Geek Talk
J.R. Shoemake
Downloading Music Illegally Can Land You in a World of Trouble
Hi Surfers,
Everywhere you look there are gadgets in every shape and size that can play music. Gone are the days of the Sony Walkman that played our favorite cassette tapes, or even the old boom-box 8-track players. Now, there are mp3 players the size of a postage stamp that can hold up to 1,000 songs.
While most folks, download their music legally through sites like, the Apple store. Some are using other programs like Kaaza, BitTorrent, Limewire and other programs to download their music. These programs, present a whole new set of problems for those who use them.
Not only are you opening yourself up to downloading viruses and other types of malware, you are also opening yourself up to a potential lawsuit. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is progressively going after those who download their music through illegal means. The RIAA, regularly patrols, if you will, these sites where people share files over the Internet. The RIAA even sets up an area for folks to download songs from. Once you download a song or songs from one of their “bait” sites, they then send you a letter informing you of an impending law suit but, for $X amount of money, they would be willing settle out of court.
In the only case that has ever gone to trial, Jammie Thomas-Rasset, decided to fight the strong-armed tactics of the RIAA. Two years ago, Thomas-Rasset was found liable for illegally downloading 24 songs and ordered to pay $9,250 per song for a total of $222,000. The judge in that case, declared a mistrial. Thomas-Rasset then opted for a new trial rather than to settle like the some other 30,000, the RIAA had sent letters to. This past Thursday, a federal jury found Thomas-Rasset liable for infringing 24 songs. The new fine, try a cool $1.9 million or, $80,000 per song.
Here’s the thing, in proving liability, the RIAA did not have to demonstrate that the defendant’s computer had a file-sharing program installed at the time that they inspected her hard drive. And the RIAA did not have to show that the defendant was at the keyboard when RIAA investigators accessed Thomas-Rassets’ share folder. Also, the jurors may find copyright infringement liability against somebody solely for sharing files on the internet. The RIAA did not have to prove that others downloaded the files.
Even copying songs off of your personal CDs to your computer, can be construed as copyright infringement. While no one has been sued over this “grey area” in the “fair-use” of copyrighted material to my knowledge, the possibility is still there as the recording industry faces an ever increasing dip in music sales due to file downloading.
To protect yourself, only download music from legitimate web sites like Apple’s iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster and Amazon MP3. And don’t forget, you can be sued even if, your kids or grandkids use your computer to download their music.
Until the next time, surf safe!
Webmaster JR
J.R. Shomemake is a professional web-site builder and computer technician. You can visit his website at www.cyberlakepress.com
