Compression method proves troublesome

As technological advances make the world smaller, everyone is affected, including the music business.

And, with the introduction of the MP3 digital compression method, the Internet has proven once again that change can often be uncomfortable.

MP3 is the latest method of shrinking a large file (usually a sound or video file) into a much more manageable size. This smaller sized file can then be transferred to another computer much quicker than the original, uncompressed file.

Caught unprepared by MP3's quick acceptance, music companies are finding many websites whose distribution of music borders on copyright infringement.

Although litigation is one method of solving disputes, laws enforcing a shorter copyright duration might be a better solution.

Particularly for Internet distributed music, it might be best to limit copyrights to a five year maximum. After that, no royalties need be paid.

This seems like the best solution to unauthorized copying of music over the Internet.