By Alorie Gilbert, 23 September 2005 09:10
NEWS The music and film industries are giving people who have swapped songs and other copyrighted material over the internet a new way to repent for their illicit ways.
A free program released on Thursday, called Digital File Check, will uninstall or disable file-sharing programs on people's computers. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), a London-based affiliate of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), helped develop the software with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
The groups are mainly aiming the program at parents and employers in Europe.
Dan Glickman, the president of the MPAA, said in a statement: "Digital File Check is easy to use and can help people prevent their employees, children and others from illegally downloading and swapping movies."
The IFPI said in a statement: "It could be especially useful for parents who want to encourage their children to enjoy music responsibly on the internet. It is free, voluntary and for private use only and does not tip off any anti-piracy organisations."
The software, available for download, will also search computers for music and movies and remove any illegal copies, the group said.
The IFPI also announced plans to publish and distribute a guide for employers called Copyright and Security Guide for Companies and Governments, outlining the liabilities of leaving corporate networks open to copyright infringement.
The new campaign is one of several fronts in a war the recording industry is waging on peer-to-peer networks that facilitate the free sharing of music and movies. Last week, the RIAA sent warning letters to seven P2P companies, asking them to stop encouraging users to circumvent copyright laws.
The organisation won a Supreme Court fight in June with file-sharing service Grokster and has filed thousands of lawsuits against individuals who allegedly used such networks and violated copyright laws.
Alorie Gilbert writes for CNET News.com
Comments
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1. James D'Apice
If the software will 'search computers for music and movies and remove any illegal copies', how will it know if they are illegal.
Is there a difference between the MP3 encoding of my own CDs which i've ripped to put onto my MP3 player and no one else has copied and have never been uploaded anywhere, and MP3s that someone has downloaded from Kazaa or where ever?
Or what about MP3s that are copyright free?
Does it just look for some sort of DRM on the file and then ignore those ones and deletes everything else?
Maybe all the illegal ones have a tag that is set to 'Illegal'?
Maybe someone should try it and if it deletes the wrong files sue them.
2. MusicFan
Will someone be creating a piece of software that stops records companies from ripping us off?
How about a piece of software that identifies what proportion of a cd's price tag actually goes to the musician and how much it cost to produce, then automatically sends an email to the record company saying "no chance, i aint buying that you theavin bastards!"
Now id deffo buy that software!
3. AFfas faf
It reads in the agreement that you take the full responsibility for using this program, it means that if it deletes wrong files, you can't do a thing.