Copyright Law Blog

How to Protect yourself From the Potential of a $220,000 Judgment: Safemedia’s P2pd Tech Solutions are the Answer

July 28th, 2009 at 06:40am Under copyright protection

“The recent Minnesota copyright infringement precedent-setting case gives the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) the right ammunition to stop people from downloading and distributing unauthorized copyrighted digital files over contaminated Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks,” said CEO & Chairman Safwat Fahmy SafeMedia Corp., Boca Raton, FL.

“SafeMedia products are the only technology that was designed and created to block all contaminated encrypted and non-encrypted P2P networks and to protect internet users from such costly judgment. SafeMedia products installed on a university/schools, government and ISP networks or at internet users home would make it virtually impossible for anyone to commit illegal file sharing,” said Fahmy.

RIAA won its first trial last week when a jury ordered Jammie Thomas of Duluth, Minnesota to pay $220,000 to a half dozen separate record companies — Sony BMG, Arista Records, Interscope Records, UMG Recordings, Capitol Records, and Warner Bros. Records. The settlement involves 24 copyrighted songs illegally downloaded and shared with others over a Kazaa file-sharing network on her computer. Thomas’ lawyer argued that someone else could have downloaded the songs either in-person or remotely, but the Minnesota jury ruled in favor of the recording industry.

In a previous case in Arizona Judge Neil V. Wake provided the legal foundation for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recent victory. The case Atlantic v. Howell, where Judge Wake, in a summary judgment, shot down the Howell’s arguments and handed the RIAA $40,500 in statutory damages, $350 in court costs, and a permanent injunction against future copyright infringement by the Howells.

“This landmark decision was based on ‘The Made Available Theory’ that anyone who has P2P programs on their computer, which connect to a contaminated P2P network (even without downloading files) is committing copyright infringement since the only reason to have the programs is to make copyrighted files available to all other users,” said Fahmy. (Contaminated P2P networks are known to contain illegal copyrighted files, classified business information, national security data and personal identification documents).

According to Tom Sydnor, senior fellow and director of the Center for the Study of Digital Property at The Progress & Freedom Foundation, the Jammie Thomas case is a double-edge sword for Internet pirates. “First, by rejecting the defendant’s “a-neighbor-could-have-done-it defense,” the jury indicated that the holder of an internet-access account is responsible for illegal uses of their account. This helps dispel the myth that you can download with impunity and then blame on your roommate when get caught.

“Second, by awarding damages of $9250 per song—well above the $750-per-song minimum—the jury spoke to both the illegality and immorality of unauthorized downloading. Some say that this verdict will not deter file-sharing because the number of people using file-sharing programs has increased since the lawsuits began. They miss the point. The defendant here was sued because she was allegedly uploading over 1700 songs. Studies show that the percentage of users uploading files on these networks has plunged since the lawsuits began. As users learn to stop uploading infringing files, the problem of infringing downloaders will resolve itself,” explained Sydnor, who also authored a study for the US Patent Office on dangers of file sharing, and recently testified in Washington DC, along with SafeMedia Corporation.

In another RIAA lawsuit, Elektra v. Santangelo, AOL has been enjoined as a third party defendant and sued for $4 million. The lawsuit against AOL is based on information and belief that, AOL failed to use its controls to prevent illegal downloading (from Contaminated P2P networks) of copyrighted music, even though it had the information, superior knowledge, ability, skill, techniques, tools, power and authority to prevent such downloading.

“The verdict should also send a message to distributors of file-sharing programs,” said Sydnor. “Yet again, a consumer made an utterly foreseeable use of a file-sharing program and suffered dire consequences. Distributors that care about their users will get the hint and start using the best-available technology to prevent infringing uses of their programs and networks.”

SafeMedia’s P2P Disaggregator (P2PD) technology is embedded in DSL and Cable modems in the home or work environment or as a standalone subnet appliance for universities, government agencies and corporate networks. Our strategy of subnet implementation eliminates any network latency; controls darknets file sharing between subnets and reduces exposure to backbone failure.

“These cases are likely to send a strong message on piracy throughout cyberspace,” said Fahmy. “We believe universities and campuses across the country are trying to end piracy on campus. A university, based on the AOL lawsuit may be found liable for allowing the infringing conduct of staff and/or students where the university has provided access to the equipment used to carry out the infringing conduct and not taken reasonable steps to ensure that their network infrastructure is not used to infringe copyrighted material.”

SafeMedia’s products were created specifically to give universities, corporations, government agencies and ISP’s a complete long term cost effective solution for protecting their users and winning the war on Internet piracy associated with contaminated P2P networks.

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Congress Considers Grants for Technology Solutions to Stop Illegal Downloading or P2p Distribution of Intellectual Property on Campus

July 17th, 2009 at 12:41pm Under intellectual property

Congress is considering legislation that would require colleges receiving federal aid to educate students and faculty about illegal file-sharing on campus and develop a plan to offer “technology-based deterrents” to illegal downloading.

