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When does sharing become stealing?
by Florencia Agote
Many of us use the Internet daily to do assignments, check our email, or surf the web looking for cool stuff like music. But what do we know about the ownership of material that is posted on the Internet?
The Internet was built to facilitate information sharing. However, society faces new challenges as intellectual property rights are defined on the cyber frontier.
National laws and University policies aim to address the distinction between the innocent sharing of information and knowingly pirating the works of others.
The law as it stands
In 1998, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) which implements treaties signed at the 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) conference. The act makes it a crime to circumvent anti-piracy protection in commercial software and outlaws devices that illegally copy software.
The act limits the liability of Internet service providers, including non-profit institutions of higher education, for simply carrying copyrighted information. Nevertheless, Internet service providers are expected to remove from users' web sites material that infringes on copyright protection.
Another group targeted by the DCMA is Internet broadcasters. These web-based media outlets are required to pay royalties as traditional media outlets do.
Napster nabs headlines
Recent court battles over the online song-swapping service Napster have thrust copyright concerns into the headlines.
Until recent court decisions against Napster, the service worked by allowing users to share portions of their hard drives that contained music files. Such sharing angered the music industry because people download material created or owned by others without paying for it. Hence, artists and record companies lost some royalties.
The Recording Industry Association of America, a trade organization which represents creators, manufacturers, and distributors of 90 percent of sound recordings produced and sold in the U.S., has to date targeted mass producers and distributors of pirated files and counterfeit CDs. Its enforcement tactics have not targeted individuals.
Copyright.net brings a new element to the battle with respect to file sharing services. Copyright.net aims to automate copyright protection granted by the DMCA by watching service users and directly targeting users who share copyrighted material.
When you sign up with Napster, the service identifies the sound files you have on your hard drive, puts them in a shared folder, and posts a directory of the contents of that folder on its servers. Users can then search for and trade files.
According to Copyright.net, it has notified Napster of copyright infringements of 1.5 million users. The service estimates that, as a result of its enforcement, as many as 700,000 individual Napster accounts have been blocked.
Tim Smith, president and CEO of Copyright.net, explains that a Napster user's shared folder is "like a sign [saying] 'Here's what I have!' We go to the server and read the sign, and then let that person know that the file they're trying to share hasn't been authorized by the copyright holder."
When Copyright.net notifies Napster of infringements, Napster will cancel the offending account and send a notice to its owner explaining the reason for cancellation. If users who lose their accounts this way register with Copyright.net and agree to remove the offending files, it will contact Napster on the user's behalf to reopen the account.
In addition to Copyright.net, under the terms of the DMCA a copyright holder can complain directly to Napster, or another service, of a user distributing copyrighted material and the service is legally required to suspend the infringing user.
What do musicians think?
Musicians' opinions of the Napster controversy vary. "I think Napster is a great way for people to [get to] know about the type of music I do and about my band," says local performer Robert Everest. "If they like what that they hear they will go and buy our CDs. So far we are not on the 'net, but that is something that we will do soon."
Local jazz musician Paul Renz agrees.
"Some famous musicians at the beginning were against [file sharing], but later changed their mind because of the promotional value. And smaller groups get the opportunity to be known nationwide," he adds. Renz, a self-described "technology square" plans to use the Internet to further promote his work. "I plan to have a web page where I will advertise my three CDs and where people will be able to download my music," he adds.
Several high-profile national artists have also spoken out in support of Napster.
Madonna is quoted in the September 2000 Rolling Stone as saying, "Napster could be a great way for people to hear your music who wouldn't have the chance to hear it on the radio."
Dave Matthews weighed in on the subject in the magazine's July issue: "There are a lot of bigger problems in the world than whether Napster succeeds or fails.... I don't think there is a malice coming out of Napster. We [have] allowed people to tape our concerts from the beginning, and the record company questioned us about allowing that. But my thinking was that it only makes people want to buy more and increases the devotion of people who are going to listen."
Some musicians are more concerned about forgoing royalties due to online song swap programs. When pressed, Renz concedes, "I don't know how I feel about Napster. Musicians don't get paid royalties [for music traded on Napster] so I have to think about it. It is a double-edged sword."
What does the future hold?
RealNetworks and recording powerhouses AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann, and EMI Group will soon launch a new online song subscription service called MusicNet. For an as-yet undisclosed monthly subscription fee, music fans will be able to stream or download fully licensed, copyright protected songs.
Napster, on the other hand, is battling for its life after major setbacks in its ongoing battles with the record industry. The company hopes to persuade Congress to redefine copyright laws to allow online file sharing services to prosper.
Napster officials and the music industry are talking with the government about how current copyright laws are being challenged by new online technology, but they should not be the only ones. Because copyright concerns everything on the Internet, these issues should be of concern to everyone.
