Robin Hood and the 40 Million Thieves David Evans

6 October 2003Pugwash2 Simple Facts Distributing copyrighted music is stealing Stealing is wrong –Even when the poor steal from the rich So, what’s the controversy?

6 October 2003Pugwash3 Radio vs. Webcast What’s the difference between playing a song on the radio (which record companies pay stations to do) and webcasting a song on the Internet (which webcasters must pay to do)?

6 October 2003Pugwash4 Terrestrial radio stations don't pay sound recording copyright owners. Why should webcasters be treated any differently? The lack of a broad sound recording performance right that applies to US terrestrial broadcasts is an historical accident… For decades, the US recording industry fought unsuccessfully to change this anomaly while broadcasters built very profitable businesses on the creative works of artists and record companies. The broadcasters were simply too strong on Capitol Hill. However, with the birth of digital transmission technology, Congress understood the importance of establishing a sound recording performance right for digital transmissions, and did so in 1995 with the Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act ("DPRA")…. RIAA’s Webcasting FAQ

6 October 2003Pugwash5 Peer-to-Peer File Sharing

6 October 2003Pugwash6 Napster “I’m Shady” Request: “I’m Shady” Files I have: “I’m Shady” robin.hood.edu ali.baba.com robin.hood.edu Download file Centralized server keeps track of all files and connections.

6 October 2003Pugwash7 Napster Illegal A&M Records v. Napster, Feb 2001 Contributory Copyright Infringement –There is evidence of direct copyright infringement by Napster users –Napster knows about and contributes to this infringement: centralized server with index of files

6 October 2003Pugwash8 Shutting Down Napster Napster “I’m Shady” Request: “I’m Shady” Files I have: “I’m Shady” robin.hood.edu ali.baba.com robin.hood.edu Download file

6 October 2003Pugwash9 FastTrack (Morpheus/KaZaA) SuperNodes index “I’m Shady” Connect robin.hood.edu ali.baba.com al.cap.one Connect: I’m a SuperNode Request: “I’m Shady” Try robin.hood.edu Download file updates database with other Supernodes

6 October 2003Pugwash10 Morpheus Legal Decentralized SuperNodes with index of files MGM v. Grokster - district Court judgment, currently under appeal: –Since there is no centralized index of files, no control over infringing uses –Like VCRs, can be used to violate copyright, but substantial non-infringing uses also

6 October 2003Pugwash11 Gnutella “I’m Shady” robin.hood.edu Request: “I’m Shady”

6 October 2003Pugwash12 Preventing Copying Technology: make it harder to copy files –Watermarking –Digital Rights Management Law: use penalties to deter copying –DMCA –Copyright Infringement Lawsuits

6 October 2003Pugwash13 Failed Attempt: SDMI Secure Digital Music Initiative –Industry consortium to establish standards for digital music Hide inaudible data in music files SDMI-compliant players enforce access control based on data –Make direct copies of a CD, but not copies of a copy Watermarking technology broken, no consensus among manufactures

6 October 2003Pugwash14 Digital Rights Management Trusted Computing Platform (Palladium, “Next Generation Secure Computing Base”) – Intel/Microsoft/IBM/HP/AMD Tie software to a particular machine: music downloaded for one PC will not play in another PC –Applications are encrypted using key stored in special processor hardware –Hash of machine state used to verify the PC has not been tampered with Owner no longer controls PC

6 October 2003Pugwash15 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1988) Bans circumvention of technological measures to control access Bans distribution of tools (including information) used for circumvention Doesn’t matter if a copyright is actually violated, or tool has legitimate uses

6 October 2003Pugwash16 DMCA Abuses Academics threatened to prevent publishing vulnerabilities in SDMI watermarking Dimitry Sklyarov arrested (acquitted are 18 months) for working on program that circumvents Adobe’s ebook access controls In response to a complaint we received under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 3 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA complaint for these removed results.Digital Millennium Copyright Actread the DMCA complaint Google’s search for “Kazaa Lite”

6 October 2003Pugwash17 RIAA Lawsuits 1,568 subpeonas to ISPs and colleges Up to $150,000 per infringement (= 1 song) Sued 261 for copyright infringement (including 12 year-old) Target operators of supernodes –People with fast net connections –KaZaA automatically determines if you are a supernode (unless you configure it to prevent this)

6 October 2003Pugwash18 A Nation of Criminals! 200 M people who have sung “Happy Birthday” without paying performance rights fees 150 M Speeders 60 M File Sharing Copyright Violators 1 M Lemonade Stands violating sales tax, payroll tax, minimum wage, etc. laws!

6 October 2003Pugwash19 Summary Stealing is still wrong –Even if you can do it without getting caught –Even if you think the RIAA is evil Music Industry should stop treating its best current and future customers as the enemy! Good, legal, music distribution sites will be very successful –Apple’s iTunes, MusicMatch, Napster 2.0 –More industry revenues possible through subscription fees than selling CDs