Michelle Santangelo: I’m no thief
p2pnet.net special:- Kazaa is now the subject of what can only be the first of a number of class actions brought against it by victims of the RIAA’s twisted sue ‘em all campaign, aimed at forcing customers to toe the Big Music bottom line.
Former Kazaa user Catherine Lewan was sued by the Big Four Organized Music cartel, Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG, in the shape of their RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), for using the Kazaa p2p application, owned by Australia’s Sharman Networks.
Now she’s turning the tables on Kazaa and, indirectly, on the labels. Sharman, “configured KaZaA such that its intended use would be illegal,” she says, also stating that Sharman “deceptively marketed” Kazaa as allowing, “free downloads”.
In the US, the Big Four usually start off older “criminals” and “thieves,” as they call the people they accuse of illegally sharing corporate tunes with each other online. Then the labels move on to their true targets – victims’ children.
Geeks
That everyone under the age of 20 is a computer expert – a geek – is an automatic assumption. If you’re young, you have to be a computer expert. Goes without saying.
But that’s not the way it is. Youngsters are just as likely as their parents to be computer ignoramuses
New York’s Patti Santangelo and her pro bono lawyer Jordan Glass have been fighting the RIAA every step of the way.
p2pnet readers have been helping them along with contributions, all of which have gone on disbursements. Glass who, ironically, normally practises as entertainment lawyer, is a one-man show and his home is normally his office. For obvious reasons, a case such as this couldn’t be run from there, so he and Patti have also rented a 16 X 18 room in industrial area behind a railway station where they do their work.
Meanwhile, Patti is now to all intents and purposes now out of the picture and currently occupying the RIAA’s attention are her daughter, Michelle, and son, Bobby, both represented by Glass.
We asked Michelle what it’s like to be called a thief. Here’s what she said:
I find it very hard to express my feelings in writing.
I love music.
I was watching TV the other night and the Music Awards show was on and for the first time in my life, I had zero interest in any of it.
I was taught from a very early age about the rights and wrongs of life and I would not, and did not, steal from the record companies. I wouldn’t steal from anyone. Being called a thief by the RIAA actually hurts my feelings and I am of course embarrassed by this case. My mom understands more than anyone how I am feeling.
I have come to understand that because I was a teen at the time the RIAA captured files from the family computer, that I was supposed to (according to them) automatically understand what it was all about.
I kept trying to explain I’m not a computer geek. I needed help just to put up a MySpace page because I am just not good with computers.
I recently read a posting about the Warner Music boss whose kids downloaded music and my mom told me that she doubts very much they knew they knew they were stealing since they had no reason (financially) to.
“They just did not understand,” is what she said. I was just very angry about it because it seems so unfair.
I’m glad that Kazaa had to pay since I never downloaded that program. And Mom has researched how bad of a program it was.
I’m mostly worried about Mom right now she has an awful lot to deal with and this lawsuit just distracts her completely.
As for my little brother, Bobby, he’s a lot like me when it comes to computers. His friend made up his MySpace page too. He’s an athlete and not all that much of a music fan.
In an earlier post, among other things, Glass Asked five questions:
Do you want to live in a country where it’s acceptable that the federal government and big businesses are notified to protect them from falling in to legal traps, but where individuals are not so protected or warned?
Do you want to live in a country where laws such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act protect ISPs and the RIAA, but create traps for individuals, in particular those who aren’t technically superior (forget about merely “savvy”)?
Do you want to live in a country where you’re legally responsible and liable for the acts of others, when you *can’t know* what they’re doing, and, in the case of computers, where even if you were able to watch, you wouldn’t understand unless you had specific technical training?
Do you want to live in a country where you’re legally responsible and liable for the acts of trespassers whose actions are invisible to you?
Do you want to live in a country where you’re legally responsible and liable for all of the above, when those who control the flow of information have the capacity, capability, power, right, authority, technology, know-how, scientific and technological acumen – and virtually limitless money – are free to ignore the problem they created, and instead place the burden, blame, financial and legal responsibility on people who have neither the right nor the know-how to protect themselves against the problem?
Stay tuned. And if you want to lend a hand in the meanwhile, please use the button below to make a contribution.
Cheers! And thanks …
Jon Newton, p2pnet
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, here for the p2pnet download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
Also See:
class actions – Kazaa sued in class action, December 7, 2006
earlier post – Santangelo lawyer speaks out, November 11, 2006
occupying the RIAA’s attention – RIAA goes after Santangelo kids, November 2, 2006
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December 8th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
there are just as many kids/teens/young adults who know barely more than email and internet and it kinda shocks me… but it is the truth. I have people all the time who can barely get to Start -> Run, much less run a dos prompt or something more complex.
December 8th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
Notice that it is mentioned here that Michelle states that she no longer has an interest in the megacorps little show about music awards. Do you think her interests are any less with the other victims of these extortions?
Since the megacorps are interested in sueing their customers, where are the new customers going to come from? Well, I can say they aren’t going to come from this household for sure.
Not only has Michelle turned to a non-interest in the music but you can bet her kids are that way too. What about their friends that know the first hand experience of what they are going through? Think any of them have an interest in continuing with music? This thing has a way of growing as it is certainly doing.
They’ve gotten their wish with the victims. Not only will they no longer download but in the future they will no longer be interested in music. Guess what that says for the future of big music? Everyone of the victims has a close circle of friends that will hear the first hand experiences of the horrors of being a victim and what it means. They too will turn to other means of entertainment. So not only do you have the folks sued but you have another generation learning not to listen to big music offerings.
That leaves the future of big music a certainty as to where it’s future will be. Going down the drain as another generation learns early on to leave it alone.
What is even worse about this is that the cartels now want your sympathy to go along with it. They want reductions in royalty payments to make it easier to survive. Well, I don’t want them to survive. They can’t die off soon enough. Lock all their products in a barn, close and lock the door and burn it to the ground. We customers would be better off for it.
This is a grass roots movement in the starting and it is building as surely as the amount of John Doe warrants being issued.
Merry Christmas cartels! You’re reaping just what you’ve sown. Couldn’t happen to better folks. May all of you be out of work by Christmas next year.
December 10th, 2006 at 10:49 pm
You are absolutely right! Ever since I started reading about the dirty tactics used by **AA, I’ve lost my interest in buying most new CDs and DVDs, because I don’t want to support an organization that treats peole like sh*t. I’ve also shared many of these stories with my friends and family so the message is getting delivered as widely as possible.
-LW-