August
11, 2003
Volume 1, Issue 5
DCIA's structure is based upon equal voting rights
and financial support from three Groups: Platform,
Operations, and Content. We are very grateful for seed
funding from Altnet and Sharman Networks, which acquired
KaZaA in order to commercialize it. Our charter,
however, is to advocate, in word and deed, the interests
of all three sectors of the nascent Distributed
Computing Industry, not only these two Charter Members
of our Operations Group. Recruitment has now reached the
stage where other prospective Charter Members, who will
provide representative balance among the three Groups,
are indicating conditional intent to join DCIA, provided
that they are not alone in their decision to do so; and
I am very encouraged by that.
 Thanks to their input, as well as that of other trade
association leaders and senior advisers, this week we
completed a plan outline to substantially eliminate
piracy from peer-to-peer networks within three years.
Since such an undertaking will begin in a business
environment where well over ninety percent of shared
digital media content is currently unauthorized; we
recognize the need for a more immediate remedy as well.
Neither content rights holders nor technology providers
are sharing in the enormous value created and currently
enjoyed by consumers as a result of the widespread
adoption of file-sharing. As part of this proposal,
therefore, DCIA is introducing a new concept called 'post-licensing,'
a private voluntary alternative to government mandated
compulsory licensing, to compliment the optimal solution
of exclusive 'pre-licensing' of content that is our
recommended three-year goal.
We will be vetting and revising this outline in
private meetings with prospective Charter Members and,
as previously noted, plan to submit it as a guideline to
our first working group. Also in process are a
technology demonstration planned for mid-September,
responses to questions posed by legislative staffs
during last week's meetings, and the proposed agenda
and schedule for our October 8th general meeting.
Here's an excerpt from the
August 5th telecast of TechTV's Tech Live:
NIKKI HEMMING: I have a favorite quote, which I
borrow from Einstein: 'Great vision is often met with
opposition from mediocre minds.' Rights-managed
content through KaZaA is as good as any rights-managed
content anywhere in the world. We use the same
technology to wrap and deliver premium files as iTunes.
Very shortly there will be a paid-for version of KaZaA
that will be ad-free and enhanced and a very exciting
proposition to users. KaZaA and this software -- indeed
the entire P2P movement -- stand to revolutionize
digital content. It'll make the industry bigger by
offering more choice and getting products to consumers
much faster, just as VCRs and videocassettes transformed
the movie industry. In the end, consumers and artists
will be brought together by this amazing technology, and
have a level of interactivity they've never had before.
And the music industry is going to benefit, and the
movie industry is going to benefit, and emerging
artists, and independent artists, and people who just
want to share their views. We are a responsible business
partner that could work with the music industry, right
here, right now, that could deliver them millions of
dollars that they're missing out on. It's very
compelling. Come to the table.
And here's an excerpt from the August 1st telecast
of CNBC's Capital Report as noted here last week:
DEREK BROES: I think that this bill and some of the
other bills that have been proposed of late are a little
premature. We have to look at peer-to-peer networks.the
exciting technology they bring to the table.the
ability to distribute files worldwide. Consumers have
spoken loud and clear that this is how they want to
receive content, and we've proven this can work as a
business. Altnet is the largest distributor of
authorized content via KaZaA today. We distribute 20
million legal files every month. But this is my point -
Altnet does not have licenses currently for all the
labels' content. If they licensed it, we could put it in
the system in such a way that it is protected and allows
for a payment transaction in the same way that the new
BuyMusic does. We could fill the system with legal
content that begins to displace illegal content.
By Thomas Mennecke, reprinted from Slyck.com
Although the RIAA's holy war had some initial
success, current network losses tend to be slight, or
non-existent.
To start, let's examine FastTrack, the focal point
of the RIAA's assault. Prior to June 25, the day the
RIAA stated their intentions, FastTrack had over 4.3
million users sharing between 6 and 7 Petabytes of
information.
Today, over a month since the onslaught, the
FastTrack network remains steady. At the time of this
writing, the FastTrack network had 3.9 million users
sharing 6.03 Terabytes of information. Despite the
relentless onslaught of the RIAA, comparatively few have
been frightened by their Gestapo tactics.
Why? It seems many members of the file-sharing
community have been encouraged by the harsh criticism
the RIAA has received. While many critics, journalists,
developers, politicians and even musicians have rallied
against their sleazy tactics, the most important and
influential rejection has come from the consumers
themselves - the very people being sued.
Limited cooperation from ISPs and Universities has
also given hope to the file-sharing community.
Yesterday, Pacific Bell Internet Services declined to
invade the privacy of its users, and returned their
subpoena with a lawsuit. In addition, organizations such
as the EFF have begun assisting those who face RIAA
action by organizing legal counsel.
Publications quote file sharing statistics and other
industry metrics from numerous syndicated research
sources (Nielsen NetRating, Jupiter, Forrester, etc.).
DCIA would like to know which of the services your
organization subscribes to for measuring the P2P
climate. Please let us know by responding to rick@dcia.info.
All responses will be held confidential. |
