Recap of some previous articles: The recording industry's stepped-up pursuit of online music swappers faced two new challenges yesterday, as SBC Communications questioned the constitutionality of the industry's tactics in a lawsuit and Senator Norm Coleman opened an inquiry on whether the anti-piracy campaign is violating the privacy rights of innocent people

"Theft is theft, but in this country we don't cut off your arm or fingers for stealing," said Sen. Norm Coleman, a Minnesota Republican who was a rock roadie in the 1960s.

Kenswil said the record industry needs to set a reasonable price for digital downloads -- and stop worrying about whether online sales will cannibalize CDs. That may have been a relevant concern four years ago -- but the wildfire popularity of free services like Kazaa make such arguments moot.

the Rights Expression Language (REL), lets multimedia publishers designate rights and permissions for how consumers can use their content. The REL expression "play," for instance, would let the consumer use the material in a "read only" mode, while other expressions could allow more flexibility in playback and reproduction.

"They know what they're doing. People are just ripping this stuff off," says Danny Kaye, senior vice president of business development for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. "They're more than aware of the economic value. They're just shifting the dollars from the studios and the artists — to themselves."

A California-based Internet service provider jumped into the contentious music-downloading fray late Wednesday, filing a lawsuit against the recording industry and questioning the constitutionality of the industry's effort to track down online music sharers.

Spoof: The Onion's Infographic on music fans' response to the crackdown on digital piracy.

Just 17% of swappers ages 18 and over say they have cut back on file sharing because of the potential legal consequences, according to a survey released by Jupiter Research at the company's annual Plug.IN digital music conference Monday. And 43% see nothing wrong with online file trading; only 15% say it's wrong.

Spoof: "I pulled out my calculator to see just how long it would take the RIAA to sue all 60 million P2P music file traders at a rate of 75 a day. 60,000,000/75 = 800,000 days to subpoena each person or 800,000 days/365 days in a year = 2191.78 years to subpoena each person".

"The bill says if you share a single tune with your pals online—as millions do every day—you are a felon. Penalty: up to five years in jail."

"The music industry's leading trade group on Monday named Mitch Bainwol, a former top congressional aide with contacts in the Republican party, as its new chief executive and top lobbyist in Washington."

"[P]rivate file-swapping networks have surfaced just as the music industry has been granted dozens of subpoenas seeking the names of those who trade copyrighted material on popular services such as Kazaa, Imesh, and Gnutella."

The Recording Industry Association of America has tapped a former Republican Senate staffer to replace Hilary Rosen as chief executive, firming up the group's leadership during one of the most controversial moments in its history.

"Roxio says its revamped online music service, Napster, will debut in time for the holiday season and will give people access to music through a subscription or via an a la carte option."

"Online music sales are expected to be weaker than analysts earlier forecast because of overall sluggishness in the industry and lackluster digital services, according to Jupiter Research."

"In a rush to market that's reminiscent of the dot-com bubble's headiest days, a stampede of companies is following Apple Computer pell-mell into the online music sales business."

"A bill introduced Thursday in Congress would require file-swapping companies to get parental permission before allowing minors to use their services."

"University officials are working with the music and movie industry to find a peaceful solution to the piracy problem, even as they're fighting a firestorm of subpoenas seeking information on their file-swapping students."

"File sharers can check a new online database to see if they are wanted by the recording industry."

"Thanks primarily to the Internet and to CD burners, artists don't really need record companies anymore for manufacturing or distribution. Under current recording contracts, the costs assigned to these functions are horribly inflated. It is cheaper to do it yourself."

"Walt Disney Co. on Thursday said it will make a number of its recent theatrical films available online for the first time ever in a deal with Movielink LLC."

"The music industry's earliest subpoenas, issued as part of a high-stakes campaign to cripple online piracy by suing some of music's biggest fans, are aimed at a surprisingly eclectic group: a grandfather, an unsuspecting dad and an apartment roommate."

"Using data on the historical sales of prerecorded music I examine in detail the recent decline in record sales and attempt to gauge the importance of various alternative factors that have been put forward to explain this decline. I conclude that the evidence supports a claim that MP3 downloads decrease sales."

"Scores of Disney films like "Chicago" and "Monsters Inc." will soon be available for downloading off the Internet through a licensing deal reached between the entertainment giant and online movie service Movielink, the companies said Wednesday."

"The Federal Communications Commission would be required to accelerate the transition to digital television under a bill introduced Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives."