The provisions are part of the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007, introduced in the House by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, and Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Texas, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.

The legislation would require colleges and universities participating in any Title IV program to inform students and employees on certain “policies and procedures related to the illegal downloading and distribution of copyrighted materials,” and to “develop a plan for offering alternatives to illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property as well as a plan to explore technology-based deterrents to prevent such illegal activity.”

The legislation makes available competitive grants to support “Campus Based Digital Theft Prevention Solutions.” SafeMedia CEO & Chairman Safwat Fahmy applauded Miller and Hinojosa for sponsoring the legislation.

“This vision, intent and wording of the bill shows that Congress understands the complex issues of illegal file sharing and identity theft associated with contaminated P2P networks on U.S. campuses,” said Fahmy. “The proposed measure also recognizes that technology is available today to stop contaminated P2P, while allowing the legitimate ones, which are critical educational tools to operate without interruption.” “

“SafeMedia products available now stop contaminated P2P networks and offer immediate alternative to illegal downloading. SafeMedia unique lock and key system creates a safe and secure environment to distribute copyrighted material can be used by Universities as an alternative to illegal downloading, .” said Fahmy.

“SafeMedia has the only products available today that can end all illegal file sharing and identity theft associated with encrypted or non-encrypted contaminated P2P,” he said.

Contaminated P2P networks are known to contain illegal copyrighted files, classified business information, national security data and personal identification documents. SafeMedia’s P2P Disaggregator technology (P2PD™) was developed to create a secure environment for unencumbered, economical use of legitimate P2P and Bit Torrent networks on campus.

The Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities – a non-profit organization that promotes use of information technology in higher education – wrote to Miller’s committee expressing concerns that no technology exists that can stop illegal file-sharing, an assertion that Fahmy strongly disputes.

“SafeMedia’s P2PD is available today and was designed specifically to address the complex issues of P2P networks on college campuses,” he said. “We challenge any college in America to test our solution and see if it doesn’t solve the problem of eliminating illegal file sharing, creating a safe environment for the legitimate use of P2P and Bit Torrent networks and provide a safe, secure and economical digital download solution.”

Dan Glickman, chairman & CEO of the Motion Pictures Alliance of America, said intellectual property theft costs more than 140,000 U.S. jobs each year. Glickman said almost half the U.S. motion picture industry’s domestic losses are attributed to illegal file-sharing over campus P2P networks.

“We are pleased to see that Congress is taking this step to help keep our economy strong by protecting copyrighted material on college campuses,” said Glickman.

About SafeMedia Corporation

SafeMedia Corporation, based in Boca Raton, Fl, is a global developer of P2P Disaggregator technology (P2PD™) that stops illegal peer-to-peer file sharing. SafeMedia’s technologies provide individual users, businesses, educational institutions, and public/private organizations with an immediate, effective way to totally safeguard their network infrastructure from every risks associated with illegal file sharing of copyrighted files, ensures 24/7/365 compliance with all federal and state digital copyright laws and eliminates the risk of legal prosecution. By preventing upload participation, these networks become incapable of growing and lose their reason to exist. The P2PD™ technology is deployed at end-user sites, either integrated into network devices installed in user locations such as edge routers/modems or subnet edge routers and concentrators, or as an independent network technology (Clouseau®).

[Editors: To view the full published report visit The Register at: (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/08/bittorrent_encryption_explosion/), or whitepapers and studies on P2P or SafeMedia technology. For more about SafeMedia visit: www.SafeMedia.com.

Downloading Music From the Internet – What not to Do

July 10th, 2009 at 06:41am Under music copyright

You’ve just got a new Zune or other media player, and you’re dying to get that song that you used to have on a record. You search the internet and find it!

It’s free! All you have to do is give them your email address and it’s yours. So you start to download it and the next thing you know, you have pop ups every time you open your browser, your anti-virus is complaining about trojans and trackware and your personal information is being copied around the internet.

There were signs. A page full of banner ads (some of which you had to avert your eyes from), pop-ups, flashing icons – and you thought you could just download it and transfer it to your Zune.

This happens everyday – all they want is a free song – it won’t hurt to download one free song – and they immediately regret it.

This happens every day. The reason these illegal copies are free is that the people who steal them don;t have the highest moral character! They take advantage of people downloading music, and steal much more than music copyright.

Fortunately, people are realizing that illegal downloads from these sort of sites are something to stay away from from the beginning. They are starting to realize that they aren’t really saving much, and the damage to your computer, and possibly your life, could be significantly worse.

There are options, today, to download music that are proven to be cost effective – pay per download from Zune Marketplace or amazon.com or membership sites where you pay one fixed charge for unlimited, lifetime downloads. These are places where you can look for that tune, and download it knowing that you won’t be downloading viruses or spyware.

It is worth it, for your computer and your peace of mind, to always download songs from a legal source that you can trust.