jack Valenti, president and chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). He says the group will "seek enforcement of the breaking of copyright law" by the authorities against offending consumers. The MPAA also is launching public service ads urging consumers to just say no to piracy.

The reason for the new stance is that movie executives are having nightmares that file-sharing consumers who've swapped music for years are developing a growing appetite for free movies. And they've been watching the Recording Industry Association of America's increasingly aggressive response to the piracy that is feeding a decline in sales. Four college students were sued in April for online swapping and settled for up to $17,500 each. In June, subpoenas went out to universities and Internet providers to identify more swappers, and the RIAA plans "hundreds" more lawsuits against individuals in September.

To send a strong message that movie piracy is a crime, "There will probably have to be some people charged with the criminal downloading of movies," says Bo Andersen, president of the Video Software Dealers Association, which gathers in Las Vegas for its annual meeting this week. "It has to be made clear this is criminal behavior, and not just something fun to do on your computer."

Worldwide piracy now costs the studios an estimated $3 billion to $4 billion a year. Much of that still is lost the old-fashioned way sales of bootleg DVDs and videos.

But as the music business has shown, potential losses from online digital piracy are much higher. And more and more consumers have access to high-speed Internet connections, which make it feasible to transmit movie files. They now are downloading 400,000 to 600,00 movie files a day, according to industry estimates.

Digital piracy directly threatens the most lucrative sector of the movie industry: home video. Consumers spent $20.3 billion to rent and buy movies in 2002, according to Scott Hettrick, editor-in-chief of trade magazine Video Business. That's more than twice the record $9.3 billion fans spent on movie theater tickets last year.

In a recent America Online poll, nearly 70% of respondents did not believe or weren't sure that "swapping" movies online was illegal. But studio executives don't buy that.

"They know what they're doing. People are just ripping this stuff off," says Danny Kaye, senior vice president of business development for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. "They're more than aware of the economic value. They're just shifting the dollars from the studios and the artists to themselves."

David Bishop, president of MGM Home Entertainment Group, says his studio has an internal team constantly checking "how much piracy is going on around our titles," including the upcoming home video release of Legally Blonde 2.

The studios also are working on the next phase of DVD technology, with tougher encryption codes that might solve the problem, but that technology is still three to four years from market. "We're confident the next wave of DVD products will be much more difficult to file share with," he says.

How Hollywood is fighting back for now:

Jail time. The recent federal prosecution of 25-year-old Kerry Gonzalez of New Jersey for stealing a preview copy of The Hulk and posting it online before the film's release was a warning shot. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one count of copyright infringement and faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Coming is a likely series of lawsuits and prosecutions against individual consumers who are heavy file swappers.

Winning hearts and minds. "Consumer awareness" ads will try to educate consumers who think piracy is "no harm, no foul." In the five commercials, workers from the 580,000 in the movie industry such as a stunt man and a makeup artist describe how piracy costs jobs. The spots started airing today on 35 network and cable outlets and will show in 5,000 theaters across the country.

Closing the windows. Studios are moving to open major movies and release anticipated home videos in all major markets worldwide in the same month, rather than spreading rollouts up to a year. The goal is to close the window of opportunity for pirates to step in to sell ripped-off copies awaiting official release. Warner Bros. used this strategy this summer with The Matrix Reloaded and will again with The Matrix Revolutions this fall, spokeswoman Barbara Brogliatti says.

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Originally posted by Matter-eater Man:
File sharing isn't the only problem. They've really ignored what was their biggest market, the baby boomers.

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Good call.

I think the music and film industries SHOULD take a hit, personally, considering how irresponsible they've become. Shamelessly pimping their products like me promoting my new message boards or my recently-updated homepage!!!



I'll go now.

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Originally posted by Captain Sammitch:

...Shamelessly pimping their products like me promoting my new message boards or my recently-updated homepage!!!

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From Reuters Entertainment:

Recording Industry Campaign Faces Scrutiny

By Bill Holland

WASHINGTON (Billboard) - A top Republican senator wants to bring the recording industry before his subcommittee next month to answer questions about its campaign to root out and sue Internet music swappers.

Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., is the first Republican to voice apprehension about the Recording Industry Assn. of America's campaign, which could end up targeting teens.

