IP Justice: Unchain P2P

Help IP Justice Unchain P2P

Overview

New "Peer-to-Peer" ("P2P") technologies are allowing consumers to discover new ways to share content, create new media, and efficiciently distribute digital files. Peer-to-Peer networks allow computers to directly share digital information without having to access a central server. This makes most P2P more fault-tolerant, able to resist censorship from governments or corporations, and more scalable than centralized-server models. However, organizations like the RIAA and MPAA, international treaty-writers, and lobbyists are trying to sue the developers of P2P applications, change the laws in order to jail file-sharers all over the world, and spread mis-information about the use of P2P applications. Furthermore, the Recording Industray Association of America (RIAA) has filed thousands of aggressive and harassing lawsuits against many innocent consumers, including a 66-year-old grandmother (accused of illegally downloading Snoop Dogg) and a 12-year-old girl. The recording industry is expanding their lawsuits to include Canada and other parts of the world.

"The Italian parliament yesterday voted in favour of imposing jail sentences of up to three years on anyone caught uploading or downloading..."

The Register (UK)
May 20, 2004

The Peer-to-Peer model was initially made popular by music-sharing applications in the late 1990's. Since then P2P has grown as a model for distributing everything from legal music sharing to corporate video delivery. For example, BitTorrent is a common P2P application that is used to distribute updates for many versions of the Linux operating system. The use of BitTorrent allows tens of thousands of users to simultaneously recieve the latest software updates by working together. Once a user has downloaded part of the update from a centralized server the user then automatically shares that part of the file with other users. The other users then share the parts that they have downloaded and everyone gets a complete copy of the file. This prevents the file-distribution server from being overloaded and allows higher-speed downloads for all users.

The rights of users of P2P technology are at risk all over the world. The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement threatens to mandate that every country in the Western Hemisphere impose criminal sanctions (including jail time) for sharing music and video files. Ammendments were repeatdely introduced during negotiations for the EU IP Enforcement Directive that would have mandated jail time for file-sharing anywhere in the European Union. Many developers of innovative P2P software are currently facing lawsuits. The RIAA has filed thousands of lawsuits against individuals in the US and is expanding their litigation to Canada. There are further efforts to restrict Fair Use and enclose the digital commons.

What IP Justice is Doing

IP Justice is working to Unchain P2P and re-claim P2P technology for consumers through our education campaigns, speaking engagements, expert testimony before legistlative bodies, and coordination with other groups.

IP Justice believes that P2P applications should be freely accesible. Developers should be free to invent new communications technologies without fear of lawsuits. The Betamax decision is the correct standard to use to judge new P2P technologies. P2P applications, just like VCRs, have both legitimate and illegitimate uses. Developers of new technology with substantial legitimate uses cannot be held responsible for the infringing uses of end-users. IP Justice supports the decision of the US District Court Judge Steven Wilson in the Morpheus and Grokster lawsuits - he correctly ruled that a technology cannot be outlawed merely becuase an infringing use is possible.

Individual consumers should face penalties for mis-use of P2P technology that are appropriate and proportionate to their offenses - never to include jail time for what should be a civil matter. Making non-commercial copyright violation a criminal offense will have a chilling effect on free expression as consumers will become afraid to use their Fair Use rights. Innovation and freedom would be stifled by applying criminal sanctions to non-commercial copyright offenses.

What You Can Do

You can take action to help protect P2P and consumers' rights. Link to the Unchain P2P campaign from your blog or website to prove that you're in support of fair and free access to P2P techology. Join IP Justice or tell your friends about the global threat to P2P. US residents can consider boycotting music from RIAA members, writing to their representatives about the "Pirate Act", faxing their Senators about the "Pirate Act", or other actions.

