file-sharing

How the U.S. Pressured Spain to Adopt Unpopular Web-Blocking Law

Stevie Converse — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:14:23 -0500

Full article: Ars Technica
Nate Anderson
Though a deeply divided Congress is currently considering Internet website censorship legislation, the United States has no such official policy. Nor does the United States have a government-backed "three strikes" or "graduated response" system of escalating warnings to particular users accused of downloading music and movies from file-sharing networks. Yet here was the ultimatum that the U.S. Embassy in Madrid gave the Spanish government in February 2008: adopt such measures or we will punish you.

Appeals Court Reinstates $675,000 File-Sharing Verdict

Lindsy Embree — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:00:00 -0400

Full article: Wired
David Kravets
A federal appeals court reinstated a whopping $675,000 file-sharing verdict that a jury levied against a Boston college student for making 30 tracks of music available on a peer-to-peer network.

Why IP Addresses Aren't Enough to Find File-Swappers

Lindsy Embree — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:41:43 -0400

Full article: Ars Technica
Nate Anderson
IP addresses have real uses when it comes to identifying Internet activity, but they work best when paired with targeted investigation rather than as "spray-and-pray" shotgun-style federal litigation.

P2P Lawyers Score a Victory; Mass Subpoenas Can Proceed

Lindsy Embree — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:27:38 -0400

Full article: Ars Technica
Nate Anderson
Judges across the country have been hammering mass file-sharing lawsuits in recent months. But it's not all bad news for the attorneys bringing these suits, as they managed to score a victory this week. A federal judge in Washington, DC has decided that three such cases can continue, and the ISPs involved need to turn over names in a timely fashion.

P2P First Seeders: Pirates or 'Masked Philanthropists'

Lindsy Embree — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 10:19:43 -0500

Full article: Ars Technica
Matthew Lasar
Do some P2P file sharers see themselves as the Robin Hoods of the digital age -- taking from the greedy content companies and giving to the global have-nots? Amidst all the angst over illegal Internet file sharing and what to do about it, there's a related debate raging over two questions -- why do people share files and what do they think about the ethics of the practice?

Judge Slashes Penalty in Music Download Case

Stevie Converse — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:34:29 -0400

Full article: Reuters
A U.S. judge slashed the penalty levied by a jury against a Boston Ph.D. student found guilty in 2009 of illegally downloading and sharing songs published by some of the world's biggest recording companies.

Judge Reduces Fine in File-Sharer Case, Could Have Wide-Ranging Repercussions for Copyright Cases

Stevie Converse — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:22:45 -0400

Full article: Media Post
Wendy Davis
In a ruling that could put a crimp in content owners' attempts to convince downloaders to settle lawsuits, a federal judge in Boston has said it's unconstitutional to require a defendant who shared 30 tracks to pay damages of $675,000. Calling such an award "wholly out of proportion with the government's legitimate interests in compensating the plaintiffs and deterring unlawful file-sharing," U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner reduced the damages to $67,500.

File-Sharing Has Weakened Copyright -- and Helped Society

Lindsy Embree — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:58:41 -0400

Full article: Ars Technica
Nate Anderson
Has file-sharing helped society? Looked at from the narrow perspective of existing record labels, the question must seem absurd; profits have dropped sharply in the years since tools like Napster first appeared. But a pair of well-known academics argue peer-to-peer file sharing has weakened copyright and managed to benefit all of us at the same time.

U.K. Government Proposes Cutting Web Access to File Sharers

Lindsy Embree — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:46:16 -0400

Full article: Reuters
Kate Holton
Repeat offenders who persist in illegally downloading music from file-sharing sites such as Limewire could be blocked from accessing the Web according to British government proposals recently issued. The U.K. government said it was publishing new ideas to speed up the process of tackling unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing to prevent damage to the content industries.

Jury Awards $675,000 in Music Downloading Case

Stevie Converse — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:54:37 -0400

Full article: eSchool News
A federal jury on July 31 ordered a Boston University graduate student who admitted illegally downloading and sharing music online to pay $675,000 to four record labels.