Yesterday there was a very important court decision in Canada.
The music industry was trying to subpeona IP's to provide lists of people downloading music on the net.
The judge said that it was no different than trying to force libraries
to provide lists of people using photocopiers. The case was thrown out.
In my personal opinion this was a wise ruling. It does not say that it is legal to download shared music. What it does say is that it places a persons right to privacy above that of the petitioners. The recording industry has been using court threats and lawsuits as a means of intimidation. This removes the wind from their sails. The recording industry is using a lot of propaganda to make people believe that these downloads are theft and a criminal act. This is not so! It is a violation of copyright and is a civil rather than criminal offence. Nobody should know that better than the recording companies, as they have been stealing copyright throughout their existance.
It is hard to find sympathy for them!
                Obie