Ever download mp3s "illegally"?

I just re-installed LimeWire on my PowerBook and am surprised at the huge world of illegally-shared music files which still exists. I thought all the prosecutions in the news last year would've diminshed the practice somewhat. I'd say there is more out there now than the last time I looked.

I'll admit to have downloaded a few songs over the years. Anyone else?

As far as I understand it, the only people who have been fined or prosecuted are those that distribute the music, not who receive it. Can you be infringing on a copyright if you're on the receiving end?

Any attorneys out there specialize in IP and care to comment?

As far as I understand it, the only people who have been fined or prosecuted are those that distribute the music, not who receive it.  Can you be infringing on a copyright if you're on the receiving end?

Any attorneys out there specialize in IP and care to comment?

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In peer to peer sharing, everyone is a distributor. If it's on your hardrive, it's availble to anyone else.

I occasionally buy a song from iTunes. I use a program called JHymn to convert the song from iTunes format to mp3 since iTunes hogs resources on my computer, and I prefer the less burdensome Winamp 2.91. I am allowed to play my iTunes song on up to 5 computers, so I don't feel like I'm violating any rules by playing the converted file on my computer...or if I had more computers, playing it on up to 5 of them.

Be careful, a student at the University of Arizona just became the first person in the country to be prosecuted for this offense. U of A Student Prosecuted Of course, on our news it said he had $50 million of movies and music on his computer. Not sure how they determined that figure. Bradford

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(PeterMetro @ Mar. 08 2005,10:27) As far as I understand it, the only people who have been fined or prosecuted are those that distribute the music, not who receive it. Can you be infringing on a copyright if you're on the receiving end? Any attorneys out there specialize in IP and care to comment?
In peer to peer sharing, everyone is a distributor. If it's on your hardrive, it's availble to anyone else.
That's not true, in some programs, you can choose not to share files on your computer, and just download. If you do this in Kazaa and some other networks, though, you will have lower priority for downloads.

I occasionally buy a song from iTunes. I use a program called JHymn to convert the song from iTunes format to mp3 since iTunes hogs resources on my computer, and I prefer the less burdensome Winamp 2.91. I am allowed to play my iTunes song on up to 5 computers, so I don't feel like I'm violating any rules by playing the converted file on my computer...or if I had more computers, playing it on up to 5 of them.

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You would be in the green, in Europe at least. Although IP protection schemes are protected, they have to be reasonably effective to enjoy protection. Sounds like the iTunes scheme does not fulfill that criteria. Also, you have a right in your private sphere to use the music as you see fit. That should weight heavier than the protection scheme. Even if you gave a copy of the disk to a few friends, you would still be reasonably innocent.

Just took the exam in an IT-law course yesterday...

B

Always been kinda antsy about downloading and running things from non official websites (Kazaa) worried about what virus is being loaded onto my machine.

I've used iTunes before, and think it's pretty great, and also have an iPod. I think if you asked me in college, I would've whined that unregulated p2p should be legal, etc., but my perspective has changed - mostly due to having a few bucks. I understand that artists can lose money through p2p... etc... I also understand that's not what this thread's about, but there you are. I am annoyed that Apple makes it difficult to transfer songs off the iPod, and limits what you can do with iTunes downloads, even after you pay for them. I used to tape cds all the time for friends; even if that was technically illegal, the only difference now is in level of effort involved, and it's slight. This all said, I no longer trust the integrity of p2p programs - even though it may have gotten better, so have malicious people who can code.

You would be in the green, in Europe at least. Although IP protection schemes are protected, they have to be reasonably effective to enjoy protection. Sounds like the iTunes scheme does not fulfill that criteria. Also, you have a right in your private sphere to use the music as you see fit. That should weight heavier than the protection scheme. Even if you gave a copy of the disk to a few friends, you would still be reasonably innocent.

Just took the exam in an IT-law course yesterday...

B

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Thanks Björn.

Welcome. Just to make my comments more complete I'll ramble on a bit more...

Technical protection measures that are not IPR related but instead used to support marketing are not protected in EU. Good examples are the DVD region and it could even be argued that the iTunes protection could be classified as such.

B

Apple makes it difficult to transfer songs from your iPod to your computer because they would probably lose a ton of record label deals giving them songs to sell.

I think p2p downloading is good the way it is. My opinion hasn't changed a bit. Artists don't lose jack from having mp3s shared on the internet. The amount of music I buy (and all of my friends) did not decrease due to music downloading. In fact, it seems the more music I download, the more music I buy.

If record companies seriously think that every time I download an album, they lost money because I would have bought it, they are smoking crack. No way could I, or would I ever make blind purchases of albums of all the bands I am interested in hearing. Either I download a lot of music and get to hear a lot of music easily on my computer, or I don't download a lot of music and have to search for other means to hear the music (mixtapes, etc).

And I will never, ever, buy an album because I downloaded one song for 99c on iTunes and decided to pay $15 for the full thing.

Also, you have a right in your private sphere to use the music as you see fit. That should weight heavier than the protection scheme. Even if you gave a copy of the disk to a few friends, you would still be reasonably innocent.

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Björn,

I don't know if you're referring to Swedish law or not but here in Sweden as to what falls under the private sphere (för enskilt bruk) in 12§ UpphrättsL should be interpreted very restrictively. So giving a copy to a friend would probably not qualify even though there is an NJA case where they have extended the private sphere to include sharing copied material with colleagues in the workplace.

I don't think it's that hard to transfer songs off the Ipod, mine shows up as a removable drive when I connect it to the computer, and I can upload/DL songs or use the internal hard drive for storing other things fairly easily, not sure if they changed that in the newer versions as I got mine early 2004.

When apple adds bluetooth to the Ipod (supposedly next year) it will make it even easier to transfer songs.

I don't think it's that hard to transfer songs off the Ipod, mine shows up as a removable drive when I connect it to the computer, and I can upload/DL songs or use the internal hard drive for storing other things fairly easily, not sure if they changed that in the newer versions as I got mine early 2004.

When apple adds bluetooth to the Ipod (supposedly next year) it will make it even easier to transfer songs.

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You need a seperate utility to do it. You can download em, they are easy enough to find.