Copyright Cops Can't Catch a Break

Copyright cops can't catch a break. From renegade music sites, iPhones, to the ever growing popularity of P2P file sharing networks, it seems the more champions of intellectual property fight to snuff out infringements the more problems flare up.

Today Reuters news is reporting renegade Russian music site AllofMP3 says it will reopen soon.
The AllofMP3.com site which sells music against US copyright laws posted a message stating:

"The service will be resumed in the foreseeable future. We are doing our best at the moment to ensure that all our users can use their accounts, top up balance and order music."

On another front intellectual property holders are battling a different but similar case involving the iPhone. Not only has a New Jersey teen already unlocked an iPhone, much to the chagrin of AT&T and Apple, there is now a race between two Web sites (iPhonesimfree and Uniquephones) to be the first to offer a commercial service that will unlock the iPhone for use outside the US in Europe and beyond.

Operators of Uniquephones told the Associated Press that attorneys from O'Melveny & Myers LLP, a law firm representing AT&T, had told it that the iPhone software contained material copyrighted by Apple.

Lastly, according to a report released by the Electronic Frontier Foundation on Wednesday, the battle to fight file-swappers is "not working." That's despite the fact the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and its members have sued a total of 20,000 music file-swappers since 2003.

Keystone Copyright Cops?

Lately it's been hard to feel too kindly for those whose job it is to crackdown on copyright infringers. Consider the anti-piracy failure of Windows Genuine Advantage that put legitimate Windows users at a disadvantage.

After all when Microsoft treats its legitimate users like crooks it's hard to muster up sympathy for the company's anti-piracy crackdown. Ditto goes for the RIAA which has been on a lawsuit spree for years.

The RIAA has botched its awareness campaign, which seems to consist primarily of lawsuits, with what appears to be a sue-first-ask-questions-later strategy. What I consider a gaff is when the RIAA apparently sued a single mother who lived in a New York City public housing project and forced her to $2000. News accounts report that the real target in that case was a 12-year-old girl living with her single mom.

According to the EFF report: "The (RIAA) lawsuits, however, are not working... Today, downloading from P2P networks is more popular than ever, despite the widespread public awareness of lawsuits."

Apple and AT&T are on the precipice of making a hard public relations decision. When (not if) hacks to unlock the iPhone become as easy to find online as a Kanye West song on a P2P network, what will Apple and AT&T do?

Will our love affair with Apple be over when Steve Jobs sics his lawyers on us?

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