A proposed solution to end the P2P wars

Final observations on file sharing

In the last two and half years, I've written almost 300 of these columns on file sharing. This will be the last to appear on the Network World Fusion site. If you have any suggestions as to where these columns should appear next, let me know.

Based on the mail I receive, many of these columns are widely shared and distributed by forwarded links. Terrific, please continue to distribute my work. Let me know where it appears.  In between my other deadlines, I will post new columns from time to time on my personal Web site, http://www.ontherecord.org

In the meantime, I'd like to make some final observations on file sharing. Since the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) began its flurry of subpoenas and lawsuits against alleged copyright violators, the dispute over file sharing has made it on to the front pages of newspapers around the world. The RIAA says it is reaching settlements on dozens of its 261 lawsuits and has received 863 affidavits from file traders under its bogus amnesty program.

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

In the last two and half years, I've written almost 300 of these columns on file sharing. This will be the last to appear on the Network World Fusion site. If you have any suggestions as to where these columns should appear next, let me know.

Based on the mail I receive, many of these columns are widely shared and distributed by forwarded links. Terrific, please continue to distribute my work. Let me know where it appears.  In between my other deadlines, I will post new columns from time to time on my personal Web site, http://www.ontherecord.org

In the meantime, I'd like to make some final observations on file sharing. Since the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) began its flurry of subpoenas and lawsuits against alleged copyright violators, the dispute over file sharing has made it on to the front pages of newspapers around the world. The RIAA says it is reaching settlements on dozens of its 261 lawsuits and has received 863 affidavits from file traders under its bogus amnesty program.

But in the past few weeks, the RIAA is finally being challenged on these tactics by P2P providers, lawmakers, and the very music fans whose business the record industry depends on.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a motion accusing the RIAA of illegally using these subpoenas to learn the identity of alleged file traders. The right to online anonymity is the larger civil liberties issue raised by the P2P wars. The ACLU is correct in its charge that the subpoenas, filed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) violated due process and the constitutional rights shielding the anonymity of Internet users. It is asking a federal judge in Boston to reject attempts by music labels to reveal the identity of an alleged file trader at Boston College.

The American Library Association has also criticized the RIAA's attempt to shut down P2P networks. In what could be a powerful blow to the record industry's attempt to equate file trading with porn distribution, five major U.S. library associations have filed a legal brief supporting Streamcast Networks and Grokster which are being sued by the five major record labels and large movie studios.

The brief asks the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold an earlier decision to dismiss the industry's suit against the P2P companies. Both the ACLU and the library groups point out that P2P networks have many non-infringing uses and the technology should not be destroyed because some people use it to trade copyrighted material. This is essentially the argument used in the 1985 Betamax case where the movie industry tried to outlaw VCRs.

Sharman Networks, creator of the Kazza software, is also hitting back, filing new anti-trust charges against record labels and movie studios in response to the copyright infringement claims lodged against it. The lawsuit asserts that these entertainment companies have conspired to drive Sharman out of business in an effort to monopolize the distribution of content. A similar lawsuit filed last January was dismissed, but this new one points to the real damage suffered by Sharman at the hand of the entertainment industry. The record labels have continued the legal rampage by suing iMesh, one of the oldest file-trading networks.