Happy 15th Anniversary, Download.com
Download.com has been around for 15 years on October 23, 1996. We wish them a happy anniversary
Illegal Downloaders Do Spend More Money on Music
The London-based think tank Demos has concluded that illegal downloaders spend more money on music. The headline figure, based on the survey of over 1000 people between 16 and 65, is that the average spend per annum on CDs or vinyl…
U.S. Homeland Security Shuts Down BitTorrent P2P Site
U.S. Homeland Security Shuts Down BitTorrent P2P Site Ten people suspected of involvement with the EliteTorrents webserver were served warrants by homeland security agents. According to the U.S. government agency, this is the first criminal enforcement action taken against violators of copyright law who use the BitTorrent peer-to-peer (P2P) file swapping software. The operation, codenamed D-elite, targeted administrators and content providers working through the EliteTorrents website.
Pew Report States That 27 Percent of Users Download Digital Music and Video
The Pew Internet & American Life Project reported this week that 36 million Americans, 27 percent of internet users, report having downloaded music or video files. Half of this group have skirted the traditional peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and commercial online distribution services (i.e. Napster, iTunes). This is a significant number of digital media users whose sharing of digital media is untraceable by the recording industry and copyright holders.
UA Student Convicted for Downloading Music & Movies
Parvin Dhaliwal (18), a student at the University of Arizona (UA), is the first person in country to be convicted of a crime under state law for downloading music and movies. Dhaliwal pleaded guilty to possession of counterfeit marks, or unauthorized copies of intellectual property, and was sentenced to a three-month deferred jail sentence, three years of probation, 200 hours of community service and a $5,400 fine. Dhaliwal must also take a copyright class at UA and stop using file-sharing applications. What makes this conviction notable is that copyright protection is normally a federal matter.
The Pot Calls The Kettle Black: Turning the Tables on Online Music Swapping
Sharman Networks, Ltd., owners of the KaZaA peer-to-peer file-sharing network, have sued entertainment companies for copyright infringement. Yep, that's right, the company that makes it possible to swap bootleg digital music is suing the music companies.
Must Everything Be Free on the Internet?
Must everything eventually be available for free on the Internet? Steve Lohr argues that all public digital data will eventually be free on the Internet, because it's too difficult to protect the intellectual property (IP) rights of the authors. However, making all creative work freely available disregards our resonsiblity to raise a well-intentioned and civil next generation.