The Recording Industry Association of America has withdrawn a file-swapping lawsuits after a possible case of mistaken identity. The trade association confirmed Wednesday that it had withdrawn its suit against Boston-area senior citizen Sarah Ward, who claimed that she could not possibly have been involved in the file-swapping incident attributed to her. Among other objections, …

File-swapping company Sharman Networks filed new antitrust charges against record labels and Hollywood studios, hoping to deflect copyright infringement claims still pending over the popular Kazaa software. The suit, which claims record labels and movie studios have conspired to drive Sharman Networks out of business in order to monopolize digital distribution, is virtually identical to charges first raised by the …

WASHINGTON–On May 16, 2002, top executives from the Recording Industry Association of America gathered to celebrate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a controversial law that Congress enacted in hopes of curbing online piracy. With glasses of champagne held high in the air, the RIAA, like-minded trade associations and friendly politicians–including at least one committee chairman–toasted the measure, one section of …

If attitudes on college campuses nationwide are any indicator, then software piracy in Kazaa and other file-swapping communities could get out of control, according to a new study. Nearly two-thirds of college students surveyed said they would download pirated software, according to a study released Tuesday by the Business Software Alliance (BSA). Only a third of those students who have …

WASHINGTON–A federal appeals court on Tuesday scrutinized the details of a 1998 copyright law, wondering whether it permits the wide-scale unmasking of alleged peer-to-peer pirates by the music industry. The three-judge panel gave little indication of whether it would continue to permit the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to exploit the law’s turbocharged subpoena procedures in its campaign against …

A representative for Apple Corps, the corporate face of rock icons The Beatles, said Friday that the company has sued Apple Computer over its iTunes service, in a sequel to a previous trademark dispute. Geoff Baker, spokesman for Apple Corps, confirmed the suit was filed two months ago in London High Court. He referred further questions to a statement put …

For the first time in the United States, BMG Music will release a music CD that’s loaded with anticopying protection, a move that opens a new round of technological experimentation for record labels. BMG division Arista Records will include “copy management” protections produced by SunnComm Technologies on soul artist Anthony Hamilton’s new album, the company said Friday. Although the label …

A customer of Apple Computer’s iTunes Music Store said he has successfully resold a song he purchased through the service, ending a weeklong exercise he hoped would highlight the legal and technical nuances of emerging digital music services. George Hotelling, a Web developer in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Tuesday reported the details of the transfer on his Web log. In …

For much of the last year, the University of Wyoming and a company called Audible Magic tested technology that looked inside students’ file swaps for copyrighted music, with an eye toward ultimately blocking the transfer of such material. The job turned out to be harder than Audible Magic expected. On Wednesday, the company said it had given up on part …

A day after the Recording Industry Association of America filed a slew of lawsuits against alleged illegal song swappers, it became the target of legal action over its own “amnesty” program. California resident Eric Parke, on behalf of the general public of the state, filed a suit Tuesday against the trade association because of its amnesty, or “Clean Slate,” program, …