interesting question
 

i have always wondered:

how does the RIAA know their songs are pirated? i mean, after all, i could take a 3MB text file and slap the filename "n sync - we have no talent whatsoever" 0on it (they have a song named that, right? oh yeah... all of 'em). you'd have to download it to know that i was p***ing off teenage girls instead of the RIAA.

so, what assurance does the record company (or your ISP) have that you're breaking the law without downloading each and every one of your mp3s?

i think you should change the extension of all your mp3s to 3pm. then, they'd have no argument at all in suspecting your files were illegal, unless they downloaded all of your "3pm's" and made sure they were copyright.



does anyone with legal background know if that would work?

for example
 

you could probably make a case that the acronym of the filename was the actual content... like "Michael Jackson Ultimate Insider Compilation Extras" spells out "MJUICE".

don't know why you'd name the mjuice codec that, but i guess thats legal.

Hmm,

I am no lawyer...

You can rename the files but what counts is the contents...

So to rename the files is allowed but if the file itself is protected by law - up/downloading the file is illegal!

Morgwen

thats my point...
 

so in order to assert that a person is illegally sharing files, a person would have to verify that the content of the file was in fact copyright, not just the name.

i dont know what that actually affects, but its probably good to know.