ABSTRACT
I’ll start the chapter by immediately contradicting its title. There is nothing “gray” about sharing copyrighted music files online: the practice is illegal, pure and simple. But the networks in which files are traded all operate legally as of this book’s publication. Several have been sued, but almost all file-sharing litigation has been interrupted by one delay or another, and no final American courtroom decision has been rendered against any file-sharing company as of mid-2002. One European court in the Netherlands ruled in favor of Dutch file-sharing company KaZaA, decreeing its right to continue operating.
