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How to Tell if the RIAA Wants You
codewolf writes "Wired News has an article on how file sharers can check a new online database to see if they are wanted by the recording industry.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has created a site where users can plug in their file-sharing user names. That name is checked against the list of those subpoenas filed in the Washington, D.C. district court.
The EFF also has an article on how to avoid a lawsuit from the RIAA."
I don't know about other Slashdot readers, but up until a few days ago when Slashdot brought the word into daily use (and read the article!), I thought that 'subpoena' was stuff that floated in ponds. If anyone else doesn't quite remember 'subpoena' being in their day-to-day vocabulary either, this might help clear things up:
[a@desk,docs] dict subpoena
3 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Subpoena \Sub*p[oe]"na\, n. [NL., fr. L. sub under + poena
punishment. See {Pain}.] (Law)
A writ commanding the attendance in court, as a witness, of
the person on whom it is served, under a penalty; the process
by which a defendant in equity is commanded to appear and
answer the plaintiff's bill. [Written also {subpena}.]
{Subp[oe]na ad testificandum}. [NL.] A writ used to procure
the attendance of a witness for the purpose of testifying.
(etc)
-Andrew
Sadly, that is not how it works. The RIAA is after IP addresses, not usernames. They begin downloading a file from someone with K-Lite's username (or any other) and then check to see what IP they are connected to. At that point, they have enough information to go to the user's ISP with the same pretty little subpoena that gets sent to everyone else.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't seem like this would do too much good. I suppose, as another user suggested, one could simply disable the sharing of files, but then again, that just gives RIAA an easier win. Oh well....off to Gnutella!
-csa
Just a little point of note: I live in Belgium, and I've yet to hear anything about the implications of these recent battles here, but I will note that three years ago, during the Napster era, the government here actually took matters completely into their own hands, and raided the houses of over 20 users of that software, taking custody of computers. I haven't heard any follow-up on those raids, but I'd take this lesson from them: if you live in Europe, or moreover, a country like Belgium with lax warrent and search laws, be cautious about how much your activity exposes you. And never forget, in looking at the battle between ISP's, etc. and the RIAA in the US, the level of cooperation in many of these nations between the governments and monopolies in major industries, particularly, oh, what was it? Oh yes, the Telecom/Internet industry...
Download and share music that can be legitimately shared. Frankly, I'm so pissed off at the media cartel that I don't want to even bother pirating their products, let alone buy them. Even commercial radio stations thoroughly suck these days.
Oh, no! You have walked into the slavering fangs of a lurking grue!
Americans are not the majority of internet users, by any stretch of the imagination: http://www.koehler-visuals.com/countries_online.ht m.
What source did you base your comment on? Of were you just making up facts?
I personally listen to almost 100% indie music and find that its harder to find good RIAA artists/songs than it is to find good indie artists. Certainly per capita the RIAA loses and badly.
You can try this site if you're new to indie music, indie rock in particular. They also have 128kbs streaming MP3s. Or you can pay a visit to a couple of the bigger and more popular indie labels like Matador or Jade Tree.
Yeah, its tough finding good indie music, but that's only because the RIAA and Clearchannel monopolies make it so. If you put in a little effort you might be surprised at what you find.
I hope the indie labels exploit these damn lawsuits to increase their profile amongst music lovers.
somebody else already did. it's more efficient not to have to look through all of them though.
I didn't see a KazaaLiteUser@Kazaa either.
I did find a mike@Kazaa. The subpoena lists NINE copyrighted songs that his copy of Kazaa offered for download from his computer. That's like 2/3 of a CD. Keith Epstein, head of Mike's ISP, has to make the painful decision of whether or not to fight the subpoena.
It should be noted that the lawyer who sent the subpoena, Yvette Molinaro, is expecting email replies from the ISPs to dmca@msk.com, or phone calls to (310) 312-3297. This is all information in the public domain. I'm just pointing stuff out.
I trust your comment was in jest, if not:
Come on, this is the EFF. You should go out and take a look at what they have done to date to protect your online rights...
Here is what they are doing right now:
http://www.eff.org/Legal/active_legal.html
My suggestion for all is to follow the links on the EFF site to write to your congressperson and possibly make a donation to the EFF...
You do get a pretty cool T-Shirt