"Online swappers wondering whether their names are on the record industry's hit list can check online to see if they're among 871 whose identities were subpoenaed in the first step of unprecedented mass legal action to stem Net piracy."

"The industry insists that its customers bow to copyright holders' absolute control over how buyers may use what they've bought. It demands a veto on innovation with entirely benign uses, if that innovation might also be used to infringe. And it sneers at the bargain that copyright holders once made with society -- a deal that would reward creativity while constantly refilling the well of public knowledge and art."

"A new technology, anointed by many tech-savvy computer users as an answer to file swapping's network traffic jams, is running into legal and practical problems as it breaks into the mainstream."

"A new online music store aimed at users of Microsoft's Windows operating system has further narrowed its target audience to those who use Microsoft's Web browser."

"Some universities are balking at stepped up demands from the recording industry to unmask alleged student file swappers, citing procedural uncertainties over an avalanche of subpoenas filed with the courts in recent weeks."

"[BuyMusic] was not able to obtain uniform licensing rights from the recording labels and artists. As a result, different songs on BuyMusic have different restrictions on how often they may be burned onto CDs or copied to other PCs or portable music devices. They can all be burned onto CDs at least once."

"The recording industry's plan to collect the names of music traders on college campuses hit a snag this week when two schools filed motions to quash the subpoenas in court."

"In what is being touted as the largest legal action of its kind, a Spanish law firm has announced plans to file a copyright-violation complaint against 4,000 individuals who allegedly have swapped illegal files over peer-to-peer networks in that country."

"Small companies and individual users have been beaten and bullied in court. We need guidelines for any technology company to innovate new and cost-effective digital media services so that it is not just the Apples and Microsofts of the world that are allowed to use their market power to play a tune."

"Boston College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, citing concerns about student privacy, moved yesterday to quash subpoenas issued by the recording industry to discover the identities of students the industry says are illegally distributing copyrighted music."

"BayTSP gathers information clients can use to protect their copyrights or trademarks. In effect, Ishikawa wants BayTSP to become a high-tech version of Pinkerton, the legendary detective agency that made its mark protecting presidents like Abraham Lincoln and chasing Wild West outlaws like Jesse James."

"Three of Australia's largest Universities today lost the battle to block the music industry from gaining access to their computer infrastructure, with the Federal Court ordering them to allow the industry's experts to gain access."

"In a written statement filed with a House Judiciary subcommittee today, the Home Recording Rights Coalition expressed strong opposition to H.R. 2517, a bill that would instruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation to 'deter' all 'unauthorized' home recording by consumers when the content is obtained 'from the Internet.'"

"A body representing 175 artists worldwide has attacked the Recording Industry Association of America's latest attempt to shut down peer-to-peer music sharing networks."

"Pop legend Michael Jackson on Monday slammed a new bill that seeks prison time for file-swappers, arguing that music fans are the ones who drive the success of the music industry."

"In an unprecedented campaign urging people not to copy movies, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is launching a series of TV ads and movie trailers as well as a Web site warning of the dangers of violating copyright laws."

"Buy.com on Tuesday launched a new digital music download service, hoping to reprise Apple Computer's early success with its iTunes music store."

"Microsoft has signed up Comcast and Time Warner Cable to test out its set-top box technology, a back-to-basics package aimed at reviving the software giant's stalled cable TV push."

"We don't support piracy. We do support technology innovation," said Rob Lord, CEO of the company. "The technology moves forward even as the content issues are being resolved."

"It could be the tough economic times or a distaste for further legal showdowns, but many top gadget makers are now trying hard to please the purveyors of entertainment. More often than not, that is giving Hollywood's copy-protection interests a virtual seat at the product design table."

"Set to roll out in September with eight titles in four markets, Disney's new EZ-D DVD self-destructs 48 hours after the purchaser opens the special airtight package."

Press release: "Morpheus 3.2 users will be able to directly link to a worldwide network of public proxy servers. A proxy server acts as an intermediary between two Internet users so that one user does not know the identity of the other."

"With PeerCache software, ISPs would cache, or temporarily hold, digital copies of pirated files on their servers so they're more easily accessible to traders on Kazaa and other FastTrack systems. But holding copies of copyrighted material could make ISPs accomplices in illegal file trading, at least according to an early survey by one recording-industry trade association."

"Last month the maker of ReplayTV, a line of digital video recorders that allows consumers to record and store hours of their favorite television programs on hard drives instead of tape, agreed to remove two features from its devices that simplified life for consumers but complicated business for entertainment providers."

