Downloading music lands Houma man in legal trouble
By SETH FOX
The Courier
What's a download?
Definitions of terms used in the accompanying story on a Houma man who is being sued by the record industry for allegedly downloading copyrighted music without paying for it:
Download: To copy a file from one computer to another.
File sharing: Making files on one computer accessible to others on a network.
IP address: Internet protocol address, a unique numeric address given to a computer connected to the Internet. It can be used to identify the computer?s owner.
For information on this subject and to see a list of legal music-downloading services approved by the Recording Industry Association of America, visit
www.musicunited.org.
HOUMA -- Until last month, he was known only as an IP address with the user name "Chris."
A self-described music lover, he downloaded nearly 600 songs over the course of several years through various file-sharing programs. He started by using free services, but then he heard that members of the record industry were suing people for illegally downloading songs.
"Once you realized it was illegal, you stopped," he said.
So he said he switched to Kazaa Gold, which he said charged about $30 for downloading privileges. He admits he didn?t read the user agreement when he purchased the program but didn?t worry about it at the time.
"I thought everything was OK because I was paying for it," he said.
Then news of the subpoena came.
Time-Warner Cable, in a letter dated May 16, informed Houma?s Chris Guarisco that it had been subpoenaed by the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, and was asked to disclose Guarisco?s identifying information.
The subpoena was part of a suit filed against 116 "John Doe" defendants in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York in January. Each defendant is accused of egregious copyright infringement.
The suit is typical of the process used by the association, an industry spokeswoman said.
Online investigators for the association search for copyrighted recordings being illegally shared by individuals.
After confirming the recordings being shared by the offenders are, in fact, copyrighted, the industry group files a lawsuit against John Doe because only the user?s IP address is known.
Once the judge in the suit grants the request to start the discovery process, the association members can subpoena the identity of the alleged offender from Internet-service providers, the company the individual uses to connect to the Internet.
The suit is then amended to include the alleged offender?s name.
To date, the RIAA has filed suit against approximately 11,700 people, spokesman Jenni Engebretsen said, with about 2,500 being settled out of court. None of the cases have gone to court.
In Guarisco?s case, he was found by an online investigator Dec. 8, 2004, at 8:40 p.m.
When he received word from Time-Warner Cable that the company had been subpoenaed, he contacted record industry officials for information. He was told that the money he was paying Kazaa was not to cover the use of copyrighted material.
"You?re just paying for the software," Guarisco said.
Guarisco was then offered a settlement that involved a $3,750 fine; he would also be forced to disable file sharing on his computer, delete the program he was using to download the music and destroy any CDs he created with copyrighted material that was illegally downloaded.
Civil law allows for penalties of $750 per item subject to copyright laws, which means if Guarisco chooses a trial instead of the settlement, his 586 songs could total as much as a $439,500 fine.
He said he is leaning toward a settlement but will seek legal counsel first.
If you download music in a manner that is considered copyright infringement, there is no way to know whether you will be named in a lawsuit.
The industry takes the stance that all illegal downloading is wrong and has not set a minimal cutoff number to file suit, officials said. However, most users named in suits so far have downloaded or uploaded hundreds to thousands of songs.
Engebretsen said an explosion of legal alternatives to downloading copyrighted music have gained the favor of the record industry since the early days, when pirating was even more widespread.
"The lawsuits are an important part of our overall effort to discourage illegal downloading and encourage music fans to turn to legal services," Engebretsen said. "Individual users of illegal file-sharing networks should remain on notice: You can be caught, and there are consequences to your illegal actions."
Courier staff writer Seth Fox can be reached at 850-1148 or
seth.fox@houmatoday.com.
