Using Music and File Sharing Services Can Cost You a Fortune

Recently a Minnesota jury ordered a 30 year old single mother to pay $220,000 for ripping and sharing music.

Jammie Thomas a 30 year old single mother from Minnesota was ordered to pay $220,000 in damages in a recent court decision Capitol Records v. Jammie Thomas.

Basically the case stated that she was accused of using KaZaA and had over 1700 songs on her shared music folder.

The case focused on 24 songs owned and distributed by six record companies that sued her to pay $9250 for each of the 24 songs in the case. She was alleged to have downloaded (ripped) and shared those songs illegally without permission or license from the record companies.

The RIAA (Recording Industry of America) has sued 26,000 people in the past four years for alleged use of file sharing software. Some of the names of these file sharing programs are Kazaa, Limewire and Grokster as well as others.

In the case of Capitol Records v. Jammie Thomas. An internet security company was hired to track internet users behavior along with the cooperation of their internet service provider (ISP). An IP address, which stands for "internet protocol address" pointing to Ms. Thomas' computer was found to have the files in question. Every computer connected to the internet goes through an IP address.

This case underscores a few interesting facts:
1. How serious the RIAA is in protecting their organizations copyright interests.
2. How many people think that downloading and sharing music online for free is ok, when it is not ok and illegal.
3. How sophisticated internet security and tracking is becoming.
4. How vulnerable you are when you use a file sharing software.

The RIAA is serious. They have the money and the consent from the record companies and artists to collect money from their music users and listeners. The internet has killed CD sales, and MP3 sales do not make up for the massive loss in CD sales revenue since MP3 files are easily shared. The RIAA will continue to advocate pursuing those who are ripping and sharing music files, and at the same time advocate technologies that allow them to manage their music catalog licenses.

Many people especially students of all ages and young professionals are using Limewire which is a newer file sharing software. Use of Limeware is pervasive in the high school and college communities. Because it's so easy to use and because "everyone seems to be doing it" the attitude among the downloaders is that "it's no big deal".

What people are unaware of is that their ISP can track their dowloads and uploads, as well as web security professionals who can track their IP address and browsing behaviour.

Many users of file sharing software are unaware that using such software allows their computer to be even more vulnerable to outside observation. By downloading shared files and allowing others access to it in a shared folder they are sharing it with the world. It may be generous to have such a giving attitude, but since they didn't create the music and recording and didn't pay for it, the way the RIAA and the law sees it is that they stealing it.

This is the one of many high profile illegal music downloading cases that are going to continue in the months and years to come.

The message is this...If you're downloading music without paying for it and/or sharing it with others online you are breaking the law, and if they find you (they've found over 24,000 people) they will make you pay big time, so don't do it.