"The music industry has won at least 871 federal subpoenas against computer users suspected of illegally sharing music files on the Internet, with roughly 75 new subpoenas being approved each day, U.S. court officials said Friday."

Hoax, but believable: "Metallica are taking legal action against independant Canadian rock band Unfaith over what they feel is unsanctioned usage of two chords the band has been using since 1982 : E and F."

"A California Senate committee has postponed action on a bill by Assemblyman Joe Simitian that would have required Internet services to notify customers of subpoenas seeking their identities and allow more time to challenge the requests in court. [...] Opponents of the Assembly-passed measure, led by the Motion Picture Assn. of America and several video game companies, argue that it would make it harder to protect their intellectual property from being stolen online."

"Preparing more lawsuits to fight music piracy, the recording industry has subpoenaed records from Loyola University Chicago seeking the names of students suspected of offering copyrighted songs over the school's computer network."

"German media company Bertelsmann AG said on Thursday it had filed a motion to dismiss three lawsuits that allege it perpetuated copyright infringement to the tune of billions of dollars by funding the Napster music-swapping service."

"But [the Mystro] can only record programming it has licensed. And it's bound to frustrate TiVo-lovers [...]. Not only will Mystro disable fast-forwarding of ads — it lets advertisers insert their messages (for a price) during the pause or fast-forward functions."

"The powerful Congressman at the center of the controversy over royalty rates for small webcasters took $18,000 from the Recording Industry Association of America."

"My point is that this Subcommittee should examine digital issues from all sides, not focus solely on how they affect copyright owners. We should look at how our laws affect the technology industry. We should examine whether or not the DMCA is chilling investment and innovation."

"A federal appeals court will speed its review of a landmark judgment that absolved two companies of blame for illegal copying by users of file-swapping software."

"Because of fair use's ambiguity, critical reuses are still regularly litigated. To avoid embarrassment, copyright holders may try to silence critics and parodists, who often do not have the financial resources to fight back."

"A key legislator in the House of Representatives said Tuesday that he will release the first "Intellectual Property Crime Index" next week."

"Mulligan also said there was a huge willingness on the part of BSPs to cooperate with labels but that the strength of labels' focus on licensing was causing problems for the service providers."

"The suffering recording industry aside, there is something to be said for consuming small portions of music instead of engaging in the gluttony that has become the norm for many music fans."

EFF Press Release: "The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today criticized the measure as an overbroad and misguided attack on peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing technology."

"A bill introduced by senior Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee would make it easier for federal prosecutors to bring felony charges against people who offer at least one song, movie or other digital file on Kazaa or other public computer networks."

"Internet users who allow others to copy songs from their hard drives could face prison time under legislation introduced by two Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday."

"The Recording Industry Association of America on Wednesday said it sent out subpoenas to Internet service providers, in preparation for lawsuits it plans to file against hundreds of individuals who illegally distribute songs over the Web."

"The state House agreed Tuesday to Senate changes to a bill that would give printer owners the right to refill any printer ink cartridge, voiding purchase agreements that ban the practice."

"A new bill proposed in Congress on Wednesday would land a person in prison for five years and impose a fine of $250,000 for uploading a single file to a peer-to-peer network."

"StreamCast Networks Inc, distributor of Morpheus software, on Tuesday said it launched a new version of the popular file-sharing software that is spyware-free and enables users to have an added layer of privacy and security."

"The number of people using several music-swapping sites dropped the week after the music industry threatened to sue them."

Press release: "Major reasons cited by consumers for purchasing fewer CDs include a perception that CDs are priced higher than they should be (43 percent), as well as fiscal belt-tightening due to economic uncertainty (43 percent). Among younger consumers, downloading and burning music tracks were an additional primary reason cited for purchasing declines."

"The cornucopia of music available online now is largely the result of expenditures made while copyright protection was effective. It makes free-riding especially attractive now, but consumers in the future will pay the price."

"Townsend and others' similar experiences, no matter how limited today, point to a slowly widening hole in the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) recently announced drive to identify and ultimately sue what could be thousands of file swappers online. Wireless Net access through free, open or publicly available hot spots is proving to be a last bastion of privacy on an Internet where the veil of anonymity can now easily pierced."

"In a study spanning 560 companies, ranging from 10 to 45,000 employees, Canadian company AssetMetrix found peer-to-peer software such as Kazaa and Morpheus installed at least once in 77 percent of companies. The survey found that every company in its sample with more than 500 employees had at least one installation of file-swapping software."

