Music copyright suits reach Cape

A Cape Girardeau man is one of the targets of lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association of America this week for copyright infringement.

Shernet Showers is one of more than 18,000 people who have been sued by the RIAA since 2003 on charges of downloading music without paying for it or sharing music files in violation of copyright laws. The lawsuit was one of four filed against Missouri residents this week.

RIAA spokeswoman Amanda Hunter said filing copyright lawsuits is a lengthy process. "We use something called the John Doe Litigation process," she said.

Online investigators search for individuals who download or share copyrighted music on the Internet's peer-to-peer sites such as LimeWire or Kazaa. After a suit is filed, RIAA members can subpoena the identity of the individual in question from their Internet service providers.

"There's really no hard or fast rule in how we find the people violating copyright infringement. There's nothing people can do to be safe," Hunter said.

The RIAA seeks $350 from Showers for downloading and sharing copyrighted artists such as Outkast, Destiny's Child and Marvin Gaye, according to court documents.

Hunter said that, unless a case goes to trial, the RIAA provides the courts with a partial list of the copyrighted music that was downloaded.

Only a small number of the RIAA's lawsuits have gone to trial, Hunter said. A majority of people pay the RIAA a settlement, which Hunter said can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Other RIAA lawsuits were filed against people across the country, including St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo.

Southeast Missouri State University mass communications law professor Dr. Tamara Baldwin said copyright laws are clear about downloading music. "Until the copyright law changes, illegally downloading songs is against the law," she said.

Baldwin did not know whether Southeast has problems with students downloading and sharing copyrighted music from the university's computers. "I do know that a lot of universities are taking steps in stopping it," she said.

Attempts to contact Showers were unsuccessful. Showers was not found at the William Street address listed on the lawsuit.

"Anyone who engages in this type of behavior can be caught," Hunter said. "Our larger goal is to protect the legitimate online music market."

jfreeze@semissourian.com

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