With Freenet, in fact, all users are anonymous, so the identity of someone posting a file can't be known. If this sounds more like anarchy than a revolution, you're at least partly right. The old rules of copyright and fair use made sense in the days before electronic media made content so easy to swap and reproduce. Additionally, both sides have compelling arguments. In the case of Napster, musicians and studios assert their right to profit from their work.
Nobody feels sorry for decadent millionaire rock stars anyhow.
Traditionally, prosecutions have been aimed more at plagiarism than unauthorized duplication. But now, in an age where digital technology allows almost anyone to copy and distribute media en masse without loss of quality, copyright owners know they have to take back control in order to survive. For traditional media producers, the future looks treacherous. Encryption technologies that prevent duplication are touted as the silver bullet that will stop illegal copying. But they'll only last until the latest hack is posted on the Web.