Torrent users beware

sillild

http://www.unison.ie/business/stories.php3?ca=80&si=1374284

Music downloaders face hefty fines in piracy crackdown
Sunday April 10th 2005


NICK WEBB

HUNDREDS of music downloaders and file sharers could be prosecuted in a devastating crackdown on internet piracy unleashed by the majorrecord companies.

People who have illicitly downloaded songs including U2's Vertigo and Paddy Casey's Saints and Sinners could face fines of up to €5,800 if prosecuted. This could include the parents of children who have spent hours on the internet pirating songs for iPods or creating their own CDs, echoing the case when a 12-year-old New York school girl, Brianna LaHara, was sued by US record companies in late 2003. The Irish Record Music Association (IRMA), which represents the record companies, has prepared affidavits against close to 20 individuals, who are alleged to have distributed or "uploaded" shared files or illegally pirated music on the internet. Up to 250,000 people are thought to have illegally downloaded music here last year, according to IRMA data.

It is understood that the first 20 or so cases will be taken against these uploaders, but that a concerted campaign over the next three years will target more casual file sharers, with sources suggesting that "hundreds and hundreds" could be pursued.

IRMA is set to go to the High Court to force Irish internet service providers to divulge the identity of the initial 20 targeted internet accounts used for uploading the pirated music. In December, IRMA hired a US spy firmto monitor internet traffic from Ireland downloading thousands of specially selected tracks, ranging from well-known Irish acts suchas U2 and the Corrs to hip hop stars such as Eminem and 50 Cent.

Cabaal

Shouldn't the subject be "People who copy copyright material beware" ?
After all there's nothing inherintely wrong with using torrents or bittorrent in general...well its true.

neon_glows

Thats disgraceful. LoL, wonder am i one of those 20, ha ha. Just to be sure, any suggestions on how to get away with this if u are one of these peep's, ha ha. I reckon everybody delete everything, throw out your hard drives, lol

More serious note, what file sharing networks are being targeted?

Steffano2002

It is possible to download music from the internet?!?!?!? That's news to me! :eek:

(I'm preparing my defense)

Cabaal

I can understand The Corrs and U2 but who the hell downloads Eminem and 50 Cent songs? :eek:
EDIT: hmm I guess teenagers...

CyberGhost

Cabaal wrote:

I can understand The Corrs and U2 but who the hell downloads Eminem and 50 Cent songs? :eek:
EDIT: hmm I guess teenagers...

yep, and they are the once that usually get cought, cause they couldn't care less about being careful

Chalk

is any of whats mentioned there covered under irish law?

last i heard irma or irfu or whaterver their called couldnt even figure out how to receive the money from eircom/itunes so that they could legally sell songs,

surely this is just a bit of scaremongering now that broadband sppeds are 4x and everyone and their monkey can download the new u2 album while their waiting for a bus?

RobertFoster

Neither me nor my monkey like U2, so I'm safe...;)

Shiny

Are you sure it is "Torrent Users"?

What about all the other P2P clients????

I would have thought that Kazaa users would have
more to be worrying about.

Cabaal

Shiny wrote:

Are you sure it is "Torrent Users"?

What about all the other P2P clients????

I would imagine its file sharers in general using edonkey, kazaaaaaaaaa ETC

The_Bullman

In your expert opinion, would soulseek users be included ?

fintan

What if you didn't download pirated music and you believe your computer must have been hacked into, what happens then?

Dr_MalPractice

fintan wrote:

What if you didn't download pirated music and you believe your computer must have been hacked into, what happens then?

then You're wel and truly boned :eek: :eek: :eek:

kasintahan

This has been in the pipeline for years.

That's what the likes of
Freenet and GNUNet have been designed to withstand.
Total anonymity, warts 'n all.

Ruhan

Quick, open all your ports, go publish your ip to every board, newsgroup, and channel you can find, and state what content you have on your computer to said groups.

Report the results here please.

OfflerCrocGod

CyberGhost wrote:

yep, and they are the once that usually get cought, cause they couldn't care less about being careful

What magical solution do you have to stop people from getting your IP address from other people in a torrent swarm? I used to try and use PeerGuardian but that just made my computer over heat and slow to a crawl, surely there is a quick and easy way to block suspect addresses?

The new version of peerguardian takes up half the memory it used to. Give it a go.


Anyone got an ip range for IRMA?

Civilian_Target

I'm sure they have that company in New York, whatever it's called, do the work. They must make a fortune.

Of course, you're not going to turn up many results in Ireland anyway - because not enough people have broadband...

seamus

Shouldn't that read "Music uploaders face hefty fines in piracy crackdown".

I wouldn't worry too much, particularly if you've been using Bittorrent.

