basically what it comes down to is that the method of transfer (P2P software) is not illegal on its own, the transfer of copyrighted material may not even be illegal for a lot of software. The part that is illegal is when an unauthorized user actually installs and/or runs the software in question. That is the point at which a crime is commited. It's more the responsibility of the creators of the copyrighted material to keep track of how their software is used, kinda like patents and trade secrets. Once the software companies and the RIAA enlist the help of the equipment manufacturers, thats when P2P becomes useless. I remember a number of months back, when Windows Media Player 9 was due for release, there was a lot of talk about licensing the media and pay per play through it. They tried this with the original hardware DIVX players, sold through Circuit City (which flopped horribly.) And there have been suggestions that CDs and DVDs would only sell for a fraction of their current cost (maybe $1) but you would pay a "licensing fee" any time you wished to view or listen to the media. This also solves the problem the RIAA has with customers creating mixed CD's and distributing them to their friends, because each song would cost a royalty fee, paid at the time the CD is played rather than at the initial purpose. Basically what it comes down to is that the manufacturers need to get smarter and more protective about their products and at the same time they will need to work hand in hand with major manufacturers such as Sony, Samsung, Philips etc. And they have been trying and slowly succeeding for a while now. Just to add some fuel for thought... this is the reason why these manufacturers are pushing mobile products with network access so hard. Things like PDAs and Cell Phones, as well as Subscription services like satellite radio. They can control , limit, regulate, and most importantly charge for the media and software used in all of these products with different network accesses. This is the way of the future. Sucks doesn't it 8(
