th a large number of independents, often labels that produce and distribute experimental music, music in less popular genres, and other materials. The top five companies are unified in the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the group that has recently been in the news for suing Napster to stop the trading of copyrighted music online (though this suit is only the first of what would probably be hundred, given the way new companies and formats can develop on the Internet for the same purpose).
The RIAA sees the issue in terms of copyright protection. Copyright is an intangible property right granted by federal statute and certainly applies to recorded music. Even song lyrics are separately protected by copyright. Infringement occurs whenever a form of expression is copied. Fair use is an exception, referring to the fact that under certain circumstances, a person or organization can reproduce copyrighted material without paying royalties. Such an exception is fo
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