Fourth Quarter Busts | Artists’ Corner | Legal Beagle | Quick Bits and Bytes
Fourth Quarter Busts
Napster User Busted in RIAA Crackdown
A nineteen-year-old Oklahoma State University student may face felony charges of copyright violation after police found approximately 1,000 music files on his computer. This marks the first time the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has targeted an individual user of Napster and other downloading services.
RollingStone.com, September 20, 2000
Artists’ Corner
Barenaked Ladies Battle Napster with ‘Trojan’ Downloads
Many Napster users will be surprised if they attempt to download new songs from the Barenaked Ladies: the popular Canadian band has flooded the net with imposter files to confuse online music users who might think they are accessing free songs. Instead, the users will hear this message: “Although you thought you were downloading our new single, what you actually were downloading is an advertisement for our new album,” says singer Steven Page. One clip ends with a quip from drummer Tyler Stewart: “The next thing you know we’ll be supplying your natural resources.” Napster representatives had no comment.
Visit the official Barenaked Ladies website here.
CNN.com, September 18, 2000 (Richard Stenger)
Legal Beagle
Trade Group Sues 13 for Software Piracy
A software trade group that conducted an online anti-piracy sting sued 13 Americans this past November, alleging they sold bootleg software worth tens of thousands of dollars on Internet auction sites. The Business Software Alliance, which represents software companies like Microsoft, Macromedia and Adobe Systems, conducted the worldwide sting operation to ward off pirates and educate consumers.
USAToday.com, November 14, 2000
Quick Bits and Bytes
Lucasfilm Orders Links to New `Star Wars’ Images Removed
Lucasfilm Ltd. strikes back to stop copyright infringement. The company has ordered at least two Star Wars fan sites to cease linking to the closely guarded storyboard images for the upcoming “Star Wars: Episode II” film.
CNN.com, October 2, 2000 (Daniel Sieberg)
Soundwrap
The adverts in the music industry trades say: “Stop Pirates Dead in Their Tracks.” It’s called Soundwrap and claims to be the “secure solution for mp3 distribution… and offers total protection against piracy.” And it’s free!!