The Recording Industry Association of America wants to put an end to software and services that enable people to rip songs from music videos.
Two days after YouTube-MP3.org, a site that converts songs from music videos into MP3 files, was blocked from accessing YouTube, the RIAA has asked CNET to remove software from Download.com that performs a similar function.
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"More than a year ago we asked Download.com to remove applications that are used to steal our members' content," the RIAA said in a statement. "Download.com continues to ignore our requests and many of these applications are still being promoted on the site. Download.com is profiting from this infringement through advertisements and other ways it derives revenue when people use the site to download these applications."
CNET declined to respond to the RIAA... CNET's policy is that Download.com is not in any position to determine whether a piece of software is legal or not, or whether it can be used for illegal activity. As I understand it, plenty of the software at issue has significant non-infringing uses. As for removing illegal software, CNET has a record of doing that. When the RIAA made a request to pull LimeWire, the once popular file-sharing software, CNET managers declined until a federal district judge ruled in 2010 that the service indeed violated copyright law.
Eric Goldman [is not] confident that CNET is in a good position. Goldman, an associate professor of law at Santa Clara University School of Law, and director of the school's High Tech Law Institute...
"We're seeing copyright owners going after people who use tools to infringe," Goldman said. "We're seeing them go after people who provide the tools and then the people who provide support for the tools. We're seeing people several steps away from actual infringers accused of infringement."
