Out with the old & in with the new

EDonkey server Razorback2 seized, operator jailed:
p2pnet.net, Razorback Bust: by the MPAA (21 February 2006) <http://p2pnet.net/story/7987> at 22 February 2006

p2pnet.net, Belgian police bust Razorback (21 February 2006) <http://p2pnet.net/story/7980> at 22 February 2006

Hollywood rejoices over the closure of Razorback2:
Yahoo News, Hollywood hails shutdown of music-sharing server (22 February 2006) <http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22022006/80-91/hollywood-hails-shutdown-music-sharing-server.html> at 23 February 2006

BUT !!!!!!! Razorback2's loss makes absolutely no difference with connections to the eDonkey network INCREASING overnight:
p2pnet.net, Razorback out, Kademlia in (23 February 2006) <http://p2pnet.net/story/8004> at 24 February 2006

Kazaa back in court:
S Hayes 'Kazaa defence cites 1920s case' The Australian (Australia) 21 February 2006 <http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,18214048%5E27317%5E%5Enbv%5E15306-15319,00.html> at 22 February 2006

L Hearn 'Kazaa case back in court' Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), 20 February 2006 <http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking/kazaa-case-back-in-court/2006/02/20/1140283981605.html> at 21 February 2006

Letter from DCIA to RIAA on the issue of licensing (or the lack there of):
p2pnet.net, DCIA letter to ARIA surfaces (20 February 2006) <http://p2pnet.net/story/7970> at 21 February 2006

Danish ISPs ordered to disconnect copyright offenders:
AGIPNEWS, Court Ruling Confirms Internet Service Providers Must Act to Stop Web Piracy (16 February 2006) <http://www.ag-ip-news.com/GetArticle.asp?Art_ID=2694&lang=en> at 22 February 2006

Digital Music News, Danish Supreme Court Rules Against ISPs in Piracy Case (21 February 2006) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/index_html#022106danish> at 22 February 2006

BitTorrent helps out with the SXSW Music Festival for the second year in a row:
Digital Music News, BitTorrent Inc. Offers Support of SXSW Music, Film Festivals (22 February 2006) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/index_html#022206sxsw> at 23 February 2006

Copyright brainwashing week in the USA:
p2pnet.net, Copyright Awareness Week (21 February 2006) <http://p2pnet.net/story/7985> at 23 February 2006

New Dutch file sharing network removes all anonymity (did they think this one through?):
p2pnet.net, Triblet: New Dutch p2p network (21 February 2006) <http://p2pnet.net/story/7977> at 22 February 2006

Quiet Times

Its been a fairly quiet week on the p2p front although things are likey to heat up again next week when the Kazaa appeal commences. Here's some interesting links to keep you going:
(Re: the new citation style - sorry but it will help me when I come to write my thesis)

Sony's disaster:
J. Alex Halderman and Edward W. Felton, Lessons from the Sony CD DRM Episode (14 February 2006) <http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/pub/sonydrm-ext.pdf> at 16 February 2006

Australians have long desired fair use provisions as wide as the USA (still illegal to timeshift or rip a CD here) but perhaps the USA provisions are under threat:
Electronic Frontiers Foundation, RIAA Says Ripping CDs to Your iPod is NOT Fair Use (15 February 2006)<http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004409.php> at 17 February 2006

Richard Stallman interview downplays the Creative Commons Licenses:
p2pnet.net, Richard Stallman interview (6 February 2006) <http://p2pnet.net/story/7840> at 16 February 2006

Nettwerk Music on their disagreement with RIAA about individual prosecutions:
p2pnet.net, p2pnet talks to Nettwerk Music (14 February 2006) <http://p2pnet.net/story/7923> at 16 February 2006

The inquiry into wholesale digital downloads continues in New York:
CNet News.com, New York focuses antitrust probe of record labels (14 February 2006) <http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-6039470.html> at 16 February 2006

New political party in Sweeden hoping to overturn recent copyright ammendments that outlawed file sharing:
The Guardian, Pirates pursue a political point (9 February 2006) <http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1705100,00.html> at 13 February 2006

Let them eat cake!

