iTunes + BitTorrent = iTorrent: Legal Stuff part 2

I outlined my three main areas of concern in the last post, so I’ll just re-summarize what I’ll be saying briefly. Basically, I think iTorrent is a legally viable option, although Apple will have to tread carefully since a lot of what they would be doing is unprecedented. BitTorrent has started selling movies on its own, and while there have been several cases against servers of BitTorrent, none have been against BitTorrent itself – they are going after illegal fire sharers, not the technology itself. The danger with our proposed technology model is that iTunes would have some sort of its own centralized server, so they could conceivably be held more accountable for their users’ illegal activities. However, I don’t think it could cause any serious trouble for them because they are not promoting illegal activities and their lawyers have actually taken a very active stand against it (their terms of use is also very clear on what users cannot do).

P.S. I don't know whats wrong with the spacing below, it won't let me fix it, sorry

WEBSITES:

(I might also cite some of the articles we’ve used in class for background info/a quick intro, etc. but I dont have them listed here)

*BASIC DRM

http://www.dailyindia.com/blog/12112927.php/drm-its-evil-and-it-doesnt-work

http://msmvps.com/blogs/chrisl/archive/2007/01/25/519180.aspx

*DRM LAWSUITS

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3656911

http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/12161/

*COPYRIGHT LAWSUITS
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/copyrightcases/copyrightcourt.htm#riaa

http://www.cyberlaw.info/Article70.htm

http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/

http://digitalmusic.weblogsinc.com/2006/08/07/the-riaa-vs-john-doe-a-laypersons-guide-to-filesharing-lawsui/

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060727-7363.html

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050627-5042.html