Direct Download Service Rapidshare Hands Over User Info to Record Industry
Direct Download Service Rapidshare Hands Over User Info to Record Industry
Posted 05/01/2009 at 5:56am
| by Paul Lilly
10
Comments
Print
You might not be familiar with paragraph 101 of German copyright law, but if the latest happenings turn into a trend, expect to hear more and more about it. Paragraph 101 grants content owners the legal right to seek a court order to force ISPs to divulge personal information based on IP addresses, and so far, at least one record label has allegedly done just that.
According to German news outlet Gulli, a Rapidshare user found his home raided by local law enforcement after it was discovered he had uploaded a copy of Metallica's new album "Death Magnetic" to his account. The illegal upload occurred a day before the album's worldwide release, prompting the band's record label to request the user's IP address from Rapidshare, which it willingly gave up, and then had Deutsche Telekom divulge who was behind the IP.
Given the success and ease with which personally identifiable information was obtained, some are voicing concerns that record labels might next target BitTorrent and other P2P networks armed with paragraph 101.
Image Credit: Flickr Joe Gratz
More like this
kris79
May 05, 2009 at 9:39pm
Ok, lord pyro,
how many pens have you stolen? Hmmmmm? let me have one of your fingers. But before you give me the finger, let me say good for you, don't steal. Thank you...kris79
D3lt4
May 02, 2009 at 8:26am
[edit] stupid response box made me post a comment rather than a response
Tentacle
May 01, 2009 at 11:19am
Might target bittorrent? I dunno about record companies, but HBO had my ISP cancel my service for torrenting Rome. There was no raiding of my place, though. I contacted HBO's legal department and their lawyer wasn't interested in pursuing legal action, they just wanted me to stop.
Velcrow
May 01, 2009 at 10:20am
This seems like a special case. The guy actually released the album BEFORE the worldwide release, so he had to get it somewhere. And I'm sure they want to know. I highly doubt they'll be using paragraph 101 to break down the doors of everyone who's downloaded something.
LordPyro
May 01, 2009 at 9:19am
Good, I am glad to see that people are being punished for stealing and or helping others to steal. It is not that much money for a DRM free album, there is no reason at all anyone needs to pirate or steal anything. Stealing is a crime, and in my opinion should be punished by cutting off fingers.
Velcrow
May 01, 2009 at 10:14am
Cutting off fingers? lol. And yet you seem serious. What about dealing drugs? Lop off a leg? Wouldn't be running from the police much after that.
There are some people that want to 'try before they buy' or want access to something before it's released in their country. Of course, most just want it for free.
LordPyro
May 01, 2009 at 10:43am
I am being 100% serious, If you risked getting a finger cut off when you stole something - would you risk it?
And I understand that you want to try something, but sometimes doing some research before buying something is all you need to do, I subscribe to PC gamer and always read a few reviews of any game before I buy it, I make sure it's a genre I like, and I download any beta/demo there might be. I do agree that companies should allow more "try it" offers and such, but the way around it is not stealing, and that is exactly what it is.
You cant live in a hour for a month before buying it just to try it out.
And as for your comment about dealing drugs - I don't think that would be a leg offense, I think that would be more like an arm - and yes, I am being 100% serious.
FYI - I do not pirate/steal anything - all my music is bought from Amazon download DRM free for $10 an album. And I have never, and will never do any form of drugs and or smoke.
D3lt4
May 02, 2009 at 8:26am
I wonder if your ignorance is the stem of your apathy.
Also,
I wonder how many fingers you would have left with your method of
dealing with thieves, probably not enough to type your original post or
a response.
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
We introduce Intel's latest class of tablet killers and review 4 of the first Ultra...
Where have all the memorable videogame enemies gone?
This month's issue
Feature
11 Hardware Hacks
Feature
Overclock Your CPU
How-To
Supercharge Your Smartphone
Build It
A Powerful $830 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: Analysts: 9-Inch Kindle Fire This Summer http://t.co/QDYApwCZ1 day 1 hour ago
- maximumpc: Micron: DRAM Prices Likely as Low as They're Going to Get http://t.co/fFUWuFOm1 day 4 hours ago
- maximumpc: Yar, Mateys! All Of Pirate Bay Made Available As A Single 90MB Zip File http://t.co/j5LHlXEZ1 day 5 hours ago