This week has been all about France (well okay a few other things happened too):

To begin with (more) legal precedent supporting personal use:
A. Ridouan, French judge authorizes downloading and uploading of copyrighted content on the Internet, Blog des Audionautes, 7 February 2006
The decision (in French) is available here: http://www.audionautes.net/pages/PDF/audionautestgiparis.pdf

To back things up France reignites the potential for a collective licensing scheme:
Editor, Collective P2P Licensing Bill Gains Steam in France, Digital Music News, 8 February 2006
Editor, Inquiry set for French file-sharing plan, CNet News.com/Reuters, 3 February 2006

Performing rights association ASCAP joins a new ad supported p2p network:
Editor, ASCAP Joins Upcoming, Ad-Supported P2P Platform, Digital Music News, 8 February 2006

iTunes nears the 1 billionth download:
Editor, iTunes Music Store Nears One Billion Music Downlaods, Digital Music News, 8 February 2006

The RIAA attempt to sue a woman who can't use a computer and doesn't even own one:
R. Menta, RIAA Faces New Pushback on Individual Lawsuit, Digital Music News, 8 February 2006

ISPs throttling p2p downloads to preserve bandwith is about to become a whole lot harder with the advent of new encruption technology designed for BitTorrent:
R. Menta, New BitTorrent Clients Adopt Encryption, Evade ISP Detection, Digital Music News, 8 February 2006

Reports suggest (but am not absolutely certain) that Kazaa has managed to avoid being shut down in contempt of court proceedings:
Editor, Oz Kazaa komedy kontinues, p2pnet.net, 6 February 2006

File sharing increases in January:
Editor, File-Sharing Levels Remain Strong in January, Digital Music News, 8 February 2006

Scary digital watermarking technology developed to detect the exchange of copyrighted files:
Editor, New DRM file scare apps, p2pnet.net, 8 February 2006

Piracy, Prosecutions & Progress

Music lovers say that CDs are over priced:
Editor, Pirates: It Takes One to Know One, Wired News, 2 February 2006

Pressure mounts for eDonkey and Limewire to convert to legitimate networks:
J. Borland, File-swapping leaders nearing D-day, CNet News, 1 February 2006

RIAA lodge another 750 lawsuits:
J. Welte, RIAA files 750 P2P lawsuits, MP3.com, 1 February 2006

Indie labels argue for less DRM and more file sharing:
J. Evans, Indie labels reject DRM as music policeman, Macworld UK, 1 February 2006

Warner embrace cetralised file sharing (for movies):
Editor, Warner to start German file-sharing service, Reuters/CNet News, 30 January 2006

Two file sharers in Britain ordered to pay:
A. McCue, British file sharers to pay record industry, CNet News, 27 January 2006
S. Noah, Landmark case spells doom for internet music swappers, The Independent, 27 January 2006

Ireland also allows individual prosecutions:
Editor, Irish Labels Receive Court Victory Against Local ISPs, Digital Music News, 30 January 2006

Canadian label offers to cover costs for any prosecutions relating to their artists:
Nettwerk Music Group Takes on the RIAA, Press Release, 30 January 2006

Wow, what a week...

The RIAA appear to be suggesting that merely having a shared folder with copyrighted files in it is enough to establish infringing activity, despite rulings in Canada and the Netherlands which clearly state otherwise:
Editor, RIAA's latest file share claim, p2pnet.net, 26 January 2006

iMesh announces a parternship with MusicNet that includes 2 million DRM enabled tracks for purchase. Operates much like Altnet files did (do - sorry for the past tense) in Kazaa:
Editor, iMesh, MusicNet Officially Announce Partnership, Digital Music News, 24 January 2006

EMI chairman says that paid downloads will revivie the music industry, and states that the French move toward collective licensing is an 'aberation':
Editor, EMI chairman sees Net reviving music industry, Reuters/CNet News, 23 January 2006
Editor, EMI attacks French p2p plan, p2p.net, 22 January 2006

The IFPI say that file sharing is being "contained" given the growth of broadband, however statistics show litigation is having no effect in reducing it:
Editor, File-sharing 'not cut by courts' BBC News, 20 January 2006

Individual prosecutions begin in Switzerland:
Editor, IFPI Switzerland files suit against users of peer-to-peer networks, Heise Online, 19 January 2006

Music sales flat despite legal download growth

Editor, Music sales flat despite legal download growth, Reuters/CNet News, 23 January 2006

You gotta laugh at this: "Litigation is the last resort"

This weeks news...

