P2P United, the industry trade group organized by some of the most popular commercial file-sharing software developer companies, today officially launched 'the banner of P2P United' and its web page.

Calling for Congress to repeal copyright owners’ "extraordinary authority to bring discriminatory and counterproductive lawsuits against individual file downloaders under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, while bringing all stakeholders to a Congressional negotiating table," the group also introduced its 10-point Code of Conduct.

INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION

No Member’s software shall be installed or upgraded on any user’s computer without first obtaining the user’s informed consent.

A method by which a Member’s software (and any other software installed with it) readily may be uninstalled by the user shall be provided to users.

Member’s software and associated user instructions shall conspicuously require the user to confirm the folder(s) containing the file material that the user wishes to make available to other users before making such material available, and shall be designed to reasonably prevent the inadvertent designation of the content of the user’s entire hard drive (or other principal data repository) as material available to other users.

COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAW

The user of a member’s software shall be prominently informed that the use of the software for illegal activities, including particularly infringement of intellectual property laws, is strictly forbidden and may subject the user to civil and/or criminal penalties.

Appropriate online links to one or more responsible sources of information regarding the nature and scope of applicable copyright law shall be prominently provided to users.

Members will comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and shall cooperate with governmental agencies to eliminate and prosecute trafficking in child pornography and other similar crimes.

USER PRIVACY, SECURITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Members shall establish and prominently post on their websites user privacy principles.

Members shall make readily available to users of their software information regarding the potential risk of inadvertent exposure to children of inappropriate file content.

Members shall, as technically feasible, incorporate features into their software that enable adults to restrict use of the software to designated members of their households.

Members shall not, without a user’s informed and confirmed consent, disclose personal information about the user or the user’s online activities to third parties unless required by law to do so.

"It’s long past time for the 'Tyrannosaurical' recording industry to stop blaming – and suing – its customers to cover up the industry’s own glaring failure to adapt yet again to a new technology – one that should already have been making millions for it and for the average artist whom it still hypocritically claims to speak for," said the group's executive director, Adam Eisgrau, during a telephone conferenced press announcement.

"Discriminatory lawsuits that run roughshod over the public’s rights to due process have got to stop and everyone with a stake in the future of electronic commerce needs to sit down under Congress’ watchful eye and get serious about building the 21st century’s online marketplace. If the industry can’t or won’t stop crashing blindly through the forest snapping up cowering mammals, then Congress should shut 'Jurassic Park' down."

At the conference were: Pablo Soto, ceo, Blubster; Wayne Rosso, president, Grokster; Greg Bildson, chief operating and technology officer, Lime Wire; and Michael Weiss, ceo, Morpheus.

Charter P2P United members are: Free Peers; Grokster; Lime Wire; MetaMachine; Piolet Networks; and StreamCast Networks.

It's too bad they didn't throw in there: "Members shall, as technically feasible, conceal information that could be used to track or stalk an individual."...

I think it's a well balanced comprimise. P2P has to be respectible and legitimate to have our views heard in congress. I think it's a good start

Look like reasonable guidelines. I would have added "where practical" to the section on cooperating with the government on child porn and similar crimes, just in case some suspicious investigator demands they put a sniffer on a user or reports to them everyone searching on a particular string, anything like that.

Good luck to them. There are some reasonable things being said in the "mission statement" or whatever this is. But the first posts here within minutes are already pointing out the flaws... GOOD JOB BOYCOTTERS! (Keep it up! These days, we can't just blindly jump at things that sound good at face value! We must ALWAYS be diligent! Especially when there is the potential for a "killer app" to just become a cyber-RIAA benefiting only the "owner" of said killer app! Look at Napster NOW/FUTURE PLANS and Kazaa NOW/FUTURE PLANS, etc., and not the free beta versions we loved.)

P2p in the wrong hands can be just as poisonous and evil as other media like Tv, Radio, Movies, etc. in the hands of the RIAA and their kissing cousins!

The Internet belongs to ALL humanity, not just the corporations!

Shmoo, of Electric Gypsy
http://electricgypsy.iuma.com
Support Local and Independent Music!

...just as long as we don't create another "Hitler" to replace the evil that was...

Let's LEARN from history and NOT be doomed to repeat it.

I notice that Kazaa is conspicuously missing from the p2p united membership. Hmmmm.. not a surprise.

If you read their web page you will see they want compulsory licensing. Which means they want to do business with the RIAA. Which means they are your enemy.

Boycott P2P United! : )

"Appropriate online links to one or more responsible sources of information regarding the nature and scope of applicable copyright law shall be prominently provided to users.
"

I wonder if one of those such links would have to be to the RIAA's website...

James

mroop is WAY OUT OF LINE!

A compulsory license is the ONLY solution that works and would incorporate the "Compliance With Applicable Law" section of this Code of Conduct. The RIAA has been offered licenses similar to the compulsory one that allows music to be played on the radio. But the RIAA has refused to accept it.

