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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: illegal downloading

illegal downloading stories: 17 news summaries

OPINION

To Save the Music Industry, Ban Music—and Whistling

The copyright arguments aren't going to stop until the day music dies

(Newser) - The music industry wants royalties for the 30-second previews on iTunes—which is "bullshit," writes Nicholas DeLeon for TechGear. It's yet another foolish move in the battle to save the music industry, complains DeLeon. Luckily, he has a "foolproof" way to do just that: Ban music, "... More »

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(Newser) - A Boston graduate student must pay $675,000 to the music industry for illegally downloading 30 songs, a federal jury ordered today. Joel Tenenbaum, 25, essentially admitted yesterday to grabbing the music via file-sharing network KaZaA. The fine averages out to $22,500 per song—significantly less than the $80,... More »

Minnesota Mom Fined $1.9M for Illegal Music Downloads

Guilty verdict given in do-over of country's first file-sharing trial

(Newser) - A Minnesota woman has been fined $80,000 per song for each of 24 music files she illegally downloaded, CNN reports. The court ordered Jammie Thomas to pay $1.92 million to the Recording Industry of America. Her original trial—America's first for music file-sharing—granted the RIAA just $220,... More »

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music downloads file sharing RIAA Jammie Thomas copyright infringement illegal downloading


 Danger Mouse's 
 Latest Album 
 a Blank CD 

Producer pushes listeners to illegally download, burn songs

(Newser) - Legal wrangling reportedly led to the shelving of Danger Mouse’s latest album; now, instead of dropping Dark Night Of The Soul, the producer behind acclaimed Beatles/Jay-Z mash-up the Grey Album is releasing a book of photographs by director David Lynch—with a blank CD enclosed, XXL reports. “For... More »

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music music industry music downloads illegal downloading Danger Mouse Jay-ZTV

(Newser) - The French legislature has put a stop—for now—to an anti-piracy law that would deny Internet access to repeat offenders, AFP reports. The law, a pet of President Nicolas Sarkozy, would deal the ultimate blow to illegal downloaders after three strikes, and replace the current regime of fines and... More »

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Internet Nicolas Sarkozy France online privacy piracy French Parliament Internet service providers illegal downloading 3 strikes

(Newser) - France is poised to enact a far-reaching crackdown on those who illegally download music and movies, the New York Times reports. A new law expected to be approved tomorrow allows the music and film industry to monitor the downloads of individual users and report any violations to a new copyright... More »

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France downloads online music illegal downloading

 Pirated Wolverine 
 Already Viewed by 1M 

Execs fear massive downloading will claw into box-office take

(Newser) - Canned Fox columnist Roger Friedman is in very good company—the unfinished copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been downloaded more than a million downloads since it was leaked online, TorrentFreak reports. Execs are panicked by the leak—described by Gawker as the "biggest Hollywood crime of the decade"... More »

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Internet film Internet leak Wolverine copyright infringement illegal downloading movies Hugh Jackman

To Combat Digital Piracy, Try Stealing

Composer pitches real-world thievery to help raise awareness

(Newser) - A Hollywood composer wants you to stop illegally downloading music, and he's willing to put his freedom in jeopardy to make his point. Because the public doesn't seem to equate swapping digital files with stealing, Richard Gibbs is pushing for people to swipe other products in a nationwide "day... More »

Streaming Sites Thwart Studios' Piracy Crackdowns

Industry fears revenue meltdown as watching pirated video online goes mainstream

(Newser) - The rise of video streaming sites has defeated movie studios' toughest anti-piracy efforts, the New York Times reports. Consumers can watch copyrighted material online—often from sites hosted in countries with slack anti-piracy rules—more easily than ever. The industry estimates "digital theft" now accounts for 40% of... More »

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 95% of Music
 Downloads
 Illegal: Industry

40B tracks shared illegally, group claims

(Newser) - Nearly all—95%—of music downloads globally are illegal, at least according to the industry, Techdirt reports. The numbers come from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and indicate that even a 25% increase in online music purchases last year couldn’t overcome the effects of piracy. According to... More »

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music music industry music downloads piracy RIAA illegal downloading CD sales IFPI International Federation of the Phonographic Industry

Music Industry to Dump Download Lawsuits

RIAA takes new tack in battling online file sharing

(Newser) - After five years of suing everyone from single mothers to teenage girls for illegally sharing music files, the recording industry is dropping the legal campaign that has ensnared 35,000 individuals, the Wall Street Journal reports. Instead, an industry group is making deals with Internet-service providers to warn those sharing... More »

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Northwestern Using Emails
to Combat File Sharing

Campus prefers education campaign to punishment

(Newser) - Northwestern University has a way to decrease peer-to-peer sharing of copyrighted files: send students emails. The system, called Be Aware You’re Uploading, delivers email notifications to active p2p users on the network, Ars Technica reports. BAYU has a successful track record of reducing p2p usage and copyright violations. It’... More »

Music Biz
Can't Dodge Piracy: Study

It's time to embrace 'incredibly popular' sites, say authors

(Newser) - Offering fans cheap online access to music doesn't make a dent in illegal downloads, a new study of Radiohead’s latest album shows. Although In Rainbows was released online for whatever fans wanted to pay, it was illegally downloaded millions of times, reports the Financial Times. The study advocates accepting... More »

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Woman May
Get New Trial
in File-Sharing Conviction

Judge says he gave faulty instructions

(Newser) - The judge who presided over America's first music file-sharing trial might call for a do-over, the AP reports. A Minnesota mom was penalized $222,000 for illegal dowloads last fall, but the judge has since discovered that he may have issued faulty jury instructions. That's because a 1993 ruling said... More »

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music downloads file sharing RIAA download Jammie Thomas P2P copyright infringement illegal downloading

UK File Pirates Could Lose
Net Privileges

Proposed laws would disconnect
illegal downloaders

(Newser) - Legislation proposed in the UK would disconnect from the Internet people who illegally download or share files. Under a plan to be recommended in a paper from the government's Department of Media, Culture and Sport, file pirates will face a "three strikes" policy—the first offense gets an email,... More »

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Google Tries Free Music in China

Revolutionary model could help GOOG face down a local rival

(Newser) - In an effort to compete with search rival Baidu, Google will join with music companies to offer free music downloads in China. The hometown search engine, which has 60% of the local market to Google’s 25%, has long hosted free searches for unlicensed music downloads, and piracy has largely... More »

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Hollywood Had Math Wrong on College Movie Downloads

Study overestimated students' illegal grabs

(Newser) - College students aren't such movie thieves after all. Hollywood laid heavy blame for illegal downloading on colleges when a 2005 study alleged that 44% of domestic industry losses came from students downloading films. Now the industry has revised to 15%, citing "human error" in the study. Critics, however, say... More »

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17 Stories