tie Boys on the same web page. Mp3 is short for MPEG-1, layer 3, and was developed by the Moving Picture Coding Experts Group (MPEG), an international consortium of companies and committees, between 1988 and 1992…mp3 was created with an eye toward saving precious space and time during downloads”. (Weiss, 40)Mp3 is a current hot topic because of the copyright infringement laws out there. The core of the battle boils down to this: People have taken these mp3 songs and put them on the internet for anyone to download. They cannot be tracked and there are no fees charged. People who download these files can play them for free, as many times as they want. The near-CD quality of these files and the fact that they are free has made it where millions of files are downloaded and no money being generated to the record labels. The distribution of these files is the part that is illegal. The actual possession of the files and the format is okay. It is only alright to have the file if you have the CD or cassette yourself. The record labels are hard at work to try to stop this distribution network, but it seems that they are too late.The recording industry is trying hard to end what it sees as a threat. The Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, has begun an offensive to shut down web sites that have mp3 files on them. They have sent cease-and-desist letters to operators and have taken legal action by filing lawsuits. Russ DeVault of the Atlanta Constitution writes “It [RIAA] also launched a national campaign designed to scare college students away from mp3 piracy and persuade universities to take a stronger stance against pupils who use their campus accounts to swap these files” (DeVault, E; 02). The RIAA has implemented this program that deals mostly with college students. Colleges across the country offer their own internet access. The record industry has not only tried to go after web sites, but ...
