Notes
Slide Show
Outline
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Copyright and P2P
  • Edward W. Felten
  • Dept. of Computer Science
  • Princeton University
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Copyright
  • Covers original works of authorship, fixed in a tangible medium of expression
    • Literary works (including computer programs)
    • Music works, including lyrics
    • Dramatic works, including musical accompaniment
    • Pantomimes and choreographic works
    • Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
    • Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
    • Sound recordings
    • Architectural works
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Copyright
  • Does not cover
    • Titles, names, short phrases, slogans
    • Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes
    • Concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices


  • Lasts a very long time
    • Life of author, plus 70 years
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Exclusive Rights of © Owner
  • Without permission of © owner, illegal to:
    • Reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords
    • Prepare derivative works
    • Distribute copies or phonorecords to the public
    • Perform the work publicly
    • For audio recordings, to perform publicly by digital audio transmission
  • Public is free to make other uses
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Fair Use
  • Exception for socially beneficial uses, which would otherwise infringe
  • Four-factor test to determine whether a use is fair:
    • Nature of the work
    • Nature of the use (commercial, educational, commentary, parody, etc.)
    • Amount of work used, in relation to whole
    • Effect of use on market for original work
  • Two categories of fair uses recognized:
    • Transformative use: parody, commentary, education, …
    • Home use: time-shifting, space-shifting, …
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Theory Beyond (U.S.) Copyright
  • Utilitarian theory – incentive to create
    • Author controls some uses
    • Can charge others for use
    • Incentive to create
  • Balance
    • Creator revenue vs. public access
    • Previous creators vs. new creators
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Peer-to-Peer Technology
  • Ordinary users share files
  • Search facility
  • Widely used to distribute copyrighted files
    • Illegal to use this way (unauthorized copying)
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Lifecycle of a Work on P2P
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Copyright Owner Responses
  • Anti-ripping technology
    • Topic of next mini-lecture
  • Technological disruption of P2P networks
  • Sue direct infringers (end users)
  • Sue P2P vendors
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Technological Disruption of P2P
  • Distribute spoofed files
    • Easy, but users/designers have countermeasures
  • Targeted denial-of-service attacks
    • Might work, but legally iffy
  • Disrupt self-organization algorithms
    • Legally iffy
  • Infiltrate with misbehaving nodes
    • Legally iffy
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Sue Direct Infringers
  • Thousands of suits filed by RIAA
  • MPAA has started too
  • Possible damages $30k - $150k per infringing work
    • But settle for $3k or so
  • Has it worked?
    • Succeed in educating users
    • Not much deterrent effect seen; too many people to sue
    • Users move to new P2P networks
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Sue P2P Vendors
  • More viable target than end users.
  • But: not direct infringers
    • Vendors don’t copy files – their users do.
  • Sue vendors for secondary infringement
    • “aiding and abetting”
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Secondary Infringement
  • Contributory infringement
    • Infringement by another
    • Knowledge of specific acts of infringement
    • Material contribution to infringement
  • Vicarious infringement
    • Infringement by another
    • Right and ability to control infringing behavior
    • Financial benefit from infringement
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Secondary Infringement: History
  • 1984: Sony v. Universal (“Betamax”) (Sup. Ct.)
    • VCR legal; has “substantial noninfringing use”
  • 1999: Napster (9th Circuit)
    • Illegal; central match-making server  too involved
  • 2003: Aimster (7th Circuit)
    • Illegal: design to avoid knowledge of infringement; no legitimate justification offered for design; balancing test
  • 2004: Grokster (9th Circuit)
    • Legal: no specific, actionable knowledge; no control over use of system
    • May go to Supreme Court
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Is Current Use of P2P Harmful?
  • Argument for harm:
    • ~25% drop in music sales
    • lots of P2P infringement
    • surveys show downloads substitute for sales
  • Argument against harm:
    • some users sample works on P2P, buy later
    • people mostly download things they wouldn’t buy, so no harm done
    • other explanations for drop in music sales (some support from econometric studies)
    • harm to © owners, but bigger benefit to others
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