I should have said that I was quoting US law.

This law is the NET (No Electronic Theft) act which (I think) is the current amendment of US copyright law http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/506.html

I posted about it here http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...threadid=13521

It says that anyone who "infringes a copyright willfully" by

1. reproducing or distributing copyrighted matierals for profit (including barter arrangements) or
2. reproducing or distributing, "during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copies... of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $1,000,"

can be punished by various fines/jailtime.


I don't understand this $1,000 figure. What does "total retail value" apply to: "the copies" or the "copyrighted works?" What is the retail value of an MP3? Can I reproduce or distribute unlimited numbers of one copyrighted work if its retail price is below $1,000?

Then it says "evidence of reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work, by itself, shall not be sufficient to establish willful infringement." ???


This is why I don't understand how ISPs can cancel accounts legally. The DMCA (digital millennium copyright act) says that ISPs who are aware of infringing activity must remove infringing content. However, how are they establishing infringement?


The RIAA site leaves this $1,000 information out somehow.

( http://www.riaa.org/Copyright-Laws-4.cfm )


Ahhhhh law.