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It can be estimated that millions of people around the world share music over a file-sharing network. For this article, I am addressing the issue in America mainly because I am not aware of the laws in other countries. Do you think it is illegal to download music from file-sharing networks? What about music you already own? An important recent court decision will answer these questions directly and you might be surprised.

Recently the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit heard a case against a Chicago woman, Cecilia Gonzalez. Many plaintiffs including BMG, Sony and others brought the case against her. Gonzalez allegedly had downloaded over 1,000 songs through KaZaAalthough she admitted to only 30. Keep that number in mind, 30. Many, if not just about all, people who download files over a file-sharing network don’t stop at one file. Thirty files can be reached in minutes to an hour without thought. In fact, it was alleged that Gonzalez downloaded 1,370 songs in just a few weeks, which is an average of 65 songs per day.

If you where caught downloading thirty songs over a file-sharing network, what would your defense be? Let’s look at two specific common defenses and see how a court might react. I have selected two defenses that I feel are most common, because they not only appear in the court case I have referenced, but many others I have surveyed would try to use them as their defense as well.

First Defense: I was simply trying out the songs to see if I liked them and then I planned to buy the ones I liked and erase the ones I don’t. (Simplified: try-before-you-buy)

Judge Eastbrook, one of the judges hearing the Gonzalez case, pointed out that this defense is not valid because one had many avenues to hear music before purchasing. Eastbrook names iTunes, radio, internet radio, Yahoo! Music and others as ways to legally try before buying. If this was going to be your defense, you will lose.

Second Defense: I am only downloading music that I already own.

This seems like a great defense, at first. You already own the music and the law allows you to create a backup copy. Ah, but here is where it goes south. Downloading music you already own is not considered fair use under the U.S. Copyright Law and your action is therefore copyright infringement. See UMG Recordings Inc. v. MP3.com, Inc., 92 F. Supp. 2d 349.

Furthermore, the try-before-you-buy scenario is really blown away by the fact that you no longer need to buy CD’s in whole. iTunes really helped change the legal arena in this respect because a user can both sample songs at their leisure and purchase single songs. The ability to purchase single songs is the big one.

In the end, Gonzalez lost her case. The thirty songs, that would have cost $29.70 at iTunes, will end up costing her $22,500 in damagesimagine what it would be if the plaintiffs had pushed for a decision on all 1,370 songs. She was given the opportunity to settle for $3,500 before going to court, which she declinedanother bad decision. If you download music over file-sharing networks and are caught, what will be your legal defense?

Jason A. Martin is a Journalism Major (Political Science minor) and future law school student. His blog deals with Politics, Media and the Law. You can view it at JasonAMartin.com Subscribe!

Ever since the dawn of “Yuppies” in the mid eighties demographic
and lifestyle acronyms have been common place in British lingo.
Amusing and occasionally less than politically correct these
acronyms reflect the British love for making fun of different
lifestyles and social groups. One area where these different
groups certainly differ is their preferred options towards
holidays and travel. UK short break and travel specialist http://www.superbreak.com
takes a look at the different types of holiday each group may
find itself drawn to.

D.I.N.K.Y - Double Income No Kids Yet

With a high disposable income but perhaps not a great deal of
free time due to heavy work commitments, the D.I.N.K.Y’s holiday
of choice is definitely the European city break. Heading
straight to the airport after work and heading to locations such
as Paris, New York or Barcelona is particularly appealing to a
group who are looking to fit as much into a 2-3 day break as
possible

For further information on city breaks around the world : http://
www.superbreak.com/international-hotels.htm

O.R.C.H.I.D - One Recent Child, Heavily In Debt

With halcyon days of being a DINKY a mere distant memory and a
screaming child in tow, O.R.C.H.I.D’s holiday choices have
become great deal more limited. Extensive journeys have become
impossible and long periods of time away from home are difficult
with a young child. Therefore, the ideal solution would appear
to be a quality short break nearer to home. Cities such as
London and Edinburgh have an abundance of activities to suit any
taste and trips to relaxing country hotels can provide welcome
relief - just as long as it doesn’t go over budget!

For further information on budget hotels: http://www.superbreak.com/discounted-hotels/themes/theme-4.h
tm

S.I.T.C.O.M - Single Income Two Children Oppressive Mortgage

If they are lucky ten years down people can progress to the
dizzy heights of a S.I.T.C.O.M. The main achievements of the
past ten years have been adding to their offspring and
increasing their debt problem with a revenue sucking mortgage.
Unfortunately, for SITCOM’s their finances dictate the two weeks
in Vegas is not going to be practical. A holiday where the
children are going to be entertained without breaking the bank
is the priority. One excellent solution is to take advantage of
the burgeoning theme park industry in the UK which now boasts
some of the best parks, rides and hotel accommodation in the
world. Fantastic for the kids during the day and excellent
crche facilities to let the parents relax during the evening.

