You will hear a weekly podcast talking about file sharing laws in the U.S. For each question(23-30), mark one letter(A, B or

Man: Hello, and welcome to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful Life. But first, a disclaimer: Although I am an attorney, the legal information in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalised legal advice from an attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. Further, I do not intend to create an attorney-client relationship with any listener. We have Jennifer Anniston from Malibu, California calling. Hello, Jen.
Woman: Hello, John. Millions of Americans download media files via the Internet. But when are these downloads legal, and when are they not?
Man: Excellent questions, Jen! The Quick and Dirty Tip is that if you normally have to pay for it at your local bookstores, you must also pay for it on the Internet. You may not download it for free. Under the federal laws, artistic works such as songs, movies, books, and photographs can be copyrighted. Once the work is copyrighted, the creator of the work gets a number of rights including the exclusive rights to copy and distribute it.
Woman: Can you give me an example?
Man: Yes. For example, U2 wrote and recorded an excellent album titled The Joshua Tree. They copyrighted their songs and the artwork used on the CD. Then you buy it. You can listen to the album, use songs in a mix CD or playlist on your iTunes, etc. But, you can not make 100 copies and sell them on the street comer because you are infringing on U2’s right to do so. They made the album and copyrighted it, so they get to control its distribution.
Man: The same idea applies to the Internet. You can buy The Joshua Tree, burn it to your computer, and listen to it. You can not then charge people $1 each to download a song from you. Under The No Electronic Theft Act, you can not give the song away for free either. You are, again, doing things that only U2 has the right to do: copy and distribute.
Woman: How about file sharing programmes that have become quite popular?
Man: Well, first of all, let me tell our listeners what file sharing programmes are, shall we? The file sharing programmes are computer programmes that let users grant public access to a folder on their computers.
Woman: So, I could put in my public folder photos from my vacation to Hawaii, a short film that I created and copyrighted, and the songs from The Joshua Tree. Then, other users in the network could download the files to their own computers.
Man: Let’s look at each in turn: Your vacation pictures are fine because they are not copyrighted. You can share them with anybody you want, and anyone can distribute them to anyone else. The short film you created is slightly different. Assuming that you own all the copyrights to it, you have rights to the film and can control how you distribute it. You have the right to post the film, and people can download it because you chose to make the episode downloadable for free. But, People do not have the right to redistribute the film by posting it on YouTube. If people downloaded the film and then sent the file to your dad, they are technically infringing on your copyright. This is true even though you do not charge them for the file.
Woman: How about U2’s album?
Man: U2’s album is a pretty straightforward example. Once I put the copyrighted songs up, I am distributing them, and anyone who downloads the song is effectively stealing it from U2 for the purposes of copyright law.
This is true regardless of the number of songs I put up, the quality of the recording, and whether one person or a million people download the song.
Woman: What are the penalties for violation of the copyrights?
Man: The penalties for copyright infringement range considerably. For willful commercial infringement, the penalty can be as high as six months in prison and $250,000 in fines. Initially, the government and copyright holders sued only the makers of file sharing programmes, such as Napster and Grokster. But, copyright holders have been cracking down on individual users too. On September 8, 2003, the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA), the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry, filed 261 lawsuits against individual file-sharers. Among the 261 people targeted, four were college students who settled the claims for $12,000 to $17,500. That campaign has escalated recently, and on February 28, 2007, the RIAA launched a new campaign against illegal file sharing against 400 students on 17 university campuses.
Woman: What’s the safest thing, to ensure that you do not unintentionally commit copyright infringement?
Man: The safest option is to purchase music legally, either at a music store, or online. iTunes is an excellent option where users can buy individual songs for $0.99. For a list of other sites where you can buy music, please visit the RIAA’s website.