Though it is time to put your hands up and accept that the days of pirate digital information are coming to an end. It was nice while it lasted, but we all knew it was wrong deep down.

tinkerbell

Yah, seamus - I thought that was the case too - it's music uploaders that they are after ... twas the illegal sharing & distribution that they are targeting, and not downloaders??

seamus

tinkerbell wrote:

Yah, seamus - I thought that was the case too - it's music uploaders that they are after ... twas the illegal sharing & distribution that they are targeting, and not downloaders??

Well, as far as I know, it's not illegal to be in possession of the material, unless it can be proven that it was fraudulently obtained. There may also be grey areas regarding downloading stuff that you already own, or that you have owned - for example, I ordered the new Green Day album on CD online, then downloaded the music waiting for it to arrive.

Distribution and/or sharing of music though is cut-and-dried illegal, so it's easier to target. It's also a better straegy, like drugs - attack the dealers, not the users.

Jonnie_Onion

seamus wrote:

Shouldn't that read "Music uploaders face hefty fines in piracy crackdown".

I wouldn't worry too much, particularly if you've been using Bittorrent.

Though it is time to put your hands up and accept that the days of pirate digital information are coming to an end. It was nice while it lasted, but we all knew it was wrong deep down.

BT is the main one they'll be targetting, since it's so transparent.

skkatter

I wonder what percentage of these users they are hoping to sue are under 18? What happens then, their parents get sued? Case is dropped? Kid has to give IMRO 75% of their pocket money for the next 25 years?

PiE

The parents will be forced to pay the fine.

Though it is time to put your hands up and accept that the days of pirate digital information are coming to an end.

Can't say I've noticed

GeorgeBailey

I suppose this means I'll have to stick to the legal ways of getting files from now on like allofmp3

gsand

everyone who is engaging in similar activities should really think about using protowall or peer guardian or anohter peer protection utility

just incase ya know

dont know much about it myself

GavinJCD

It's been proven many times that the record labels don't lose nearly as much money as they say they do to downloading. Here is one such article...

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050410-4795.html

Gav

Jonnie_Onion

Plus CD sales in Ireland went up after that 20% drop. And they don't even have procedures in place to measure revenue from online sales from the likes of play.com and iTunes!

Infini

They should just get lost with these stupid lawsuits. They're not helping anyone and the only thing they'll acomplish is making themselves hated by everyone. They're only in this to exploit people for as much money as possible. Greedy bastards. At least this makes me feel better.

MrPudding

Infini wrote:

They should just get lost with these stupid lawsuits. They're not helping anyone and the only thing they'll acomplish is making themselves hated by everyone. They're only in this to exploit people for as much money as possible. Greedy bastards. At least this makes me feel better.

Yeah. Who do they think they are trying to protect copyrighted material and stopping people breaking the law. Shame on them.

MrP

Infini

seamus wrote:

Shouldn't that read "Music uploaders face hefty fines in piracy crackdown".

I wouldn't worry too much, particularly if you've been using Bittorrent.

Your probably right. The only people that would be generally at risk would be those who are constant seeders.

Though it is time to put your hands up and accept that the days of pirate digital information are coming to an end. It was nice while it lasted, but we all knew it was wrong deep down.

It ain't over till the fat lady sings! :cool:

seamus

Actually, when I say "the days of pirate digital information are coming to an end", I mean mainstream. Twon't be long before people see it the same as strolling into HMV and sticking a few CDs in their pocket.

It will always exist, but it'll become underground and basically the domain of real criminals soon enough.

norbert64

Granted it's good for all you P2P & BT users, but why Xactly are they bothering suing just 20 ppl.
What makes them different to the rest of y'all.

MrPudding

I presume it is "a message" to the evil profit stealers. Trying to send a message to the axis of evil. Break copyright and suffer the wrath of the law.

MrP

digitaldr

Has anyone actually tried Freenet? How about the likes of allofmp3.com. I think it's illegal to buy MP3s off them if your outside Russia (and maybe even if you're not!) but who's to know?

Infini

seamus wrote:

Actually, when I say "the days of pirate digital information are coming to an end", I mean mainstream. Twon't be long before people see it the same as strolling into HMV and sticking a few CDs in their pocket.

It will always exist, but it'll become underground and basically the domain of real criminals soon enough.

I see. TBH if they're gonna start suing people they should send cease and desist orders first before actually taking people to court. That incident with the little 12-year old girl in New York 2 years ago is what pisses me off whenever I hear of these cases.

seamus

Infini wrote:

I see. TBH if they're gonna start suing people they should send cease and desist orders first before actually taking people to court. That incident with the little 12-year old girl in New York 2 years ago is what pisses me off whenever I hear of these cases.

Yeah, but nobody's gonna think of the record companies as "ruthless bastards that you don't want to mess with, and you'd better stop downloading" if they sent a C & D order to a 12-year-old girl, would they?

There's not a chance in hell they'd have the time or resources to take everyone to court, their aim is some high-profile cases so that the ignorant will stop, and more importantly, parents will take control for fear of what their kids are doing.

