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FYI
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
SAME OLD SONG, DIFFERENT MEANING FOR P2P Differences between US and European copyright laws have proved a wrinkle in the recording industry's attempt to protect its intellectual property. Unlike the United States' 95-year protection for sound recordings, European artist enjoy only a 50-year grace period before the piece enters the public domain. Thus, works created in the 1950s are becoming freely available to European citizens despite the fact that Americans are still restricted. This poses problems for record companies seeking to curtail the activities of users of peer-to-peer file-sharing systems such as KaZaa and Gnutella, since they would be unable to prevent Europeans from uploading files and already face difficulty in tracking those who download copyrighted files. [SOURCE: CNET News, AUTHOR: John Borland] (http://news.com.com/2100-1023-979532.html?tag=fd_top) (c) Benton Foundation 2002. Redistribution of this email publication -- both internally and externally -- is encouraged if it includes this message. Paul T. Jackson - Trescott Research
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