Report from the IFPI that paid downloads now amount to 6% of the music market, totalling $1.1 billion for 2005.
A. Pasick, Digital music sales triple in 2005, Yahoo News, 19 January 2006

Students sued for using i2hub want the operator to pay their damages of $157,500 demanded by the record industry - the operator says the EULA clearly disclaimed liability
Editor, Students want file-sharing operator to pay copyright claims, Silicon Valley, 17 January 2006

Singapore commences legal action against three uploaders:
Editor, Singaporean Authorities Issue First Round of Downloading Suits, Digital Music News, 15 January 2006

Korea effectively decriminalises individual file sharing:
C. Ah-young, Commercial Online Music File Swappers Face Criminal Charges, The Korea Times, 16 January 2006

France takes a step back from collective licensing proposal from December 2005, may introduce scaled warnings and minor fines for individual file sharers. A softer stance may also be taken in relation to DRM:
Editor, France rethinks digital copyright bill, Yahoo News, 15 January 2006
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060115/tc_afp/franceinternetlaws

A UK consumer rights organisation has started lobbying for consumer protection against DRM
Editor, Fears raised over digital rights, BBC News, 16 January 2006

Anti DRM Pledge

Sign the freeculture.org pledge to NEVER purchse a copy protected CD - :

http://www.pledgebank.com/boycottdrm

its nice to know there are thousands that think the same way we do !

Paid downloads peak well below file sharing

Editor, Legitimate music downloading enjoys dream week, CNet News/Reuters, 8 January 2006

The week before Christmas paid downloads totalled 9 million, the week between Christmas and New Year, 20 million. Average weekly downloads from file sharing networks are around 250 million.

It seems fair to say that paid downloads remain merely a drop in the ocean.

Happy New Year

Happy New year to you all... things have been a little quiet the past couple of weeks on the digital music front but there have been some interesting developments:


New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has commenced a probe into the price of legal downloads which some are suggesting will delay the introduction of variable pricing structures:

J. Borland, Probe may delay change in digital-music prices, CNet News, 4 January 2006

Editor, New York Attorney General Puts Microscope on Paid Downloads, Digital Music News, 3 January 2006


And Sony has reportedly reached a settlement to the class action over its disgusting DRM:

Sony Settlement Proposal Filing

Editor, Sony BMG Offers Resolution to Class Action Lawsuits, Digital Music News, 3 January 2006

EFF and Sony BMG Reach Settlement over Flawed DRM, EFF, 29 December 2005

Collective Licensing for p2p in France

Editor, France, Spain Step Up Anti-Piracy Initiatives, Digital Music News, 20 December 2005

As France considers anti-circumvention laws, one proposal gaining support is the adoption of a collective P2P licensing scheme.


Red Herring "France Toys With Legal P2P"
Bloomberg "French Parliament Votes to Allow Web File Sharing"
CNet "France may sanction unfettered P2P downloads"
P2Pnet "P2p file sharing is legal, says France"
audionautes.net "France is the First Country to Propose the Legalization of P2P Downloading"

File Sharing UP

So suing 17,000 of your customers is clearly not helping the situation:

"According to data supplied by tracking firm BigChampagne, the average number of simultaneous P2P users reached 6.86 million in the US, and 9.47 million globally. In the US, that represents a 4.78 percent increase over October figures, and a 20.6 percent jump over comparable figures in 2004. Meanwhile, the numbers represent a 3.14 percent increase month-over-month globally, and a 21.3 percent increase year-over-year."

As reported by Digital Music News, 19 December 2005

iTunes Terms of Sale

iTunes Terms of Sale

These are the parts of the contract that worry me:

"You shall be authorized to use the Product on five Apple authorized computers... Apple reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of sale at the iTunes Music Store at any time."

Here's what was said when the iTunes DRM was cracked in January 2004:

"The RIAA can at any time change the DRM rules... and considering their history, it's likely that they will when the majority of consumers have embraced DRM and non-DRM products have been phased out..."

