Copyright 2004 Sun Media Corporation  
The Toronto Sun
April 2, 2004 Friday Final Edition
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 10

LENGTH: 364 words

HEADLINE: PIRATES BUZZING;
CANUCK RULING ROCKS MUSIC INDUSTRY

BYLINE: BY JASON BOTCHFORD, TORONTO SUN

BODY:
Canada's federal court decision that file swapping is not illegal is becoming the blow to the recording industry heard round the world.

The ruling has made headlines from the U.K. to Australia to networks across the U.S., leaving online pirates buzzing and lawyers scrambling because the decision could have international repercussions.

"(In the U.S.) Canadian law isn't binding," said New York copyright attorney Whitney Broussard. "But you could see lawyers here making the same kind of arguments and pointing to the Canadian decision."

Justice Konrad von Finckenstein's ruling is being described as an unexpected setback to the music industry's expanding international effort to stop free downloads.

2,000 LAWSUITS

The decision widens the piracy gap with the U.S. where a bill was recently introduced that would lower the threshold for criminal copyright infringement, making it a federal crime to knowingly share 1,000 or more copyright works.

In the U.S., the Recording Industry Association of America has launched almost 2,000 lawsuits against file swappers since last year.

Unlike similar U.S. cases, von Finckenstein said the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) didn't prove there was copyright infringement by 29 so-called music uploaders.

The CRIA said it will appeal but file swappers said they would be better off developing more Canadian equivalents to Apple's successful sale of online songs for 99 cents US each. Apple's service is not available in Canada.

"The reason that the music industry is losing money isn't file sharing," said CorSter, the online name for the person who runs www.CRIAwatch.ca.

"Peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing is the best way for a new artist to get their music out before releasing a CD. If the (CRIA) would sit and think for a few hours, they would realize that supporting P2P file sharing could be an easy way for extra profits."

FILE SHARING

Researchers at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina released a study this week that found high-selling albums actually benefit from file sharing. It also found music downloads have an effect on record sales "statistically indistinguishable from zero."

GRAPHIC: photo by David Lucas; A TEENAGE girl peruses the iTunes Web site, Apple's successful online music store, which has yet to makes its way into the Canadian market.

LOAD-DATE: April 2, 2004