The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have filed a copyright
lawsuit which targets three file sharing services, Music City,
Kazaa and Grokster, according to a report by CNet news.
The best known file sharing network is Napster. The RIAA’s
action against Napster is ongoing but it has already succeeded in
shutting down the service and forcing Napster to re-launch on a
subscription model, something Napster hopes to do as soon as it can
agree licensing terms with rights holders. Before stopping Napster,
the cost of fighting the RIAA’s legal actions put Scour, another
file swapping service, into bankruptcy.
The RIAA and MPAA are also involved in a lawsuit against
Aimster, another file sharing service which took Napster’s lead
when Napster began to suffer the effects of its legal battles.
Aimster is due in court today in Manhattan and tomorrow in San
Diego in a separate action, to fight the copyright claims against
it.
The latest lawsuit targets decentralised file sharing services,
unlike Napster. Basically, individuals can continue using the file
swapping services even if the sites promoting the services are shut
down. All a user needs is a free software download, which can be
readily distributed to others. The companies targeted in the suit
are each offering the same file sharing software, developed by a
group of programmers from Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. Many
expect that, even if the companies are successfully shut down, the
software download will quickly appear on other sites.