"It raised a concern," says Coleman, who is chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. "On the one hand, I recognize the legitimacy of the interests of record companies, but I am worried about the response. Does the punishment fit the crime?"

For the moment, there are no signs that Coleman's action could lead to a GOP backlash against the RIAA on Capitol Hill. But Coleman told Billboard magazine that he might introduce a bill to curb the RIAA's campaign if it proves to be "overbroad."

Billboard also has learned that the Senate Judiciary Committee is considering a hearing on the subpoena process this fall. "The issue falls squarely in our jurisdiction," says a spokesperson for chairman Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah. "We will be monitoring Sen. Coleman's involvement in this issue, and should the occasion seem appropriate, we would hold a hearing."

The involvement of the Hatch committee may be rooted in the deep-seated reluctance of committee chairmen to relinquish "turf" jurisdiction. Hatch is already on record as saying he would consider going farther than the RIAA and call for even more drastic measures.

Because Coleman is a Republican, insiders say his potential reform bill, if written as a pro-consumer measure, might find majority support in Congress. Such a development would be the first big test for incoming RIAA chairman/CEO Mitch Bainwol.

Coleman says he knows Bainwol from Republican political fundraising circles and trusts him "to do the right thing."

Coleman, elected in 2002 after the death of Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone, says he decided to pursue the inquiry "after reading news reports of 'broad sweeping action by the record industry' and 'making criminals out of 14-year-olds.' "

Coleman says he believes the record industry is "so freaked out" about Internet piracy that it felt it had to do something really tough.

"I'm an ex-prosecutor, and I worry about that mentality that if you make an example of somebody, you're going to change somebody's behavior," he says.

The RIAA has complied with Coleman's request to forward copies of the subpoenas by Aug. 14. It will also provide answers to Coleman's questions concerning the methodology used to find infringers and safeguards to protect innocent consumers.

The subpoena program is one of several tools, including public education, that the RIAA is using to counter peer-to-peer (P2P) piracy.

"This is a program of deterrence," RIAA president Cary Sherman says. "We've made it clear from the beginning that for individuals interested in settling out of court, we're certainly prepared to discuss ."

Leading up to Coleman's move, leading Republican lawmakers have given the RIAA the green light to pursue individuals who have been making copyrighted music files available to others over the Internet.

Hatch suggested in a June 17 hearing on piracy that he supported destroying the computers of copyright infringers if it were the only way to control the problem.

In June, after the RIAA began to send subpoenas to Internet service providers (ISPs), the Republican chairman of the House panel that oversees copyright issues also released a statement of support.

"Illegal fire sharing on peer-to-peer networks has reached unacceptable levels," wrote Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property. "Music companies have laid off thousands of employees, music stores have closed and artists are not signing contracts. Today's action is an appropriate and reasonable step."

Earlier this year, Democrats on Smith's subcommittee also voiced support and introduced bills to help the RIAA deal with P2P infringers.

Coleman says that other senators who have shown interest in the issue have contacted him.

His call for a hearing on the subpoenas caught his colleagues by surprise, say sources close to the subcommittee, and did not allow other members the opportunity to study the issue beforehand.

The RIAA claims that its authority to obtain subpoenas is granted by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If the RIAA's campaign is overbroad, Coleman says he would consider changing the DMCA provision.

Reuters/Billboard

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From AP Technology:

Judge Rejects Subpoenas in Music-Use Case

By BIPASHA RAY, Associated Press Writer

BOSTON - A federal judge rejected an attempt by the recording industry to uncover the names of Boston College and MIT students suspected of online music piracy.

U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro said Friday that under federal rules, the subpoenas, which were issued in Washington, cannot be served in Massachusetts.

The two schools filed motions last month asking the judge to quash the subpoenas, which request names and other information for one Massachusetts Institute of Technology student and three BC students who allegedly obtained music using various screen names.

The Washington-based Recording Industry Association of America issued a statement calling the ruling a "minor procedural issue."

The ruling "does not change an undeniable fact — when individuals distribute music illegally online, they are not anonymous and service providers must reveal who they are," the RIAA said.

Industry spokesman Jonathan Lamy declined to say whether the RIAA was planning to refile in Boston.

