In March, Reuters reported that the RIAA, an industry association of the major record labels, has sent letters to 300 U.S. companies complaining about alleged acts of piracy and copyright infringement in their corporate computer networks and warning of possible fines.
The RIAA is not disclosing which companies received the letter, but it backed it up with evidence of piracy, listing specific instances where individuals on the companies’ networks accessed file-sharing services such as Kazaa and iMesh.
The letter was also sent with a CD containing copies of pirated materials found on the recipient’s corporate network being offered for file sharing. Clearly, many companies are in need of a corporate-wide desktop audit to ensure that their house is in order, or face significant legal liability.
May 2003