Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois

Re: Music sharing

Based on my experience in music licensing issues, it is a legal quagmire that you don't want to be part of. Record companies are very protective over their intellectual property and police it with gusto. Even if you try to claim that it's not you but your users that are actual trading music, that won't ease your liability--think Napster.

You may also read up on this legal concept call "fair use." Skip it. File sharing is not a fair use.

Sorry to put it so bluntly, but music on the Internet is a thorny legal issue and unless you have a lot, and I mean A LOT, of money to pay lawyers to fight the record companies, you are better off not allowing your members to trade music through your site.

Regards,

Don Simon

Re: Music sharing

If the members of the social network are sharing music they created (and they all agree to share) then there is no problem! If you are asking if you can share music created by others not in the social network then you are looking at possible trouble. So if the Rolling Stones are in the social network and agree to share, then grea!. If the Stones are not in your group and dont agree, then sharing Stones music would (likely) be a violation.