Well here we go again with regards to piracy , but not websites that offer free music along with advertisement
preparing to file copyright-infringement lawsuits against those it determines are the most egregious file-sharers on the Internet, according to reports in early July. The purported move against individuals follows successful copyright litigation against several commercial ventures, including the neutering of Napster, the granddaddy of them all. If carried out, an attack on music fans would put the music industry in the curious position of intentionally alienating its own customers. |
The idea appeals to executives who are enduring the second year of the longest sales drought the recorded music industry has yet experienced, but it is fraught with legal and logistical problems. The industry is aware of major file-sharers, because their frequently accessed databases appear as so-called "supernodes" in peer-to-peer networks. Finding out exactly who are the individuals behind these databases may be difficult or impossible, because their identities are known only by their Internet service providers, who may not be required to divulge information. Many computers generate new IP addresses each time they are turned on'”which means they can't be tracked on a day-to-day basis'”or have multiple users, which would make identifying a single guilty party extremely difficult.
Also the music industry is toying with the idea
generating "dummy files" of popular songs, although it's uncertain whether that would be any more problematic for downloaders than the frequent broken links and partial files they now encounter. Another widely discussed anti-piracy measure involves probing users' computers for illicit files and planting viruses. Some of these tactics are of questionable legality; Congressman Howard Berman, a Democrat from Los Angeles, plans to introduce legislation to protect copyright owners from the legal backlash that might result from damaging private databases or operating systems. |
Can this succeed?
Source: Stereophile
