Music Downloaders Face Suits
From Music, Film Companies
For individuals who share bootlegged movies and music, life has just gotten a lot riskier.
Companies in the music and film industries Wednesday indicated they are stepping up their attacks on users of Internet file-sharing networks. The Recording Industry Association of America said it will begin gathering information Thursday that is expected to lead to hundreds of copyright suits in the next few months. The group said the suits, initially focused on people within the U.S., will target Internet users who are distributing a "substantial" number of copyrighted songs through peer-to-peer services, regardless of their ages.
In a related development that also raises the stakes for people who distribute entertainment content online, a New Jersey man pleaded guilty to a federal charge of copyright infringement after he distributed an unfinished version of Universal Pictures' movie "The Hulk" on the Internet before its June 20 release. The movie industry has been reluctant to follow the record industry's lead and pursue legal actions against individuals. But Universal initiated an investigation into the matter and then referred it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Universal said it wanted to send a strong message that it won't tolerate such thefts.
The industries' actions signal that the free-for-all era may be ending. In the past few years, consumers could grab songs and movies from Internet bazaars with little worry of being caught. But with music sales down steeply and the movie industry worried that a similar fate awaits it, entertainment conglomerates are turning up the heat in hopes of deterring future theft.
The crackdown is expected to begin soon. The RIAA plans to start filing suits within eight to 10 weeks, focusing initially on individuals who offer the largest caches of songs for distribution. The suits will seek damages and an injunction to block further distribution, the group said. The labels expect to file new suits on a regular basis.
The potential plaintiffs may not get warnings or cease-and-desist orders before being sued, said Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA. But if a plaintiff can show that he or she was wrongly targeted, "we'll quickly address it," Mr. Sherman said.
Several recent court rulings have made it more difficult for individuals to hide from record-label suits. Earlier this month, a federal-appeals court said Verizon Communications Inc. must turn over to music companies the names of Internet subscribers who allegedly distributed songs online, ending the delay on an earlier decision by a U.S. district court. The Internet service provider is appealing.
When they are filed, the suits risk creating a public-relations snarl for the music industry, particularly if some defendants turn out to be teenagers or children. But the labels believe the suits will deter millions of other file-sharers who download or upload only a few tracks.
The record labels argue there are now plenty of legitimate online music options for users, such as Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Music Store. "The consumer doesn't need to use the [peer-to-peer] services anymore, and if they still are, they need to know it's wrong," said Andrew Lack, chairman and chief executive of Sony Corp.'s music arm.
The "Hulk" case finds Universal, a unit of Vivendi Universal SA, breaking rank with the Motion Picture Association of America, which hasn't so far pursued civil or criminal actions against individuals who illicitly distribute films on the Web. Universal Pictures President Rick Finkelstein said, "We just decided that we weren't going to wait for consensus on everything." He added that he hopes other studios will soon follow suit.
The case involves an unfinished "work print" of the movie, which in early June was sent on a videocassette to a Manhattan advertising agency working on the "Hulk" campaign. According to prosecutors, an employee of the agency loaned the tape to a 25-year-old Hamilton, N.J., man named Kerry Gonzalez, who made a digital copy of it on his home computer. Mr. Gonzalez attempted to erase a security "tag" embedded in the movie, then uploaded the digital copy to an Internet chat room.
Universal was able to trace the film despite Mr. Gonzalez's attempts to defeat the security mechanism. Vivendi Universal Entertainment general counsel Karen Randall said the studio hopes the swift prosecution of the case will clarify the illegal status of such actions "if anyone was confused." An attorney for Mr. Gonzalez said he didn't think his actions would result in the movie being distributed so widely on the Internet. Mr. Gonzalez will be sentenced in September and faces a maximum prison sentence of three years, plus a fine of either $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
唱片和电影行业将加强对网络盗版行为的打击
唱片和电影行业以行动向世人表明，他们正在加紧对互联网共享文件用户的打击。
疲于应付盗版活动的唱片行业周三放言将起诉数百个非法分享网上音乐文件的个人电脑用户。唱片行业同网络盗版活动的斗争升级到这样一个白热化的程度，实为前所未有。
另一起事件的进展也表明，在网上散布娱乐内容的人将不再高枕无忧。新泽西州的一名男子对联邦法官有关他侵犯版权的指控表示认罪。在Vivendi Universal SA旗下环球影业公司(Universal Pictures)的《变形侠医》(The Hulk)于6月20日正式公映前，他在网上散布了该片的未完成版本。电影行业一直不愿意效法唱片行业的做法，对个人电脑用户诉诸法律。但环球影业这次对此事展开了调查，并向联邦调查局(Federal Bureau of Investigation)求助。环球影业表示，此举意在表明该公司将不会对这种盗窃行为继续听之任之。
打击行动可能很快就会开始。美国唱片业协会(Recording Industry Association of America)称，由于唱片销量出现了大幅度的下滑，该协会本周四将开始搜索一些共享文件的网站，以确定是哪些用户在提供大量MP3音乐文件下载。协会预计将在8到10周内提起至少数百起诉讼，寻求获得经济赔偿。
对此，一些批评人士指出，唱片业协会采取的强硬手段，将使得它与数百万网络文件分享者之间的关系趋于紧张。
唱片业协会主席Carey Sherman称，虽然，可能受到起诉的被告在被起诉之前不会受到警告，或者接到要求其停止盗版的命令，但如果被告能够表明自己被冤枉了，该组织会很快解决这一问题。
唱片业协会表示，律师初步将对在网上发现的一些大量收集音乐文件的人提起诉讼。美国的版权法规定，利用个人电脑非法提供乐曲可以索取每首曲子750到1.5万美元的赔偿。 但Carey Sherman表示，他们不会拒绝接受被告所提出的和解协议。
而环球影业的《变形侠医》一案也打破了美国电影协会(Motion Picture Association of America)的一贯做法，迄今为止，该协会还从未对非法在网上分发电影的个人追究过任何民事或刑事责任。环球影业的总裁Rick Finkelstein表示，公司决定不再等待全行业对一切都达成一致的那一天，他希望其他制片公司很快能仿效他们的做法。