Phone messages seeking comment from BC, MIT and the schools' attorney, Jeffrey Swope, were not immediately returned Friday evening.

The subpoenas are part of the RIAA's nationwide effort to crack down on copyright violators using music sharing software online to distribute songs.

This spring, a federal judge affirmed the constitutionality of a law allowing music companies to force Internet providers to release the names of suspected music pirates upon subpoena from any federal court clerk's office. The ruling has been appealed.

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From Reuters Entertainment:

Amnesty in Works for Music File Traders

By Bill Holland

WASHINGTON (Billboard) - The Recording Industry Assn. of America plans to announce an amnesty program this week that will let noncommercial online copyright infringers off the hook if they remove all illegal music files from their computers.

Sources tell Billboard that the amnesty program would apply only to alleged infringers who have not yet been sued by the RIAA or identified by Internet service providers as a result of the RIAA's subpoena process. Those deemed for-profit commercial pirates cannot participate in the amnesty.

Additionally, RIAA amnesty applies solely to sound-recording infringement. The file sharer still could be held liable for infringing upon the underlying music composition.

The RIAA would not comment on the proposed program.

Sources say the RIAA will not pursue legal action if all unauthorized music files are deleted from the copyright infringer's computer. The infringer must also destroy all copies of the material in any format, including CDRs, and promise not to upload such material in the future.

Each household member who is an infringer would have to fill out an amnesty form, have it notarized and mail it to the RIAA with a copy of a photo ID.

Those who renege on their promise could be referred to the Department of Justice for willful copyright infringement.


The RIAA plans to announce the amnesty program, which will be posted on the Web site of the music industry antipiracy coalition musicunited.org, at about the same time it is expected to announce the filing of "several hundred" lawsuits this week.

The trade group, using a subpoena process authorized by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, requested and received the names and addresses of more than 900 alleged infringers.

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By SONI SANGHA and PHYLLIS FURMAN

A shy Manhattan schoolgirl who gets a kick out of nursery songs and TV themes was among 261 people sued yesterday for downloading music from the Internet.


Brianna LaHara, a curly-haired 12-year-old honor student who started seventh grade yesterday at St. Gregory the Great Catholic school on W. 90th St., couldn't believe she's one of the "major offenders" the music moguls are after.


"Oh, my God, what's going to happen now?" she asked after hearing of the suit. "My stomach is all in knots."


Told she may have to go to court, Brianna's eyes widened behind wire-rimmed glasses and she said, "I'm just shocked that of all the people that do this, I'm on the list."


The Recording Industry Association of America (news - web sites) said the suits filed yesterday included about 60 that targeted suspects in New York who downloaded more than 1,000 songs.


The group blames computer users such as Brianna, who use software programs to trade music with others on the Internet, for a 30% drop in music sales.


Each person sued yesterday could be liable for fines up to $150,000 for each poached track.


'Appropriate action'


Experts had predicted a large number of the suits likely would name youngsters.


"Nobody likes playing the heavy and having to resort to litigation, but when your product is being regularly stolen, there comes a time when you have to take appropriate action," said Carey Sherman, president of the recording association.


Sherman warned that the group may file thousands more lawsuits against people who use programs like KaZaA, Grokster, Gnutella (news - web sites), Blubster and iMesh.


Brianna's mother, Sylvia, 40, director of a nurse placement agency, said her daughter was helping her 9-year-old brother with his homework when the Daily News arrived at their apartment on W. 84th St. with word about the suit.


"For crying out loud, she's just a child," the mother said. "This isn't like those people who say, 'My son is a good boy,' and he's holding a bloody knife. All we did was use a service."


The mother said she signed up for KaZaA, paying a $29.95 fee. "If you're paying for it, you're not stealing it, so what is this all about?" she asked.


She said Brianna downloaded music by Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey, along with the themes to television shows like "Family Matters" and "Full House" - and even the nursery song, "If You're Happy and You Know It."


"That's really threatening to the music industry," she scoffed.


"If this was something we were profiting from, that's one thing. But we were just listening and sometimes dancing to the music," said the mother.


She vowed to get a lawyer to fight the suit, which she termed "ridiculous." With Robert Gearty Originally published on September 9, 2003

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