In the wake of a landmark Supreme Court ruling that found peer-to-peer software providers ultimately culpable for the copyright infringement committed by their users, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sent cease-and-desist letters to seven file-sharing software firms, demanding that they stop "enabling and inducing" copyright infringement, The Wall Street Journal reported. The RIAA would not identify which companies received the letters, although The Journal reported that BearShare, WinMX and LimeWire were recipients. The Supreme Court ruling directly affected defendants Grokster and StreamCast Networks (Morpheus). Other big-name file-sharing firms include Kazaa, eDonkey and BitTorrent. "We demand that you immediately cease-and-desist from enabling and inducing the infringement of RIAA member sound recordings. If you wish to discuss pre-litigation resolution of these claims against you, please contact us immediately," reads a copy of the RIAA letter obtained by CNET News.com
Try to imagine this scenario, that General Motors and Ford were given exclusive franchises to build America's interstate highway system, and also all the highways that connect local communities. Now imagine that, based upon a financial crisis, these troubled companies decided to convert all "their" local arteries into toll-roads -- they then use incremental toll fees to severely limit all travel to and from small businesses. Why? This handicapping process reduced the need to invest in building better new roads, or repairing the dilapidated ones. But, wouldn't that short-sighted decision have a detrimental impact on the overall national economy? It's a moot point -- pure fantasy -- you say. The U.S. political leadership would never knowingly risk the nation's social and economic future on the financial viability of a restrictive duopoly. Or, would they? The 21st century Global Networked Economy travels across essential broadband infrastructure. The forced intro...