RIAA REALIZES THERE’S A COMPANY THEY HAVEN’T SUED

The RIAA has filed suit against file-swapping network iMesh, meaning the Israel-based company has finally gained mainstream acceptance. One of the hallmarks of the four-year-old iMesh service is its claim that it keeps users identity a secret. And yet somehow, some iMesh users were among the 261 lucky recently sued by the RIAA for file-sharing.

The RIAA suit accuses iMesh of being designed to “facilitate the illegal copying and distribution of copyrighted content, including millions of sound recordings.” The RIAA won similar suits against Napster and Aimster, but a federal judge ruled in April that Grokster and Morpheus cannot be held responsible for illegal activity on their networks. That decision is being appealed by the RIAA.

While the legal wrangling goes on, peer-to-peer networks are shifting and adapting, trying to keep users’ identities and the existence to the P2P network itself a secret. For instance, readers of Popular Science were treated this month to an article on WASTE, software that allows people to set up their own private peer-to-peer network. There’s room for 50 users, protected by encryption, with new people allowed in only by invitation and by authentication.

But don't worry, everything is going to be fine, just fine.