if you are in canada...download away

[BLT]

March 31, 2004

Judge: File swapping not illegal

By ANGELA PACIENZA - Canadian Press

TORONTO (CP) - In what analysts are calling a "stunning" decision, the Federal Court has ruled against a motion which would have allowed the music industry to begin suing individuals who make music available online.

Justice Konrad von Finckenstein ruled Wednesday that the Canadian Recording Industry Association did not prove there was copyright infringement by 29 so-called music uploaders.

He said that downloading a song or making files available in shared directories, like those on Kazaa, does not constitute copyright infringement under the current Canadian law.

"No evidence was presented that the alleged infringers either distributed or authorized the reproduction of sound recordings," von Finckenstein wrote in his 28-page ruling. "They merely placed personal copies into their shared directories which were accessible by other computer users via a P2P service."

He compared the action to a photocopy machine in a library. "I cannot see a real difference between a library that places a photocopy machine in a room full of copyrighted material and a computer user that places a personal copy on a shared directory linked to a P2P service," he said.

The ruling sent shock waves through the industry and surprised copyright analysts.

"It raises questions of the viability of suing individual users in Canada under current Canadian copyright law," said Michael Geist, a professor at the University of Ottawa specializing in Internet and e-commerce law and technology counsel with the law firm Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt.

Geist, who called the decision "stunning," anticipates it will push the industry to increase its lobbying efforts for copyright reform in Canada.

Last month, the industry association took five Internet service providers to Federal Court, trying to force the companies to hand over the names and addresses of 29 people who allegedly shared hundreds of songs with others using programs like Kazaa last November and December.

The judge denied the recording industry's request, which means the five high-speed Internet providers - Bell Canada, Shaw Communications, Telus Communications, Rogers Cable and Videotron - won't have to divulge their client lists.

Without the names, CRIA can't begin filing lawsuits against 29 John and Jane Does who it alleges are high-volume music traders.

They're currently identifiable only through a numeric Internet protocol address and user handles like Jordana(at)KaZaA.

All the ISPs except Videotron have fought the order. Videotron had agreed to comply because owner Quebecor is also concerned about piracy in other parts of its business, which includes newspapers, television, Internet services and CDs.

[Oddessa]

I might be the only idiot that used to waste 15 bux a CD in Costa Rica. W/ Kazaa I never have to buy anything in music store or videos downloads. Even some software on there. Not sure how legal the whole thing is, but you have to be a fool not to get music or about anytrhing online these days.

[Bobby C]

Originally posted by: banned twice
Justice Konrad von Finckenstein...

Come on! You made that name up!

[Bobby C]

I had to abandon Kazaa, after drowning in pop-ups.

But I've got 100 blank CD's sitting here.

Where do I go? I'll gladly pay a small fee, if it avoids the pop-ups.

[Minnow]

Bobby, download Kazaa lite. It's the same program with all the bad crap removed. Works GREAT!

[Minnow]

Make sure you get rid of all traces of bad kazaa first though.. it loads a ton of malware into your system like gator, and a bazillion pop-up accelerators, etc.

[ic]

Kazaa is a beast! I had to reformat my hard drive. Never could get rid of all the crap. Anyone use WinMx?

[BLT]

Originally posted by: Bobby C

Come on! You made that name up!

i pulled the story off a newswire. its his real name

[kris]

Anyone use WinMx?

IC, lets keep this Low key buddy, cuz this is what i use and i think its the best going right now. I thought it was better kazaa from the start. Now kazaa is soooo filled with problem files and corrupted files and viruses, im soooo glad i never used and i never will. SHHHHH LETS KEEP THIS SITE SECRET, I think its the best going right now!!!!


About the article, this is an outrage. I wanna d/l music freely and i still dont know why i cant. Its BS, but oh well!!

[Myron]

The analogy that it's no different than a library with a photocopier in it is totally ridiculous. To be a similar analogy, the person would have to photocopy the whole book and upload the book on the internet so that everyone and his dog could get a free copy of it. Would that be legal?

[alec]

Edonkey is a great p2p network. Also, newsgroups are great, but you need to spend some time to figure out how to use them and you have to pay an additional fee for a good news server.

In general, Slyck is a great site for general file sharing news and information, it also contains detailed tutorials for various file sharing methods.

Newzbin is a great site that allows you to see what is posted on the newsgroups.