WiFi Finder
Locate wireless services by a specific address, city, state, country, airport, or zip code.
Industry Group Pays Child's RIAA Fine
Pick pirates more carefully, peer-to-peer organization tells music labels.
Linda Rosencrance, Computerworld
With HP wireless printers, you could have printed this from any room in the house. Live wirelessly. Print wirelessly.
P2P United, a newly formed industry trade association, says it will pay the $2000 fine imposed on 12-year-old Brianna LaHara by the recording industry for illegally downloading music from the Internet. The fine was the result of a settlement reached Tuesday between the Recording Industry Association of America and the girl's single mother.
The RIAA has filed 261 lawsuits against music enthusiasts who, the group alleges, have uploaded more than 1000 files using online music-sharing services such as Kazaa and Grokster. This was the first settlement the group has reached to date.
Also, a Californian has filed a countersuit over the RIAA's Clean Sweep amnesty program for repentant file-sharers, contending it is deceptive.
RIAA Derided
But the executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based P2P United, Adam Eisgrau, says the RIAA should pick on someone its own size, not a little girl who downloaded songs like "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands."
He is also calling on the RIAA to abandon its campaign and stop going after children and grandparents--one RIAA target is a 71-year-old grandfather. Eisgrau contends the RIAA is taking its legal action because it fears technology and is unable to embrace it.
The RIAA couldn't be reached for comment.
Debate Urged
Eisgrau says legal and policy questions need to be addressed in regard to peer-to-peer file-sharing, but those debates should take place in courts of law and the halls of Congress.
"We don't condone copyright infringement, but it's time for the RIAA's winged monkeys to fly back to the castle and leave the munchkins alone," Eisgrau says in a statement. P2P United consists of six of the largest file-sharing Web sites, including Grokster, StreamCast Networks (which owns Morpheus), and BearShare.
P2P United took its stance to draw the attention of policymakers and the public to the situation, Eisgrau adds. He also notes that while his group was able to help in this particular situation, it can't and won't be able to do so again.
The IDG News Service contributed to this report.
For more enterprise computing news, visit Computerworld. Story copyright © 2007 Computerworld Inc. All rights reserved.
Office Small Business 2007
Laptop Showcase
Related Consumer Advice Articles
- 20 Tech Habits to Improve Your Life A few new habits can make the difference between staying on task, finding what you need, and getting things done--or having a tech meltdown.
- Sharing Microsoft Office Files: A Quick Productivity Tip Need to create a report or presentation with the input of several people? Don't e-mail that large file to all the participants. Microsoft Office makes it simple to share Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents over the corporate network.
- Time-Management Tips for Mobile Professionals The late Randy Pausch offered valuable lessons for managing our most precious commodity.
- Consumer Electronics Will Do Well, Says Philips CEO The future for consumer electronics looks bright, and high oil prices will help the industry, a Philips executive said at IFA.
- 12 Sly Web Tricks That Put You in Control Turn a Wi-Fi thief's world upside down. Send an e-mail that self-destructs. And ensure that your boss thinks you're always hard at work. These tweaks and tools let you gain the upper hand.
-
CDW Virtualization Center What is Virtualization and how can it help you save money? Click here to find out.
-
Asus Laptop Showcase Ultra-fashionable thin and light notebooks with SmartLogon Face Recognition. Find out more...
-
HP Ink Center Bring improved color and brilliance to your printed material. Visit the Resource Center for more info...
PC World's Marketplace
PC World's Free Whitepapers
