Illegal downloads create unlikely defendants

Kathy Hartness is a 47-year-old grandmother, churchgoer and gardener who had never been in trouble with the law -- until she was served with papers in June for something she did more than a year ago. She is one of three Kentuckians sued so far this year by national recording companies for violating copyrights by illegally downloading and sharing songs and music videos off the Internet. Hartness, a Louisville resident, and her teenage daughter downloaded music -- such as Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" and Alabama's "Dixieland" -- after a friend told them about KaZaA. It's a peer-to-peer -- or P2P -- Internet sharing network that lets people download music and other material from another member's computer for free. Hartness stopped a year ago, after news stories reporting that 11 Kentuckians had been sued for illegal sharing and downloading. But it was too late. The recording companies were already tracking her down. "I really didn't know I was doing anything wrong …" Hartness said. "When they say that 4 million people are on there (KaZaA), it must be OK, or why would there be so many people on there?"
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