Record industry sues Aimster
It has been a bad week for file-swapping service Aimster. First,
it was ordered to transfer its domain name to AOL and yesterday it
was hit with a lawsuit by the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA) for copyright infringement.
Aimster lets its users swap any files stored on their hard
drives with other users in their instant messaging buddy lists. MP3
music files are the most popular transfers among its users. The
system is similar to Napster’s MP3 swapping service, however,
unlike Napster, transfers on Aimster are encrypted making it
difficult for copyright owners to know what files are being swapped
by users.
The RIAA sent a warning letter to Aimster, saying that its
service was close enough to Napster’s for it to violate the same
copyright laws. Aimster refused to comply with its demands to block
the transfer of copyrighted material and instead, tried pre-empting
the legal action. Last month, it sought a declaration from its
local court in Albany, New York, that its service is legal. Its
argument is that anyone wanting to show copyright infringement
would themselves have to break the law by breaking into personal
networks.
Rather than await the judge’s decision on Aimster’s claim, the
RIAA has sued in New York City on behalf of all major and some
independent record labels. General Counsel for the RIAA said:
“Aimster is Napster all over again.” According to reports, a
similar lawsuit is expected from the movie industry.
See also: Aimster, OUT-LAW News, 25/05/2001