Fred Von Lohmann said:
"The restrictions are very frustrating for consumers, and frankly, are unnecessary... Every song on iTunes Music Store has been available on the Peer to Peer networks within four hours. All the DRM does is frustrate legitimate consumers; it doesn't stop file sharing..."

Read the full story here.

iTunes

Can anyone tell me what this means?

"iTunes is licensed for reproduction of non-copyrighted materials or materials the user is legally permitted to reproduce."

Sounds a whole lot like they're selling public domain materials to me - and if so, and if the RIAA succeed in destroying p2p, does this mean the future lies in an artificially infinite copyright term?

Christmas Shopping

Christmas shopping as a substantial non infringing, DRM hating, democratist can be a little confusing.

Never let it be said that I don't support the music industry - I just bought 8 CDs- none of them copy protected - made sure of that. I would really have rather purchased iTunes credits but couldn't bring myself to do it, even though I know the people I were buying for don't care about DRM. The thing about DRM on iTunes is that it is wide enough at the moment (debateable) but I for one bet that it doesn't stay that way. There is absolutely nothing stopping the recording industry from insisting that it be narrowed with massive ramifications for fair use. It will happen, along with creeping prices.

The minute iTunes start selling DRM free music I will be the first one there.

The minute they start individual prosecutions in this country it will be the last cent they see from me.

The CD I bought for myself is even available as an authorised download (see EFF's site for a list) but I chose to pay. In fact I have never downloaded unauthorised music only stuff on that list and classical music. What I have actually been doing with p2p software in fact, is just searching - for terms like 'cover' and 'live' and 'remix' - I have been trying to nut out a way to demonstrate the way file sharing allows for the participation in culture... I plan to do a comprehensive study next year but averages is the most sophisticated methodology I have come up with so far. Its really hard to structure because the content of the networks is so dynamic.

RIAA sues ANOTHER 751 file-swappers

Another 751 Americans have just won the lottery - I read somewhere recently... (forgive me for not referencing - I read a lot!)... that in the USA you have about the same chance of winning the lottery as you do of being sued by the RIAA.

Another 751 cases that will never make it to trial; with one report suggesting only 2% of paid music consumers say they do so out of fear of litigation.

It seems however that there might be a file sharing (film) case going to trial in Pennsylvania where summary judgement was denied.

J. Borland, RIAA sues 751 file-swappers, CNET News, 15 December 2005

R. Menta, Ipsos-Reid: Only 2% of Consumers Care About Legal Issues With Downloading Music, mp3newswire, 8 December 2005

http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/05D1458P.pdf

Kazaa survives until after Christmas

Kazaa lives to fight another battle - 30th January 2006 is the date set for the contempt hearing.

Anonymous, Kazaa survives. For now, p2p.net, 15 December 2005

S. Deare, Kazaa owners risk jail, ZDNet Australia, 15 December 2005

Benefits of Sharing Music

Editor, Research Group Highlights Benefits of Sharing Music, Digital Music News, 15 December 2005

Digital Music News are reporting on a new study undertaken by Harvards Berkman Centre and Gartner suggesting that sharing of music is becoming an increasingly important part of the success of the music industry. The viral nature of file sharing contributes to the sampling and selection of songs.

The Report: Consumer Taste Sharing Is Driving the Online Music Business and Democratizing Culture

The Distribution of Digital Property

Southern Cross University held a Community Forum on the Distribution of Digital Property today (11/12/05) in Byron Bay. Speakers were Tony Morris QC and Quentin Cregan, senior and junior Counsel for the defendant in the Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd v Cooper [2005] FCA 972; John Hennessey, junior Counsel for the applicants in the case of Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd v Sharman License Holdings [2005] FCA 1242; and Peter Coroneos, Chief Executive of the (Australian) Internet Industry Association. Here are some of the highlights from what they had to say:

John Hennessey outlined the basis of the Kazaa litigation (authorisation) and made reference to the "minuscule" quantity of legitimate works relied on by Sharman to justify their business operations. He stated that the Kazaa has repeatedly "demanded" licenses from the recording industry which they were not given but in correspondence concerning the potential to license works, Kazaa indicated that they were in a position to filter out offending content. He commented that the failure to implement key word filters by the 5th December 2005 has resulted in further legal action with the parties going back to court this Thursday for a contempt of court hearing.