We all here at Boycott-Riaa would not have a problem PAYING for our downloads, provided that the fees were reasonable and let us do what we want with our downloaded songs. A compulsory license that does that is the solution to this problem... it would prevent the waste of dollars currently being expended by our court systems (in the handling of lawsuits and supeonas) and our legislature (in the constant waste of time trying to develop new laws that support the RIAA's position of NO DOWNLOADING).

Doing business with the RIAA is not necessarily the problem. The problem is the RIAA doesn't want to do business with the P2P networks. That's why they call it a COMPULSORY license. It REQUIRES them to agree to it whether they like it or not.

More and more ppl are on the side of these companies and its good to see that the RIAA will be loosing this battle because its one thing to hide like kazaa has for years or not making many public statements, and now to come out in the open and start encouraging ppl to join them is SWEET for the cause!

The RIAA will be dreading they didn't get hooked up with these companies when they had the chance.

"A compulsory license that does that is the solution to this problem... it would prevent the waste of dollars currently being expended by our court systems (in the handling of lawsuits and supeonas)"

Saying that compulsory licenses will prevent lawsuits assumes that all P2P's will seek compulsory licenses. For all we know, if P2P United gets licenses then free p2p's will spring up to replace the old ones that have decided to charge fees. And the RIAA will sue their members.

In fact, Meryl noted that Kazaa is not a member so it may be that they will offer free downloads regardless of the compulsory licensing issue. And the RIAA will continue their lawsuits.

mrpoop, if we are gonna be stuck with copyright laws in a similar or modified version of what exists now... compulsary licensing would be a benifit to us. (Better than is now, a long way from perfect... but helps some against MONOPOLISTIC DOMINATION that the RIAA enjoys now.)

With compulsory licencing, at least the ARTIST/PUBLISHER gets paid something...
Witness that the Harry Fox Agency model is not very fair or perfect... but at least it is something, and is a HELL of a lot better than the RIAA model.

Shmoo of Electric Gypsy

Blanket Licence Solution = EVEN BETTER STILL (about the best anyone can realistically hope for and still keep any semblance of the copyright concept!)

mrpoop, I see your point in one way tho, Kazaa just wants to bend laws enough for Kazaa to win... $$$ seeking entities do this sorta thing... I guess it really all does boil down to "exploit for $$$ vs art for the sake of altruism."

Survival of the fittest (strongest)

Human beings are STILL just animals, are we not?

Religion denies that last statement...

I believe in good, now I guess I better take away an "o" and start believing in god to save myself from being a hypocrite.

Strange world of circles.

How to Circumvent the System
by Feisar

Don't use debit. Don't use credit cards. Use cash only. Use your gramma's video membership to rent videos. Travel by bus. Switch to wi-fi and go to hotspots to download. Use no cell phone, use pay phones. Make it so 'They' can't track you. They can't track you, the can't catch you, they got nothing.
Thank you
Feisar, soon to be
"The Most Dangerous
Man Alive."

The folks that are making the stand for P2P here are doing some things right. By not saying anything about DMCA they are leaving the door open for the RIAA to walk into a lawsuit.

They are eliminating some of the legal excuses that P2P users will be able to use in defense of their actions and at the same time they are protecting themselves. Many have said that there has always been an issue with the legalization of P2P and obtaining the right to be legal as the majors refuse to do that. Here is the issue in black and white so that it can be used against the majors at a later date.

I would expect some sort of encryption to come of out this so those outsiders can not see what the member is doing with uploads and downloads. Any tampering with that will be the ammo that blows up in the spy?s face.

This may well be the start of a backlash in the actions of the RIAA and similar organizations to obtain info on the members of music networks. There are many things hidden in between the lines of the statements made in this article and it will be interesting to see where it goes.

The main thing this folks are doing is taking the wind out of the ?evil P2P monster? drum beat the RIAA and like have been using for so long. Where will such groups find another drum to beat if this one is taken away? You may be sure as long as ears will listen they will play the tune. What will happen if the sheet music for that particular song is taken away? It has played as a #1 hit for a long time for them and they will not willing put down the hit song they have created.

This is a fine start in removing the legs that the ?evil P2P monster? hit is based on.

~Quote~
How to Circumvent the System
by Feisar

Don't use debit. Don't use credit cards. Use cash only. Use your gramma's video membership to rent videos. Travel by bus. Switch to wi-fi and go to hotspots to download. Use no cell phone, use pay phones. Make it so 'They' can't track you. They can't track you, the can't catch you, they got nothing.
Thank you
Feisar, soon to be
"The Most Dangerous
Man Alive."
~Quote~

I love it, I love it, I love it!!

Guess I should go chop up my credit card and withdraw everything from the bank, eh?

Independantm....

Its MROOP, not MRPOOP...

BTW, What is Scmoo the electric gypsy?

~Jiggaman~

ZeonMusic, You don't have to go that far. My Point is, it is WE the people who have allowed our privacy to become exploited. If we begin to tighten the reigns by limiting the amount of info we provide, you will notice that these organizations will have little if not any power. We need to maintain control as opposed to opening ourselves up in exchange for creature comforts. The most dangerous tools are always wrapped up as a "Convinience." Or maybe you should cut up your cards. 18% is insanity. Pay cash.

~Feisar~
sound advise i follow myself.