James, Chang, and Sixta are roommates. They are music fans and frequently listen to the same artists and songs. They regularly exchange MP3 music files that contain songs from their favorite artists. (See Copyrights in Digital Information.)

(a) One group of students will decide whether the fact that the roommates are transferring files among themselves for no monetary benefit precludes them from being subject to copyright law.

(b) A second group will consider the situation in which each roommate bought music on CDs, downloaded it to their computers, and then gave the CDs to the other roommates to do the same. Does this violate copyright law? Is it the same as file-sharing digital music? Explain. 

(c) A third group will consider streaming music services. If one roommate subscribes to a streaming service and the other roommates use the service for free, would this violate copyright law? Why or why not?