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individuals can be subject to damages and attorneys fees in a civil suit filed by the holder of the copyright.
So what does this mean to the person who engages in "innocent" peer- to- peer music file sharing on the internet? Well what it means is if you are not obtaining the music from a site that is authorized to sell or provide the music for free by the copyright holder then you could be in big trouble. (to put it in the vernacular.) We all remember the lawsuit filed by Metallica against Napster in April of 2000. The Federal Courts have been consistently holding that both uploading and downloading of files without the authorization of the copyright owner is illegal. In addition, some record companies and musicians rights organizations have been filing lawsuits against peer- to- peer file sharers.
The courts have also held that the "fair use" exemption to the Copyright Act is not applicable to the uploading or downloading of files without permission. "Fair use" is applicable when portions of the music are used for teaching, criticism, or research and then only under certain circumstances.
The good news is that there are many music sites from which you can legally download music (usually for a fee) some of which fee ends up in the pockets of the great musicians who write and perform the songs. This, in turn permits the musician to do things like feed his family or record another CD. Examples of such sites are: http://www.amazon.com , http://www.aolmusic.com , http://www.mp3.com, http://www.towerrecords.com and http://www.buymusic.com .
For more information about the do’s and don’ts of music downloading please visit: http://www.musicunited.com . Enjoy your music. But enjoy it sensibly by getting it legally. Who knows, maybe the musician to your right or left will thank you. I know I do (thank you !!!)
Remember that this column is educational in nature and is not intended to offer legal advice. It is always advisable to seek the consultation of an attorney when faced with a legal question.
See ya all next month. - Peace,
joe hughes
joe hughes is the founder of the rock group Goldenseal by night and an attorney by day. His office is Borrus, Goldin, Foley, Vignuolo, Hyman and Stahl located in North Brunswick, NJ
Joe Hughes
E-mail Joe at jhughes@borrus.com
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