Most people have heard of the Napster music-sharing network. Napster
was developed as a peer-to-peer network in which users all over the world would
place music MP3 files on their computers and allow others to download them.
The Napster network used central servers with a directory of "who has what
available." The new user would query the Napster servers for song titles.
Napster’s servers would locate someone who had the titles available and redirect
the inquiring user to the second user who had the music available. The music
was downloaded from the second user, not from Napster’s servers. All of this
was done seamlessly; the users never knew each other and didn’t know where the
desired music came from. The music available at any given moment would vary,
depending upon who was logged on with music to share.
Napster quickly became a very popular service for illegal copies
of copyrighted music. The music industry moguls launched legal action and Napster
lost in court. The service still exists but has become radically different,
as various controls have been put in place. Illegal exchanges of copyrighted
music still exist on Napster although at a much lower rate than a few months
ago.
After Napster’s demise, a number of new services have sprung up
that are somewhat similar to Napster but they vary widely in details. Most of
them have instituted server-less file searches. Without a central server and
without any one organization in control, it is harder to find a responsible
organization to sue. Nonetheless, legal authorities are watching industry trends
closely.
One of the more popular peer-to-peer file sharing programs is
called Morpheus. Morpheus is a peer-to-peer file-sharing application that allows
users to search for all types of digital media across the MusicCity, Grokster,
and Kazaa networks. Not only can users swap music files, they can also swap
videos, text, and even programs. Again, the material available changes from
minute to minute as providers log on and off. Files that were available five
minutes ago may not be available now. Then again, they may reappear again shortly
as someone else logs on with that file available.
As you might expect, illegal copying of copyrighted material is
rampant on Morpheus. This program is not central server-based, like Napster.
Therefore no one organization is in control, making it difficult to take legal
action.
The Morpheus software was written by MusicCity. However, that
company only provides the software; they do not provide the network service.
They claim that they have no responsibility for the copying of illicit material.
They claim that they are like the company that provides e-mail software. That
is, anyone can use e-mail to plot a bank robbery but that doesn’t mean that
the company that provides the e-mail software is guilty of complicity. That
argument may be a bit weak, however. Movie studios and record labels sued in
early October to shut down the popular MusicCity, Grokster and Kazaa networks.
The litigation is still pending. You can read more about the legal issues involved
at: www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2823124,00.html.
I loaded Morpheus on my system and did some searches. As expected,
I found all sorts of music available. I found music available that spanned all
music interests; Perry Como to Led Zeppelin to Britney Spears to the latest
heavy metal. All of it appears to be copyrighted and all of it is easy to download
to my PC. Then I started looking at programs and other non-music files. I was
amazed at the illegal stuff available. I found complete copies of the latest
versions of Windows XP, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Norton Antivirus
and much, much more. All of the programs are easy to download. (I am told that
many of the downloadable programs are virus-infested, a claim that I did not
check out.)
I decided to look to see if any genealogy software was available.
I typed in a search for "genealogy" and was pleasantly surprised to
find nothing available. However, I know that the word "genealogy"
is often misspelled so I decided to try a search for "geneology."
Sure enough, I found two people offering complete copies of Family Treemaker
version 7.0 and one offering Generations FamilyTree version 8.0.
Obviously, offering such copyrighted software is illegal in almost
all countries. I am no lawyer but I believe that any person who downloads any
of these programs is also breaking the law. It sure sounds like receipt of stolen
goods! The software available on the MusicCity, Groksterk, and Kazaa networks
may not be the latest versions but they are still protected by copyright laws.
MusicCity has already been sued. I suspect you will also see legal
action taken before long against the individuals who provide the illegal music
and program files and possibly even against the recipients of these copyrighted
materials.
Beware of the files on these networks. Not only do you need virus
protection, you may also need to contact your lawyer before someone knocks on
your door with a warrant in hand.
Dick Eastman Online