"Congress is being asked to approve a trade agreement with Chile that would export a controversial U.S. law: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act."

"Buy.com plans to launch a digital music download site that would compete with Apple Computer's successful iTunes music store, according to music industry insiders."

"Grokster on Tuesday released Grokster Pro, the first version of its software that's free of pop-ups and adware."

"America Online and digital video recorder (DVR) maker TiVo detailed a new partnership under which TiVo users can program their machines remotely via AOL's online network. To take advantage of the offer, users must subscribe to both AOL and TiVo's existing online services."

"The device also has Ethernet or wireless networking capabilities, so users can transfer digital music or photo files from a desktop computer. The machine can feed stored music or photos to a computer -- but not television programs, because of built-in copy-protections."

"The boycott call last week followed joint tests by several European consumer groups indicating that Epson ink cartridges prematurely block printers from churning out more pages even when there is enough ink to keep going."

"While the Recording Industry Association of America is preparing to file lawsuits to curb illegal music downloading, the Christian music industry is responding to the problem by appealing to their customers’ faith and moral values."

"The proposed litigation campaign will be extraordinarily costly. It is likely to be ineffective--as file swappers use proxy servers, offshore Internet sites, and encrypted peer-to-peer systems to avoid detection. And it will further alienate the already disaffected community of music consumers. More importantly, better solutions to the crisis in the music industry are available. The more dramatic--but also the best--would be the establishment of a compulsory licensing system."

"Two derivatives of the popular Kazaa peer-to-peer filesharing service now actively attempt to block scans by the RIAA and other agencies, escalating the P2P war to a new level."

The Hollywood studios are fighting a behind-the-scenes battle in Sacramento to derail a bill they say would promote online piracy — though the bill has little to do with downloading movies.

"Facing the threat of lawsuits from a music industry trade group, fewer people are using online filesharing applications to swap songs, according to data released Monday."

"At the same time, the film illustrates how modern copyrights restrict the use of established cultural texts that should be in the public domain. [...] A rich public domain enables creative geniuses like Alan Moore to reach into society’s collective memory and produce complex, fun and socially valuable works."

Creator of the MP3 format: "People should have easier access to music. They should be able to listen to it wherever they are and still pay for it. My sympathy is always with the artists and even with the record labels. They should get paid for the work they do. I don't like the Napster idea that all music should be free to everybody."

Survey of new copyright laws in Europe.

"On the other hand, if I am downloading or sharing the music to avoid otherwise buying the CD, then you could say that I was harming both the artist and the recording company because I was depriving them of income they otherwise would have had -- my money. And that makes all the difference."

"So far, authors and publishers have mainly stood on the sidelines of the Internet file-swapping frenzy that has shaken the music industry and aroused fear among makers of motion pictures. But the publishing phenomenon around the young wizard appears to be forging a new chapter in the digital copyright wars: Harry Potter and the Internet pirates."

"Now the music labels, hungry for revenue from any source, are mulling over whether to make a grab for a piece of the tour biz. One company already has: In October EMI Recorded Music signed a deal with Brit singer Robbie Williams that gives the label a cut of the pop star's merchandise, publishing, touring revenue and sponsorship."

"Curiously, many of those who fought the hardest for the SBCEA were those who had benefited the most from the public domain. Disney, afraid of losing exclusive control of Mickey Mouse (who first appeared in 1928 and would have gone public this year), lobbied vigorously for the 20-year extension, despite having made billions off such classic characters and stories as Cinderella and The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

"Really, the only thing that differentiates this 'game console' from a standard, Windows-running PC is that it has no way to get data on or off of it except through a dedicated connection to Infinium Labs' own servers via your broadband ISP, plus the fact that if you try to open it up or modify it or grab data from the hard drive, bad things will happen, starting with violation of the terms under which you will lease or purchase the Phantom."

"The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has put another online music company in its legal crosshairs, this time aiming to bid adios to Spanish site Puretunes."

"More than one billion illegally-copied compact discs were sold last year, the latest sign that the beleaguered music industry is failing in its bid to wipe out piracy, a new industry study said on Thursday."

"Music fans who download songs from the internet go on to buy more albums, a survey has suggested."

"Following a recent decision by the RIAA to crack down on file swappers, Clint Witchalls went in search of providers helping users stay anonymous."

"A recording industry trade group said on Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit against a Spanish company that operates Puretunes.com, a music download service launched in May."

"Wiley Technology Publishing, a unit of John Wiley & Sons, agreed last year to publish the book. But after Mr. Huang delivered the manuscript five months ago, the publisher backed out over concerns that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 made it illegal to disseminate information about how to circumvent copyright protection."

