research help - intellectual property and copyrights

[MikeB06]

hey guys-
I am writing a paper about the issue of intellectual property as it pertains to copyright law and file-sharing and the RIAA. I was just wondering if you guys have any knowledge in this area and know of any important documents and articles to check out. I've read some pretty intelligent discussion on here about this subject and was wondering if anyone has any background or information about this issue. I've done quite a bit of research and just don't want to leave out any important cases or subjects I haven't covered yet.

I got motivated to write on this subject for a politics paper since my roommate was recently issued a subpoena by the RIAA for file-sharing, part of crackdown on their part on college students file-sharing on the Internet2 network using a particular "college student only" hub on the DC++ network. Subpoenas were issued to 25 students on my campus as well as several other colleges, which sucks big-time for him, as he's going to be paying around 5 grand by the time it gets settled. Thanks for any help

 

[TenaciousO]

Hi MikeB06,

I'm a law student, and I took a course that dealt with the regulation of cyberspace. Please pm me your email address, and I will send you my outline that I wrote in preparation for the exam. It won't give you a concrete answer to your questions, but it should point you in the right direction with regard to important statutes, cases, etc.

You may also want to look up Wired Magazine because it delves into those issues occasionally. If there's a law school close by, I'd also suggest checking out some casebooks and doing research at the law school's law library. If there isn't one in your area, go to the county courthouse and access their law library. Good luck!

 

[AlanY]

One of the best books on this topic is "Legal Aspects of Managing Technology" by Lee B. Burgunder. It covers the entire spectrum of intellectual property law. It's fairly unique in that it's very accessible to non-lawyers but it also goes into real depth about individual cases. Get the third edition, as it covers more of the DMCA and related law.

 

[Edwood]

Your friend is screwed.

DMCA has been given ridiculous leeway lately.

Hopefully he can settle quickly and arrange some kind of payment plan.

Unless your friend is rich and has lawyer friends.

-Ed

 

[jpr703]

Don't these colleges have law schools? Seems to me like there ought to be someone there on campus (whether a professor or recent graduate) who would be willing to stick up for the members of his school.

 

[TenaciousO]

I'm guessing that MikeB06 goes to Princeton, and I believe Princeton is undergrad only. But I could be wrong.

 

[z2trillion]

woot!!! Princeton!!!

Princeton has relatively little graduate students and no law school. I know that they were recently the target of an RIAA subpoena about file-sharing.

 

[hciman77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeB06 hey guys- I am writing a paper about the issue of intellectual property as it pertains to copyright law and file-sharing and the RIAA. I was just wondering if you guys have any knowledge in this area and know of any important documents and articles to check out. I've done quite a bit of research and just don't want to leave out any important cases or subjects I haven't covered yet.

The DMCA would be a good document to start with. If you have a decent electronic library you could search the law journals as suggested. Also you could try Googling "IPR" "copyright" "DMCA" "File sharing" "legal issues" RIAA and combinations of the above. Your physical librarian will also be able to help you - they like being asked for advice - makes them feel loved and wanted.

 

[MikeB06]

you guys deducted my college correctly, and we do not have a law school. Our graduate programs are basically limited to liberal arts and engineering. Thanks for the different sources, I have already been researching the DCMA, and I have electronic access to just about every journal of law and technology available. I'll definately check out the Burgunder book, AlanY, thanks a lot for that.

My friend will most likely settle quickly, like you stated, Edwood. He's already lined up with a good lawyer, as his dad is a federal judge in DC, and has plenty of connections. The crazy thing is that 4 of the 5 songs he was caught uploading were all previously downloaded from me

, so needless to say, my CD collection is now completely restricted to my hard drive, as no more file sharing programs or processes are on my computer anymore.

On another note, the MPAA issued warnings to 2 of my other friends for sharing movies on the same network. Luckily they're just getting warned, and not sued.