The end of an era is upon us - the "Wild West" of file-sharing, its decline spurred on, of course, by the US Supreme Court's decision last June (see 7/1/05). "At least five online file-sharing companies have started trying to reach an accord with the music industry to convert the free trading of copyrighted music on their networks to paid services," the New York Times reports, citing Grokster … [Read more...] about P2P services going ‘legit’
Law & Policy
Creative online music communities
These are so interesting, they're legal (users won't get sued by the RIAA!), and they seem to be popping up at an accelerating rate. The latest is Pandora.com, where digital-music fans can start their own radio stations (up to 100!) by telling Pandora their favorite tune or artist. Pandora will then consult the 300,000-song database of the Music Genome Project that fuels the service and compile a … [Read more...] about Creative online music communities
Kazaa ordered to stop piracy
An Australian federal court decided that the company that runs the Kazaa P2P Web site encouraged its users to infringe copyright, the BBC reports. The court ordered Kazaa's owners, Sharman Networks, to modify the software within two months to stop the sharing of copyrighted material. "A fresh round of hearings will now be held to determine the level of damages, which could run into the millions of … [Read more...] about Kazaa ordered to stop piracy
N.Y. mom to fight RIAA
Like many parents of file-sharers, I suspect, this one didn't even know what Kazaa was until she was sued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). But there are a couple of unusual things about the case of Patricia Santangelo, single mother of five between the ages of 6 and 19: 1) She says the name on the lawsuit is a friend of her children's (using Kazaa at her house), and 2) … [Read more...] about N.Y. mom to fight RIAA
P2P and media firms’ eyes on Sweden
Even a law criminalizing file-sharing - Sweden's new one - isn't likely to put a serious dent in it. The Associated Press reports that "Swedes are among the most prolific file-sharers in the world. Industry groups estimate that about 10% of Sweden's 9 million residents freely swap music, games and movies on their computers." So, the AP continues, "unless Swedes have suddenly changed their habits, … [Read more...] about P2P and media firms’ eyes on Sweden