The recording industry is experimenting with new technology it hopes can smother online song swapping by targeting music traders' computers directly. The record, movie and software industries have long pursued a controversial campaign that identifies people trading large numbers of songs . . .
The recording industry is experimenting with new technology it hopes can smother online song swapping by targeting music traders' computers directly. The record, movie and software industries have long pursued a controversial campaign that identifies people trading large numbers of songs though services such as MusicCity, OpenNap or Gnutella. Once the people are identified, the groups attempt to persuade Internet service providers (ISPs) to shut down those individuals' Internet connections.

But copyright holders, including record labels, are now experimenting with new ways to cut down on copyright infringement. As described by sources at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), one method uses software to masquerade as a file-swapper online. Once the software has found a computer offering a certain song, it attempts to block other potential traders from downloading the song.

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