In its complaint, the RIAA accuses Usenet.com of offering subscribers "essentially the same functionality" as do commonly-used P2P networks. The record labels cite Usenet.com's high-speed servers, the access it provides to the alt.binaries hierarchy, and the service's advertising that it provides the "'hottest way of sharing MP3 files over the Internet' without getting caught."
Usenet.com does have a designated agent for copyright infringement claims, as is required under the DMCA, and its retention policy may not even come into play, according to von Lohmann. If Usenet.com can show that it complies with the DMCA by removing access to infringing content and by suspending the accounts of repeat offenders, it may be enough to provide it with protection under the hosting and linking provisions of the DMCA.