"It is a battle that involves many of the ethical and legal issues facing the technology and media industries at this digital moment. What rights do consumers have to tinker with products they own? How far should companies go to protect their intellectual property? What happens when the desires of consumers conflict with the business models of companies they patronize? Who gets to decide just what a particular product may be used for?"

"Piracy has become a national pastime. It's no longer just college kids trading the latest hit by rockers Radiohead or the rapper 50 Cent. Cunning technology, antiquated laws, and growing public disdain for footing the costs of traditional retail business have combined to create a potent cocktail that has Internet users everywhere tipsy on bootlegged bounty."

"Through a caching feature on the popular Google search site, people can sometimes call up snapshots of archived stories at NYTimes.com and other registration-only sites. The practice has proved a boon for readers hoping to track down Web pages that are no longer accessible at the original source, for whatever reason. But the feature has recently been putting Google at odds with some unhappy publishers."

"Participants in the United States’ ongoing debates over peer-to-peer transfers of potentially copyrighted files have regularly trafficked in the rhetoric of warfare. While it is easy to understand how copyright holders would view peer-to-peer file transfers as a kind of attack, the rhetorical turn toward the discourse of military conflict has radiated throughout the debate."

"A group representing small Webcasters is threatening to sue the Recording Industry Association of America on antitrust grounds, fearful that hundreds or thousands of stations will be pushed offline."

"The Recording Industry Association of American said Wednesday that it had sued the parent company of Puretunes, a Spanish site that briefly offered inexpensive music downloads."

BusinessWeek cover story: "Hollywood still harbors some of music's protectionist urges, though. It is battering downloaders with lawsuits and pushing broad-brush copy-protection laws in many states -- all of which could backfire with Internet-savvy consumers."

Press release: "Five major publishers [...] allege that Collegiate Copies has engaged in routine and systematic reproduction of materials from the plaintiffs’ publications without seeking permission to reproduce the content either directly or through Copyright Clearance Center."

"File swappers hoping to share music and other works online without exposing their identity to the prying eyes of copyright enforcers face a tough choice."

The music industry is rolling out its big guns against "peer-to-peer" users, preparing to sue people who illicitly offer songs online. Now file-sharing software providers are firing back.

"In the past decade, the balance has been upset. The scope of patents has been expanded, copyrights have been extended, trademarks have been subjected to bizarre interpretations. Celebrities are even claiming exclusive ownership of their first names (consider Spike Lee’s objection to Viacom’s cable channel Spike TV). The new regime’s defenders insist that in today’s economy such vigilance is necessary: ideas are the source of our competitive strength. Fair enough. But you don’t compete by outlawing your competition."

"Search engines' display of miniature images is fair use under copyright law, a federal appeals court ruled Monday, but the legality of presenting full-size renditions of visual works is yet to be determined."

"As Walt Disney before (and as Disney, Inc has apparently forgotten now), the creators of this movie have used the public domain to produce creative new work."

"Illegal Art, which opened last week at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's Artists Gallery, showcases a variety of works that push the restrictions of current trademark and copyright laws."

"As the 99 cent digital singles model begins to take root across the industry through services like Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store, Liquid Audio, Rhapsody and a host of others set to bow for the PC this fall, industry executives and artist representatives are questioning whether the pricing model makes sense financially."

"Napster creator Shawn Fanning is looking for backers of technology he's developing that would let file-sharing networks distribute music without violating copyrights, people familiar with the project said."

"Today the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's ruling that making these thumbnail copies of images for the search engine was 'fair use.'"

"To thwart peer-to-peer pirates, the Recording Industry Association of America is wielding the clunky but mighty club of the federal court system."

"Two members of Congress today introduced legislation they said would ensure the American public's access to the nation's intellectual and artistic heritage."

"That move comes in response to Apple's decision to allow users to buy single tracks and is intended to protect the future of the long-playing album, the format that has dominated the music industry for decades, an agent for the bands said."

"The company that distributes Kazaa file-sharing software can't sue the major record companies and Hollywood studios for antitrust violations, a federal judge ruled Thursday."

"A recent reissue of the blockbuster Terminator 2 contains a DVD-ROM version of the movie with a new anti-piracy technique: 5-day viewing licenses issued over the Internet."

"In the latest developments, Lexmark won a preliminary injunction on Feb 27 to prohibit SCC from selling the Smartek chip. On March 3, SCC responded by filing suit against Lexmark seeking damages in excess of US$100mil for violations of the Sherman Antitrust and Lanham acts."