Worldwide P2P Hotspots

In the United States the "Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act" (also known as the "Pirate Act") was introduced in the Senate in March of 2004 and debated in June of 2004. It would explicitly criminalize the development of any P2P network that could be used to illegally share copyrighted material and expose P2P developers to lengthy prison sentences.
In Canada, Italy, Germany, and Denmark the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has announced hundreds of lawsuits against individuals and demanded settlements of up to EU8,000 (~$9,300 USD).
In the United States the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has issued at least 2,947 subpoenas (as of December 1, 2003) to ISPs to force the release of names, addresses, and phone numbers of suspected downloaders. A wide coalition (including the ACLU and EFF) opposes the tactics used, calling them unfair and overly aggressive. Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against individuals, including a 12-year-old girl and a 66-year-old grandmother.
In the Netherlands the P2P application "Kazaa" was declared legal by the Dutch High Court in December of 2003.
In the United States the P2P applications "Morpheus" and "Grokster" were declared legal by US District Court Judge Steven Wilson, citing the fact that Morpheus and Grokster were tools that had legitimate uses and that the P2P companies were neither aware of nor encouraging users to violate copyright laws. The case is currently being appealed and the ruling of the District Court judge can be appealed at the Circuit or Supreme Court levels.
In Canada the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) filed suit against 29 un-named Canadian file-sharers. On March 31, 2004 the Federal Court in Toronto, Ontario issued a ruling stating that the CRIA did not produce enough evidence to merit violating the privacy of Canadian citizens. The CRIA has appealed the decision.
In The Americas every Western Hemisphere democracy is at risk from the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement. The IP Chapter of the FTAA agreement threatens to mandate jail-time for file-sharing anywhere in the Western Hemisphere.
In Australia the directors and employees of an ISP were sued by the Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) for not reporting a music download site run by one of their clients.
In Italy a new law has made transferring digital files without permission of the copyright owner a crime punishable by up to three years in jail.
In Singapore, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Japan, and China the Business Software Alliance is aggressively scanning web sites and Internet traffic to look for signs of P2P software piracy and then threatening ISPs with "letters of takedown" to have potentially infringing content removed.
In the United States, Vanuatu, and Australia Sharman Networks (the makers of Kazaa) is being sued in California for developing a P2P application in Australia while being headquartered in Vanuatu (a small Pacific nation). Sharman Networks has turned the tables and is counter-suing the music industry.
In Australia three students were sentenced to 18 months in jail (suspended on good behavior) and 200 hours each of community service for operating a website that produced music compilation albums for free without permission from the copyright owners. The trial was initiated by the Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI)
In the Entire World, especially the United States, corporate network administrators are under pressure to monitor employee web usage and crack-down on P2P programs on corporate networks to avoid the threat of costly lawsuits from the MPAA, RIAA, IFPI, MIPI, and others.
In the United States the RIAA and MPAA have demanded that colleges and universities monitor students' web traffic to look for illegal usage.
In the Entire World the World Summit on the Information Society is a UN-sponsored meeting that IP Justice is participating in. The meeting has proposed only a vauge reccomendation in favor of P2P technologies for scientific use.
In the United States the No Electronic Theft ("NET") Act of 1997 redefined "commercial" copyright infringement as any action with an expectation of gain of any type (including other files), effectively making P2P use a felony in the United States.
AND MORE! There are simply too many P2P hotspots for IP Justice to categorize them all.

More P2P Resources

Other Sites

P2P United
http://www.P2Punited.org
An industry group comprised of P2P companies and supporters.

EFF's P2P Archive
http://www.EFF.org/IP/P2P/
Archive of documents, subpoenas, and EFF opinions regarding P2P.

How Stuff Works: Filesharing
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/file-sharing.htm
A clear explanation of the technology behind many P2P applications

Canadian File-Sharing Legal Information Network (CanFLI)
http://www.canfli.org/

Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
http://www.chillingeffects.org
Not strictly limited to P2P, but includes an archive of all subpoeanas that my may affect the free expression of digital consumers. Run by a consortium of major US universities.

P2P Net News
http://p2pnet.net
A privately-run news archive of recent P2P news

Boycott RIAA
http://www.boycott-riaa.com/
"Taking a stand against the Recording Industry of America"

RIAA Radar
http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/
A quick way to determine if an album was released by an RIAA member

Anti-RIAA T-shirts and Stickers
via ThinkGeek

Click the Vote - Fax your Senator (US) , Fax your Representative (US) , Clothing
http://www.clickthevote.org
A digital lobbying campaign seeking to demonstrate grassroots support for P2P and other digital liberties.

Also see more IP Justice resources

P2P Legal News

"Italy Approves 'Jail for P2P Users' Law"
May 20, 2004
The Register

"Congress Moves to Criminalize P2P"
March 26, 2004
Wired News