RIAA

After the lively discussion on Google’s piracy liabilities, today the company has to deal again with piracy and confront the almighty Recording Industry Association of America, too. This is about Google’s MP3 Music Download Pro app.  This application was designed by the company especially for Android and allows users to download music onto their smartphones. At the moment, the application is rated as the 5th most popular one on the entire Android Market. Of course, the anti-piracy outfit...Read Full Story

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) , which seems totally incapable of understanding that the Internet has completely and irretrievably remade their business , has ended their campaign of suing impoverished college students for downloading mp3s . Since 2003 the RIAA has sued approximately 35,000 people. Most of these lawsuits ended when their lawyers succeeded in extorting a $4000 settlement out of these kids. The reason they often targeted college students , is not just that...Read Full Story

Streaming website Grooveshark has become the latest flashpoint in the cat-and-mouse game between the music industry and music sharing services. But unlike their largely unsuccessful suit against cyber-locker site MP3Tunes earlier this year, the copyright owners this time around appear to be well poised to tear down the “safe harbors” that typically protect such websites. Grooveshark, which claims to have millions of listeners, is popular as an online jukebox stuffed with popular songs added...Read Full Story

Last.fm, the UK based music community, is said to have handed over data to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of American) listing users with illegal pirated tracks. Read full article and vote.Read Full Story

So far, the RIAA has sued over 18,000 individuals for allegedly sharing music over the Internet. But the industry uses slapdash investigative methods to find its targets, and so innocent people as well as guilty ones can find themselves entangled in an expensive and draining process. One recent victim was a woman who didn't even own a computer. Another lawsuit target was deceased. If Ms. Foster is awarded attorney's fees, it will encourage future innocent victims to stand up for themselves in...Read Full Story