"Grandparents, parents and teenagers could be hauled into court in an unprecedented legal attack on music sharing launched last week by the recording industry, which plans to sue the person responsible for any account used to pilfer copyrighted tunes."

"So, you've got a few songs on your PC that you snagged off a CD you already own -- or a file-sharing service you tried on the Internet. Could you get sued?"

"Billboard magazine is charting new territory this week, adding data for the first time on sales of Internet music downloads to its lists of top-selling albums."

"Japanese publishers said on Monday they will launch a campaign this week to stop digital shoplifters - people who visit bookstores to photograph magazine pages with their cellphones rather than make a purchase."

"The music industry must do its part. It must get the pipeline of paid services open and flowing, and ensure that the material is readily available at competitive prices. It must avoid enforcement actions against people who upload material that is not available through these legitimate channels, even if it is under copyright. It must be very careful not to go after the wrong people, and, when it makes mistakes (which it will) it must grovel handsomely."

"The software is designed to search for the presence of unwanted applications, such as P2P clients, IM software or hacking tools, and allows administrators to log, block or remove the offending files."

"The case in question, Bowers vs. Baystate Technologies, involves software inventor Harold L. Bowers, who alleged that Baystate violated a section of his software's end user license agreement (EULA) that forbid users from reverse engineering his software. A lower court agreed and awarded Bowers $5.27 million."

"A French company is ready to launch a device that lets television viewers watch any channel on earth, and may open another front in the battle over digital copyright."

"A federal appeals court has affirmed a preliminary injunction against the file-sharing service Madster."

"Songs on a MediaMax CD-3 can be uploaded only three times, and software built into the disc prevents listeners from copying or sharing the music."

"Listen.com on Tuesday said it has seen a nearly 100 percent increase in CD burning among subscribers to its Rhapsody online music service since cutting its fee to 79 cents from 99 cents per track."

"The Recording Industry Association of America's announcement on June 25 that it will start tracking down and suing users of file-sharing programs has yet to spook people, say developers of these applications."

For the first time, the songs and albums that consumers pay to download from online services will begin showing up in the influential Billboard music rankings.

If music lovers walked into a record store that didn't sell albums by the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Radiohead and dozens of other well-known artists, they would probably have a swift reaction: Run for the exit.

A union of the world's fourth- and fifth-biggest music companies would create a giant rivaling No. 1 Universal Music and boast artists such as Madonna, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera and Whitney Houston.

"Rather than trying to sue people into submission, we need to find a better alternative that gets artists paid while making file sharing legal."

Listen.com on Tuesday said it has seen a nearly 100 percent increase in CD burning among subscribers to its Rhapsody online music service since cutting its fee to 79 cents from 99 cents per track.

''How are they going to sue every teenager in America?"

But the RIAA's battle continues, each move more invasive and threatening than the last. Not only do anti-piracy devices search the hard drives of individuals looking for copyrighted music, the RIAA appears determined to force Internet service providers to reveal the identities of their users at any cost.

"I would guess that you would then see stories about the family faced with economic ruin and the cost of having to hire defense counsel, settling for $10,000 or $20,000, and the money they were saving for Timmy's college education now has to go to Kid Rock,"

Despite the threat of lawsuits from the recording industry, music fans across the country continued to swap songs illegally over the Internet, many taking precautions to remain below the radar.

"So long as I'm able to do a 15-hour day without collapsing, and so long as 90% of it is fun and 10% is business, I'll keep going."

Even as the recording industry escalated its war on Internet downloaders, a group of entertainment industry executives plans to meet privately this afternoon with representatives of the file-swapping services to start talking detente.

A new advertising campaign in the US aims to change the terms of the debate over file-sharing networks and piracy

Litigation by itself won't stop digital piracy. But litigation is far preferable to the anti-consumer tactics, such as bombarding computers with disabling software or mandating anti-piracy technologies, that some in Congress and the movie industry favor.

In response to recent threats to file traders, peer-to-peer developers say they're seeing an upsurge of interest in tools that purport to hide identities.

"They can sue all they want, but that's not going to make CD sales go up."

A struggling start-up is suing RealNetworks Inc. and Listen.com Inc. for patent infringement, claiming to hold fundamental patents over the technology for streaming digital media through the Internet.

Operators of peer-to-peer networks cannot escape copyright infringement claims by giving their members the ability to mask the content that changes hands on their networks, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.