The RIAA is suing 261 people for their illegal downloading of mp3’s.
The Recording Industry Association of America (news - web sites) (RIAA) today said it filed lawsuits against 261 people accused of trading copyrighted songs on the Internet. The group also said that it would not sue file sharers who promise in writing not to do it again.The lawsuits, which were filed in federal courts across the country, are the RIAA’s latest tactics in its war against the illegal file sharing that record companies blame for plummeting CD sales.
In June, the RIAA promised to sue hundreds of Internet users suspected of illegally trading music using file-swapping services like Kazaa and Morpheus. The association in August clarified that it only would target the most egregious file sharers.
RIAA President Cary Sherman in a teleconference today characterized the people who were sued as “major offenders” who distributed about 1,000 copyrighted music files on average.
This is great news. The RIAA has upheld its right to make money, and has upheld the rights of every one of the artists with whom they contract to make money as well. Most importantly, this act on the part of the RIAA is an affirmation of the right to life of every individual, the right which states, that every single individual regardless of race, class, sex, religion, income, etc., have the right to take whatever actions they deem necessary for their own lives as long as they do not violate the right of others to do so in the process.
Recently, I modified my 7/17/03 post, “Swapping Mp3’s as a Violation of Individual Rights,” which I intend to submit to my school paper as an op-ed. Since this piece has major relevance to the topic at hand, I have decided to post it here:
When did theft stop being punished by the law in America? Apparently, in America, theft is not theft when it is done by a large group of people. A robber steals the purse of an old woman in a dark alley, it is called theft; millions of teenagers steal the property of an artist, it is called “swapping.” A burglar comes into the home of a rich family and steals their prized possessions, it is called theft; politicians steal the earned money of a large number of rich individuals, it is called “redistribution of wealth.
Face it folks, swapping mp3’s and movie files IS stealing, if those files are unlicensed by the artist, meaning, if the artist did not consent to the distribution of his property in that given medium. Put yourself in the position of the artist in this situation. Imagine spending years of your life painstakingly developing a given talent (such as singing, performing an instrument, creating a movie, etc.), only to be told that you have no right to trade that talent with others as performed in a given medium. Imagine being told that you have no right to be compensated for all of your effort. Imagine, having your art being physically taken from you and distributed to anyone who wants it, without your consent. Imagine spending close to twenty years of your life being educated, spending hours upon hours in your business, and working extremely hard every day of your life only to have the result of that hard work, your product and your money, stolen from you.
This country was founded on one fundamental principle: that every human being, by their very nature, has one fundamental right, from which all others are the result: the right to their own life. This means that every human being has the right to take whatever actions they deem necessary for their own life, just as long as they do not violate that right of any other individual or group of individuals. This right, according to the political philosophy of America at its inception, is inalienable, which means, that the government, as well as its citizens, do not have the right to violate it in any way. This means that every single individual has the right to life, regardless of race, religion, sex, income, sexual orientation, etc., and that the purpose of government is to recognize and protect this right. Based on this right, if an artist creates a product (such as a song), that artist has a right to that product. That artist has a right to distribute the product how they see fit or to keep it to themselves.
But those who support the downloading of mp3’s claim otherwise. They claim that they have a right to the products that the artists create because they enjoy the product, or because they want the product, or because they believe that they are being charged too much for the product, etc. Or, those who support the downloading of mp3’s claim that the artists have so much money anyway, what does it matter that we steal their property?
No group has the right to proclaim that they have the right to violate the rights of individuals. Those who engage in unlicensed file swapping on peer-to-peer networks have no right to steal the property of artists and swap it, politicians have no right to steal money from the rich individuals of America, nor does any single group have the right to engage in the violation of any individual’s rights for any reason whatsoever. You do not have the right to steal the property of artists because you want it, or because you believe you are being charged too much for it, or because you believe that the artist has a lot of money anyway, etc.
Put yourself in the position of the artist. Imagine that someone demanded that you give up your property to them. Would you agree that they have the right to steal your money and your property because they want it? Would you agree that they have the right to steal your money and your property because they believe they are being charged too much for it? Would you agree that they have the right to steal your money and your property because they believe that you have so much money anyway?
The swapping of mp3’s IS a violation of the individual rights of the artists whose property is stolen. By downloading their music and using it for your own purposes, you deny the ability for the artist to choose the method by which a voluntary trade is enacted for their property. Instead, by downloading their music, you steal their property and give them nothing in return, thereby profoundly violating their right to life.
At the founding of this country, the philosophy of individual rights was not fully implemented by the government and was partially ignored by its citizens. The individual rights of women, slaves, and many other groups were violated. Today, that violation of rights continues, except the individuals whose rights are being violated have changed. Today, artists are just one example of a group of individuals whose rights are being violated. Let’s put an end to the violation of individual rights. As college students, there is not much we can do about the current violation of rights of many of the individuals in this country. However, every single one of you has the ability to end the violation of the rights of artists by ending your practice of downloading mp3’s. Join me in condemning this practice and putting a stop to it.