Infini

seamus wrote:

There's not a chance in hell they'd have the time or resources to take everyone to court, their aim is some high-profile cases so that the ignorant will stop, and more importantly, parents will take control for fear of what their kids are doing.

They've been doing that in the US for 2 years but after the initial drop in p2p users when they first started suing people it just recovered stronger than before. On the issue of high profile cases the MGM vs Grokster in the US, and the kazaa case in Australia are the ones to watch out for.

The General

seamus wrote:

Shouldn't that read "Music uploaders face hefty fines in piracy crackdown".

I wouldn't worry too much, particularly if you've been using Bittorrent.

Though it is time to put your hands up and accept that the days of pirate digital information are coming to an end. It was nice while it lasted, but we all knew it was wrong deep down.

Don't be stupid, everyone who has the internet has downloaded something illegal, how can anyone stop this

There is always gonna be a way to get music/video illegally from the net

Infini

The General wrote:

Don't be stupid, everyone who has the internet has downloaded something illegal, how can anyone stop this

There is always gonna be a way to get music/video illegally from the net

Napster -> RIAA sue napster-> Napster shut down->Rise of Kazaa, Morpheus, etc,-> Rise of BT-> 50% of internet has pirate material->Lawsuits->iTunes-> ?.

Wonder how it'll end?

dahamsta

GavinJCD wrote:

It's been proven many times that the record labels don't lose nearly as much money as they say they do to downloading. Here is one such article...

Here's another on the Canadian Industry, by Michel Geist.

http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue10_4/geist/

I think you're being a bit harsh on the matter of downloading vs. uploading btw. "Independent" reporters have enough trouble without bringing technology and modern social issues into the fray. The poor man's head could have exploded with the strain!

adam

seamus

The General wrote:

Don't be stupid, everyone who has the internet has downloaded something illegal, how can anyone stop this

There is always gonna be a way to get music/video illegally from the net

That's like saying "There's always going to be a way of getting music illegally from shops".

Of course there will be the ability to get music illegally online, but even now, the attitudes are changing. As the legal world and companies slowly catch up on the power of the net, and people see being online as more and more of a necessity rather than a pastime, the lines between just downloading stuff because you can, and illegal activity are slowly unblurring.

Soon enough, with DRM and probable legislation forcing ISPs to record traffic, people won't draw a distinction between stealing online and stealing in real life. In ten years' time, every 20-year-old won't know what the world was like before the Internet. The Internet for them will in fact be real-life, there will be no distinction.

In much the same way that we copied CDs to tape when we were younger, but then instead went and bought the CDs when we started earning money, file-sharing will slowly die out, and people find it's less hassle to buy online, and it doesn't twang their moral fibres quite so much.

Infini

Pity Irish laws can't be more like Canada's.

Infini

seamus wrote:

In much the same way that we copied CDs to tape when we were younger, but then instead went and bought the CDs when we started earning money, file-sharing will slowly die out, and people find it's less hassle to buy online, and it doesn't twang their moral fibres quite so much.

I doubt it. Anyone who's used filesharing networks like BT will find how easy and convenient it is to use them.

DannyD

seamus wrote:

Shouldn't that read "Music uploaders face hefty fines in piracy crackdown".

I wouldn't worry too much, particularly if you've been using Bittorrent.

Though it is time to put your hands up and accept that the days of pirate digital information are coming to an end. It was nice while it lasted, but we all knew it was wrong deep down.

Bit Torrent users are hardly the pirates running the show.

Infini

DannyD wrote:

Bit Torrent users are hardly the pirates running the show.

But afink a 1/3 of all traffic on the net is now on BT.

Chalk

there just getting p'ed off that its become so mainstream,
as has been pointed out, its easier to download an album than to buy it.

theyll push it underground and itll go back to the way it was before 'nova and napster.

seeing as how bt traffic is taking up more and more of the web theyve got to stop it before it becomes too much,
cant say i blame them,
but i cant say i like it either

Infini

Chalk wrote:

there just getting p'ed off that its become so mainstream,
as has been pointed out, its easier to download an album than to buy it.

And the DRM is a pain if you get a legal download and wanna put it on an mp3 player or minidisk.

Gryzor

with bittorrent would they have to catch u in the act or would the isp's have any logs of usage, can they even force the isp's to release such info..if it exists......a friend of mine was wondering??

Infini

I'm wondering myself if they can do that.

ricey

Look at it this way, Don mind what the IRMA are ranting on about
Id love to see them bring every1 to court over downloading music
from the net there can not be one law for one person and another
law for someone else.
This is just to scare people off doing it in the first place no way
would any of the cases ever go to court not in this country there
just cant be any judge that will fine say a 20year old €5000
for downloading mp3`s or movies from the net .
So for me il never stop downloading if i get caught then screw
em il just have to live wit it.