Tony Morris and Quentin Cregan offered an alternative perspective on the issue of authorisation, suggesting that while they do not condone the misuse of Intellectual Property, they considered the Cooper case to have important legal ramifications both within Australia and overseas. Tony gave a background to the litigation indicating that Cooper was very much a low level and amateurish operator. Cooper was by and large honest with his website, MP3s4Free, registered under his own name and address and hosted within Australia despite the alternative option of perhaps operating from countries such as China. The way the website was set up allowed visitors to post links on the site, the problem being that some of the links led to pirated recordings. The critical issue in the case was whether merely providing links was enough to establish authorisation rather than merely facilitating a connection. The court held that Cooper had the ability to review and remove offending links and as such he was found guilty of authorisation. At no time was the offending material on his website. The disclaimers on his website were also held to be ineffective. Cooper's ISP was also held accountable as he had an arrangement with them by which he posted an advertising banner in exchange for free hosting. The court held the ISP to have a financial benefit from the operation of the website.

Tony suggested there to be potential for the matter to be appealed and suggested that it may be joined with the Kazaa matter for High Court determination of the scope of 'authorisation'. He also suggested that the Record Industry was playing catch up and although they have won the Cooper case and will most likely win the Kazaa case it will change nothing in terms of sharing illegal content.

Peter Coroneos gave a bigger perspective on the battle between old and new methods of content distribution. He questioned the ongoing relevance of copyright law and particularly noted how out of step it was with what was happening on a day-to-day basis. He noted the progress of file sharing technology, the fact that the Internet is a truly revolutionary architecture and ultimately suggested that what we are witnessing in the content industry today is MARKET FAILURE. He suggested that content itself is not under threat by peer-to-peer networks but it is the intermediaries - the recording companies - that are under threat.

A general question and answer time was then held. I asked John Hennessey to elaborate on the potential for Audible Magic filtering of the Kazaa network and he merely indicated that only key word filtering and gold file flood filtering were considered immediate options and that the failure to implement these within the time specified by the court meant that Kazaa would be shut down. When questioned as to the motivation behind the Kazaa case John Hennessey indicated that the recording industry needed to do something while it implemented a legal download model. Tony Morris commented that the Kazaa litigation was based on sheer stupidity. Most speakers seemed to think there was no immediate threat of individual prosecutions within Australia, however Peter Coroneos indicated that the American ISP Verizon, was receiving in the vicinity of 300,000 requests for personal information a year and that in Europe the Cybercrime Treaty means that end user data may now be available to prosecute copyright infringement.

The speakers and some of the participants then met for drinks and for over an hour discussed cyberlaw further. At no stage did I mention that I was a blogger (isn't everyone?) so ethically I can't divulge the exact responses to my questions.

I asked about whether Wilcox's comments in the Kazaa case, where he indicated that individual prosecutions were not a viable option, would prevent ARIA from taking that step in Australia. Generally it was thought to be unlikely that that would prevent individual prosecutions from occurring.

We talked about the privacy implications of companies like Media Sentry and the monitoring of networks by private companies, and about individual prosecutions in the USA. I said to John Hennessey: "come on - you would have to agree that that is extortion!"

I also asked about the hope for collective licensing but generally it was suggested that it was unlikely to happen. I stated that the warnings on the Kazaa website had stopped me from using that software and had shifted me to another network.

At some stage I showed John Hennessy a book I was carrying in my bag - The Future of Music - I told him it was a good book. When all the others were talking among themselves, I said quietly to him: "I know you can't see this - but it would be a real shame for Kazaa to be shut down."

We all talked about other countries that it would be more legally viable to start a peer-to-peer network in. I suggested that the Kazaa litigation merely meant that the digital music revolution would not be owned by an Australian company.

As we were parting company I said - "thanks for your time - I hope you lose" - John Hennessey said: "we wont". He really thinks he is doing the right thing...

KOREA seeks to supervise P2P Networks

This is enough to make you weep !

Cho Jin-seo, KOREA: New Internet copyright bill under fire, The Korea Times, 7 December 2005