P2P United

March 15, 2004

By Hand

Hon. Bill Lockyer, President

National Association of Attorneys General

750 First Street, NE

Suite 1100
Washington, DC  20002

            Re:  Request for Dialogue Concerning Peer-to-Peer Software

Dear Attorney General Lockyer:

            P2P United is the Washington, DC-based trade association of the peer-to-peer technology and allied industries.  Its five principal members developed and make available to the public the popular Morpheus, Grokster, BearShare, Blubster and eDonkey programs.  I write today in the hopes of either exposing an inauthentic letter bearing your name or -- should the information we have received regrettably prove accurate -- of seeking an immediate opportunity to provide you and your fellow Attorneys General with accurate information about our industry that appears lacking.

            Specifically, late in the day on Friday, March 12, P2P United was informed of and provided with a copy of the attached draft letter purportedly circulated by yourself to other state Attorneys General on the eve of your organization’s Spring Meeting in Washington.  I use the word “purportedly,” for three reasons:

• First, the letter contains so many factual errors concerning peer-to-peer technology and the allegedly disproportionate “danger” that it poses to the public relative to other popular means of accessing and searching the internet (e.g., Google or AOL) that it would seem unlikely to have been produced by your office; 

• Second, the “metadata” associated with the document identifies its author as “stevensonv”.  (Such data, I’m informed, is automatically created by MS Word and viewable through the “Properties” and “Statistics” tabs accessed from the “File” menu.)  Curiously, Mr. Vans Stevenson is the principal state affairs lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of America.  An e-mail sent to “stevensonv@mpaa.org” on Friday evening was not rejected by the MPAA server.  Indeed, I received a personal reply on Saturday afternoon.  For your convenience, a printout of the metadata screen at issue also is attached and an electronic copy of the draft letter has been e-mailed to Ms. Lynne Ross of your organization so that you may access the metadata directly if you wish to do so.

Hon. Bill Lockyer

March 15, 2004

Page Two of Two

• Third, the legal predicate for action by your office and those of your fellow AGs articulated in the letter would constitute an extraordinary expansion of product liability law: a) by applying it to a neutral software “tool” and; b) by seeming to create for all product producers a duty to warn the public about -- or even to redesign -- an inherently beneficial product if it is merely susceptible to misuse by parties wholly outside the knowledge or control of the producer.  As the draft letter itself notes, and federal courts have found, peer-to-peer software is "a means to facilitate a wide range of project management, business planning, and academic/education activi­ties."

For all of these reasons, P2P United suspects the veracity of the attached draft letter and felt obligated to call the potential misuse of your name and office for political purposes to your immediate attention.

            In the event that an early morning news report today is accurate and the attached letter does appropriately bear your name, P2P United respectfully requests the opportunity to brief you and your fellow Attorneys General on the important matters raised in that correspondence, particularly on the nature of peer-to-peer technology and the many constructive steps within their power that its developers have taken to address your concerns.  You will find immediately verifiable evidence of our efforts online at www.p2punited.org, particularly by clicking on the large “Copyright” icon and the equally prominent “Parent 2 Parent Resource Center” icon constructed to assist parents in protecting their children from all internet-facilitated dangers.          

            We further respectfully request that you defer circulating or sending your letter until such a meeting can be arranged and our input and materials deliberately considered.  Should the structure of your Spring meeting permit it, we would be pleased to be consulted at your convenience and upon little notice.

            Thank you for your time and consideration. 

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                         /S/

                                                                                    Adam M. Eisgrau

                                                                                    Executive Director

Attachments

Cc:       Ms. Lynne Ross

            National Association of Attorneys General

            Mr. Vans Stevenson

            Motion Picture Association of America