Robin Hood and the
40 Million Thieves
David Evans
evans@cs.virginia.edu
Simple Facts
• Distributing copyrighted music is stealing
• Stealing is wrong
– Even when the poor steal from the rich
So, what’s the controversy?
6 October 2003
Pugwash
2
Radio vs. Webcast
What’s the difference between playing a
song on the radio (which record
companies pay stations to do) and
webcasting a song on the Internet (which
webcasters must pay to do)?
6 October 2003
Pugwash
3
Terrestrial radio stations don't pay sound recording
copyright owners. Why should webcasters be treated any
differently?
The lack of a broad sound recording performance right that
applies to US terrestrial broadcasts is an historical accident…
For decades, the US recording industry fought unsuccessfully
to change this anomaly while broadcasters built very profitable
businesses on the creative works of artists and record
companies. The broadcasters were simply too strong on
Capitol Hill.
However, with the birth of digital transmission technology,
Congress understood the importance of establishing a sound
recording performance right for digital transmissions, and did
so in 1995 with the Digital Performance Right in Sound
Recordings Act ("DPRA")….
6 October 2003
Pugwash
4
RIAA’s Webcasting FAQ
Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
6 October 2003
Pugwash
5
Napster
ali.baba.com
Request: “I’m Shady”
Files I have: “I’m Shady”
Napster
robin.hood.edu
Download file
“I’m Shady”
robin.hood.edu
6 October 2003
Centralized server keeps track of all
files and connections.
Pugwash
6
Napster Illegal
• A&M Records v. Napster, Feb 2001
• Contributory Copyright Infringement
– There is evidence of direct copyright
infringement by Napster users
– Napster knows about and contributes to this
infringement: centralized server with index of
files
6 October 2003
Pugwash
7
Shutting Down Napster
ali.baba.com
Request: “I’m Shady”
Files I have: “I’m Shady”
Napster
robin.hood.edu
Download file
“I’m Shady”
robin.hood.edu
6 October 2003
Pugwash
8
FastTrack (Morpheus/KaZaA)
ali.baba.com
al.cap.one
Connect: I’m a SuperNode
updates
database
with other
Supernodes
Connect
SuperNodes
index
al.cap.one
Request: “I’m Shady”
“I’m Shady”
Try robin.hood.edu
Download file
robin.hood.edu
6 October 2003
Pugwash
9
Morpheus Legal
• Decentralized SuperNodes with index of
files
• MGM v. Grokster - district Court judgment,
currently under appeal:
– Since there is no centralized index of files, no
control over infringing uses
– Like VCRs, can be used to violate copyright,
but substantial non-infringing uses also
6 October 2003
Pugwash
10
Gnutella
Request: “I’m Shady”
Request: “I’m Shady”
Request: “I’m Shady”
Request: “I’m Shady”
“I’m Shady”
robin.hood.edu
6 October 2003
Pugwash
11
Preventing Copying
• Technology: make it harder to copy files
– Watermarking
– Digital Rights Management
• Law: use penalties to deter copying
– DMCA
– Copyright Infringement Lawsuits
6 October 2003
Pugwash
12
Failed Attempt: SDMI
• Secure Digital Music Initiative
– Industry consortium to establish standards
for digital music
• Hide inaudible data in music files
• SDMI-compliant players enforce access
control based on data
– Make direct copies of a CD, but not copies
of a copy
• Watermarking technology broken, no
consensus among manufactures
6 October 2003
Pugwash
13
Digital Rights Management
• Trusted Computing Platform (Palladium, “Next
Generation Secure Computing Base”) –
Intel/Microsoft/IBM/HP/AMD
• Tie software to a particular machine: music
downloaded for one PC will not play in another PC
– Applications are encrypted using key stored in special
processor hardware
– Hash of machine state used to verify the PC has not
been tampered with
• Owner no longer controls PC
6 October 2003
Pugwash
14
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1988)
• Bans circumvention of technological
measures to control access
• Bans distribution of tools (including
information) used for circumvention
• Doesn’t matter if a copyright is actually
violated, or tool has legitimate uses
6 October 2003
Pugwash
15
DMCA Abuses
• Academics threatened to prevent
publishing vulnerabilities in SDMI
watermarking
• Dimitry Sklyarov arrested (acquitted are 18
months) for working on program that
circumvents Adobe’s ebook access
controls
In response to a complaint we received under the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act, we have removed 3 result(s)
from this page. If you wish, you may read the DMCA
complaint for these removed results.
Google’s search for “Kazaa Lite”
6 October 2003
Pugwash
16
RIAA Lawsuits
• 1,568 subpeonas to ISPs and colleges
• Up to $150,000 per infringement (= 1 song)
• Sued 261 for copyright infringement
(including 12 year-old)
• Target operators of supernodes
– People with fast net connections
– KaZaA automatically determines if you are a
supernode (unless you configure it to prevent
this)
6 October 2003
Pugwash
17
A Nation of Criminals!
• 200 M people who have sung “Happy
Birthday” without paying performance
rights fees
• 150 M Speeders
• 60 M File Sharing Copyright Violators
• 1 M Lemonade Stands violating sales tax,
payroll tax, minimum wage, etc. laws!
6 October 2003
Pugwash
18
Summary
• Stealing is still wrong
– Even if you can do it without getting caught
– Even if you think the RIAA is evil
• Music Industry should stop treating its best
current and future customers as the enemy!
• Good, legal, music distribution sites will be
very successful
– Apple’s iTunes, MusicMatch, Napster 2.0
– More industry revenues possible through
subscription fees than selling CDs
6 October 2003
Pugwash
19