On listservs and in interviews, some university administrators have recently questioned the validity of some of these takedown notices because they say they do not have any record of a download at the named IP address at the specified time. RIAA officials said this is because investigators performed only a “handshake.”
The service used by the RIAA subcontractors is LimeWire. It’s a very popular service enabling fast downloads of file available on a Worldwide network of users. Users of Limewire can specify what folder on their computers is shared with others and which files can be in that folder. Other users on the LimeWire network can be given permission to browse the contents of that folder but that alone is not a download; it’s window shopping.
And so, we turn to drugs. Seriously; there’s a limit to the amount of controlled substance that a person can have in their possession that warrants a claim against them that they intended to distribute the drug. There’s no, “but officer, my Doctor prescribed crack cocaine,” defense, but marijuana on the other hand… So perhaps this gray area of ownership can stretch between goods? If your shared folder contains only Number One hits from yesterday’s Billboard Top 100, it’s very likely that you either downloaded the songs illegally or, worse for the RIAA, are a dealer.
If your shared folder on a university server or other server, contains less than ten recent hits per network user and is loaded with other file types and songs that never hit the charts, a shadow of doubt is cast well enough to satisfy logical and fair-minded thinkers. Marijuana is illegal, but to be found in possession of one, stringy little pot-cigarette wouldn’t indicate to most people that you intend to deal and profit from the controlled substence.
The only real way for the RIAA subcontractors to catch a download at a specific time is to perform a man-in-the-middle computer attack which would render the evidence inadmissable since that computer attack is, itself, illegal. What’s a recording industry to do? LimeWire is now, finally after years upon years, the number one file sharing system in the World. Should they buy it? The cost and energy of tracking down possible dealers must be phenominal: The linked article outlines numerous automated proceedures invented just for this task. The development and technology must be outrageously expensive. To protect your interests, it’s true that few costs would be too high.
The laws need to be written with fair-use in mind. It’s quite likely that there’s a Top 40 song on your computer right this minute. If you use LimeWire and that file is in your shared folder, the RIAA bots already suspect you. If there are 100 Top 40 songs on your computer from the last three or four months in the same folder LimeWire shares, the RIAA bots probably should suspect you. The scale tips and the shadow of doubt lightens considerably when you calculate how expensive it would be to own so many new songs.
Your defense? Receipts. It’s not unhead of for people to go to Starbucks and take regular advantage of free downloads of Top artists from iTunes. If you could account, with proof of purchase, for the majority (51%) of your incredibly up-to-date collection, then so be it. You’re a music lover and rich. The scales tip again and the shadow darkens over you thereby putting onus of proof back on the RIAA.
Loophole? Sure! If you download the freshest tracks and songs from today with LimeWire, get them the hell out of your shared folder now! There’s always a loophole – don’t leave your cave and get pulled over with pot in your pocket. It’s not much of a loophole, but it seems to work for the dealers in Miami.
| DINARIUS Bryan's old Digital Interest blog |
