Repent Downloaders and Get Amnesty
Fri September 5, 2003 02:08 PM ET
By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Internet users who promise to stop illegally copying music will be able to avoid prosecution under an amnesty program to be unveiled by the recording industry next week, a source close to the matter said Friday.

Users would sign a notarized affidavit promising to stop using peer to peer programs like Kazaa to download copyrighted music for free and to delete all songs they may have acquired illegally, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Recording Industry Association of America is expected to file lawsuits early next week against hundreds of peer-to-peer users suspected of engaging in widespread copyright violations.

Those facing lawsuits would not be eligible for the amnesty program, the source said.

An RIAA spokesman declined to comment.

The amnesty program is one of several recent moves by the industry to reach out to digital-music users and soften the impact of an aggressive legal fight that has incurred the wrath of many music fans.

Earlier this week, Universal Music Group announced that it would slash the retail cost of its CDs by 30 percent, and analysts expect other labels to follow suit.

Industry-authorized download services have been gaining in popularity as they offer improved features, and some such as buymusic.com have been negotiating discount packages with colleges and universities.

Copyright expert Gigi Sohn, who has frequently clashed with the industry in the past, said the amnesty program sounds like a good idea, but participants should not be forced to renounce all forms of song copying.

This is a heck of a lot better than just going out and suing the daylights out of people, said Sohn, president of the Washington-based advocacy group Public Knowledge. My concern is that people may give up rights they may have, such as the right to limited sharing.

Internet users who continue to copy music online after signing the affidavit could face possible criminal charges for willful copyright infringement. It was not clear what information participants would have to provide to the RIAA, or how they could obtain the form.

In addition to Universal, a division of Vivendi Universal, RIAA members include AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Music; Sony Corp.'s Sony Music; Bertelsmann AG; and EMI Group Plc.

Reuters