fee for access. Others, such as Morpheus, Grokster, and KaZaa, .
make their content freely available to all users. .
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is .
deeply concerned about the estimated $4.2 billion dollars lost .
every year to worldwide piracy (RIAA, par. 4), much of which is .
attributed to the unauthorized swapping of file online. This .
loss causes record labels to continue to increase the price of .
3.
musical recordings in order to maintain the same profit margin. .
The ultimate loser in this scenario is the average consumer, who .
sees the price of the music increase to astronomical .
proportions.
.
The RIAA is protesting the ease in which MP3 files may be .
obtained. The RIAA's concerns are not directed at the format .
itself, and this is an important distinction. As stated by .
the RIAA: .
As for MP3 technology, RIAA and its members have no .
objection to the format itself. (The) RIAA only has a .
problem with the illegal uses of the format to .
distribute copyrighted recordings without the .
permission of the artist or record company. (RIAA, .
par. 2).
The RIAA has initiated legal action against several of the .
afore-mentioned Internet distributors, most notably Napster. .
The heart of the lawsuit charged that Napster and its creator, .
Shawn Fanning, had " launched a service that enables and .
facilitates piracy of music on an unprecedented scale." (RIAA, .
par. 1) The lawsuit eventually caused Napster to shut down .
completely, although the name has been purchased and may someday .
appear again.
Although Napster is the most famous, it is by no means the .
only target of the litigations. The RIAA has also brought legal .
4.
action against Aimster, MP3.com, and several other file-swapping .
sites. The RIAA has also pursued legal action against the .
hardware companies who manufacture products to play pirated .
music, specifically Diamond Multimedia, the manufacturers of the .
