County politicians in Los Angeles have passed legislation championed by the RIAA and MPAA that lets authorities confiscate property from anyone convicted of IP theft or piracy. See Wired for more information.
The RIAA uses automated methods for collecting information fom LimeWire and other peer-to-peer programs. Data including the IP address and the files offered for trade are collected. The trade organization also has an automated takedown notice and settlement system that targets universities and students. The RIAA uses a manual process when investigating commercial ISPs. This article from the Chronicle of Higher Education has some details.
Meanwhile, BoingBoing reports that the US House of Representatives has passed a similar measure (HR 4279, PRO-IP (Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008). The bill may not get through the US Senate this year.
See Ars Technica and TechDirt for more information on this ridiculous piece of legislation.
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- 11 May 2008: Qtrax makes a free music download deal with Universal
- 15 March 2008: 10 years of MP3 players
- 21 February 2008: Copyright and fair use
- 4 February 2008: Better than free
- 13 November 2007: File sharing and campus security
- 5 October 2007: What’s wrong with copyright?
- 17 July 2007: A quick explanation of copyright law
- 29 September 2006: US copyright law in verse
- 15 August 2004: American Library Association promotes fair use
- 27 June 2003: Sue your best customers
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