Legal Question in Technology Law in Oregon

Re: Downloading Music

Without having gone into scrutiny about the site you refer to (www.itunes4.com), the following is taken from the site : "Copyright law protects original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual compositions. Individuals who reproduce, distribute copies, publicly perform or display works without the copyright owner's consent, may be in violation of the law. For more information about U.S. copyright law, please visit: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/"

It is telling: whilst there are ways to share legally, the file-sharing communities you find on the web are factually designed to bypass the restrictions within which it would be legal. I would not recommend them since the distribution of protected content to the public (and the communities normally have millions of users and would have to be considered public) would normally constitute a breach of the law.

There are sites where you can download legally, e.g. Apple's www.iTunes.com or www.wippit.com. However: you will need to pay for them. Why? Because not only do the operators of the site want to make money but also do they have to pay royalties to the artists, song-writers and publishers in whom the respective rights are vested.

So, it seems to come down to the old wisdom: you cannot normally have the cake and eat it...

Kind regards,

Volker Hirsch

-Rechtsanwalt-