The USPTO has released a report saying that many commonly used file sharing programs can be used to infringe intellectual property. The report, which focused on the (once) commonly used peer-to-peer programs BearShare, eDonkey, KaZaA, LimeWire, and Morpheus came to the conclusion that much of the material shared and downloaded is copyrighted material. This probably isn’t that much of a shock to anyone who has driven past a college campus in the last ten years.
However, the USPTO also stated that the makers of these programs “knew or should have known could cause users to share files inadvertently.” This is just another of the myriad identity scams spawned through the Internet or Internet-related software, some of which are finally being prosecuted. However, while other scams are commonly directly solicited through direct email, regular spam and phishing, the materials gleaned through the file sharing programs typically do not require the interaction of the user of the program. That is the user of the program will mistakenly share information in files or in accessible folders that the scammers can access through the programs. This is typically done as a result of not knowing how the file sharing programs work or because the users don’t know what information is contained in their shared files.
The moral of this story is that if you must use a file sharing program, make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into insofar as how the programs work and don’t keep any private information where it may be accessed by others. Still better even may be using websites that are designed to share non-copyrighted material, such as Youtube (www.youtube.com) for sharing videos or Garageband (www.garageband.com) for sharing music. These sites allow you to upload material directly to the site and don’t let other users of the site anonymously browse any files housed on your computer. Also, your friends at Maier & Maier, PLLC (www.maierandmaier.com) remind you not to share any copyrighted material without express written consent!
Leave a comment