The Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Hammering out the definitions of fair use and copyright infringement is an age-old tradition in the United States. So, in 1998, congress attempted to bring this tradition into the new age by passing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

But lately it's become abundantly apparent that one section of the DMCA is downright spooky. In 2003 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which represents over 100 record labels, started using DMCA section 512 to spy on Internet users sharing music and then slam select individuals with hefty lawsuits.

While the RIAA really did suffer a gunshot wound to the foot by suing that 12 year old girl, they knew well in advance that these lawsuits were going to be bad PR.And so one can only conclude that their logic went something like this: when it comes to bloodthirsty war, what isn't bad PR?

Indeed, the RIAA has been fighting hard erect toll booths on the information superhighway, every inch of the way. Part of this process involves whacking free file sharers in the knees—what many decry as the criminalization of ordinary folks who share music with their friends.

When the first orgy of lawsuits began, the RIAA fully exploited the far-reaching DMCA provisions. Without a judge, they were able to subpoena the Internet service provider (ISP) for their personal information of those found to be sharing files. No court order - just barging through the door, stripping Internet users of their privacy and suing them for sometimes huge amounts of money.

Since then, thankfully, the courts have put up some safeguards. Now, the RIAA must file a lawsuit before finding out who the defendant is. This way, the RIAA must go through the courts when filing ISP subpoenas for personal information.So when the RIAA subpoenas your information, your ISP must inform you of the subpoena before handing over your info to the RIAA. Even then, you can file to quash the subpoena, and still avoid revealing your information.

But let's face it: being sued (even if they don't know who you are yet) is a little too close for comfort. Much better is to avoid attracting the attention of the RIAA to begin with.It's important to remember that it's not so much downloading, but rather uploading that tends to raise eyebrows at the RIAA.So when using P2P software, don't share your files or upload anything.

But there are other, less stingy ways to stay under cover as well. For instance, if you use a big name "culprit" like Limewire, then you might want to reconsider. That's because with the RIAA, brand name recognition is tantamount to a big red flag.Another tip to stay under the radar is changing the file names of the music you download. This makes it harder to track what you are sharing.

One thing to make note of is that RIAA has also been known to target university networks where lots of kids typically download lots of music.If you're a student, faculty or staff with access to the university network, it'd be wise to plug in to some other ISP before sharing files, and, while on campus, definitely be careful about who you let use your computer.

Also, remember there are plenty of songs and artists put out by labels that have nothing to do with the RIAA. A quick way to check is by going to this site: http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/. As long as you're sharing or downloading a band outside the RIAA ring, then you've pretty much nothing to worry about.