For further information on theme park breaks : http://www.
superbreak.com/themepark-breaks.htm

G.L.A.M - Greying, Leisured, Affluent, Married

By the time you reach GLAM you have achieved all in life.
Happily married, your children are off the payroll and you
finally have a disposable income again - best get it spent
before you become S.F.U (six feet under). With an abundance of
time on your hands you can start seeing a bit of the world and
take 2-3 week breaks in some of the best hotels the world has to
offer in exotic locations such as Dubai, Las Vegas or Rome.

For further information on luxury breaks : Luxury breaks with
Superbreak

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Who is Superbreak?

Superbreak.com, incorporating Theatrebreak.com, is the internet
division of Superbreak Mini Holidays Limited, the market leader
for short breaks throughout the UK. Superbreak is part of
Holidaybreak plc, a publicly quoted leisure company whose share
price can be found in most major UK newspapers, or at http://www.holidaybreak.com >

Based in York, England, Superbreak specialises in booking 2-5
star hotel accommodation throughout Britain for the leisure
traveller. Superbreak holds allocations of rooms at all hotels
and we can book up to and including the day of departure.

If you’re planning to ring in the New Year with a party for all
of your nearest and dearest, you’ll want to make good use of New
Year party hats! Streamers, noisemakers, food and music are all
important of course, but you can use hats in a novel way for
game playing as well as simply wearing at the dinner table. Here
we offer suggestions that will help your party succeed.

For starters, turn a New Year party hat upside down and use it
to collect the keys from all of your guests. At the end of the
night, anyone who’s too tipsy to drive won’t be able to find
their keys without going through you first! It’s a great way to
keep all of your friends safe while turning the whole experience
into a game they can laugh about later. You can also use a hat
to collect raffle ticket stubs, or to have guests draw names for
a gift exchange.

Formal sit-down suppers. Use New Year party hats as place cards,
putting one at each seat with a guest’s name attached to it. If
a buffet is your thing, New Year party hats can be filled with
snacks and chips, silverware, napkins or condiments. They can
also be used in decorative centerpiece displays, or filled with
noisemakers and other party favors to be passed out as midnight
draws near.

Set the theme of your party by sending out invitations with
drawings or photos of New Year party hats on them, or go one
step further by sending your invitation rolled up inside of a
hat that your guest can wear on the night of the event. You can
even offer a fun party game that gives guests a chance to
decorate their own hats with feathers, glitter, beads and more.

After the first of the year, New Year party hats can be cut up
and used in photo collages and scrapbooks or to make your own
New Year greeting cards to send to friends and family. Because
they’re available in everything from plastic to cardboard, in
varied colors and with or without sparkles, you’ll soon have an
incredibly vibrant book of memories from your most recent New
Year’s bash.

New Year party hats are generally available and can be purchased
in bulk to off-set the cost even further. They can be found from
sites on the interent quite easily.

Try here for your new
year party hats

You may use this article provided you use it in its entirety and
do not remove any of its content.

Copyright : The Party Time Shop 2006

Texas Holdem Poker is very easy to learn and for this reason you’ll often find new holdem poker players at an online casino like Trident Poker, which offers Pot-Limit Poker tables as well as free online poker games. For this reason it can be quite easy to win if you follow this basic texas holdem poker strategy.

This easy Texas Holdem Poker Strategy should increase your win percentage by taking advantage of some of the most common errors that novices tend to make.

To begin you need to consider how many players are in the poker room. The more players there are at the table the more likely it is going to be that a simple 2 pair could win. But the fewer the players the higher your hand rank will have to be to win.

As a general rule you should fold if you are dealt two low non-pair cards, for example 9 and 8. Although there is still a chance that you may get a straight, by it is very unlikely that this will occur at a full table.

The Trident Poker software features detailed descriptions of all the POKER TERMS. Click Here to download the software.

Some of the most experienced players will fold if only one of their cards is lower than 10.

Patience is the key, winning hands will come.

If after the Flop is dealt, you still don’t have high pair (2 jacks) or better you should fold.

Many new players believe that because they have already placed a bet, they might as well stay in the game.

Remember though that if you still have the option to check after seeing the flop you should stay in the game. You could get through to the Turn or River without having to place another bet.

If you have a strong hand you should still consider checking if it is possible, this could trick the other players into believing that you have a weak hand.

After the turn and river it is common for only a few players to be left in the game. You should only be in the game at this stage if you have a strong hand, preferably 2 pairs or higher…

Read more: Texas Holdem Poker StrategyStanley Majors is an experienced online poker journalist who writes articles on a range of poker topics. His numerous articles found on Texas Holdem Net,provide useful and factual poker information and insight.