Santangelo vs RIAA: fight over
p2pnet.net news:- As expected, Patti Santangelo’s personal battle with Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG’s RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is now officially over.
Now Patti can claim attorney’s fees.
This just leaves the multi-billion-dollar Big 4 against two of Patti’s kids, Michelle and Bobby, now 20 and 16, respectively, but who were only 16 and 12 when the RIAA first attacked their mother.
And, “the RIAA will probably intensify, rather than abandon, its efforts against Bobby and Michelle,” p2pnet posted on Sunday, adding:
The only thing likely to give the RIAA serious pause is if RIAA victims and their lawyers launch a concerted campaign through a class action suit, or other type of action where defendants are able to join together.
“I expect now an endless round of filings and counter-filings over the seemingly trivial issue of attorney’s fees,” posts FanBoi on Recording Industry vs The People, continuing, “From what we’ve seen so far, this issue of fees alone may run longer than the original case as the RIAA throws everything they have against paying a penny to a person wrongfully sued. (Wrongfully sued, because they never had a valid case to present in the first place, and couldn’t find one afterwards no matter how vexatiously they pursued it.)”
p2pnet readers contributed $15,120 to the Fight Goliath fund, but this went towards disbursements. Her lawyer, Jordan Glass, who’s still representing Michelle and Bobby pro bono, didn’t receive a dime for his services and actions on Patti’s behalf.
And, “I also fear that, if and when Ms. Santangelo recovers her attorney’s fees, she’ll need to immediately start again to aid the defense of her children,” says Megan on Recording Industry vs The People.
“The fact that Ms. Santangelo has prevailed does not remove the RIAA’s interest in her children… if anything, it heightens it.”
But there could be more, much more, to come. As we said on Sunday:
Individually, the victims have little weight. But if they were able to stand as a group against the Big 4, with their legions of lawyers and bottomless pockets, it could be another matter.
There might also be similar possibilities for a class action against the units used by the RIAA to extort money from its targets.
In 2005, judge McMahon told the cartel’s lawyers she’d, “love to see a mom fighting one of these,” referring to the settlement centres routinely employed by the RIAA to get money out of its victims.
However, class actions are expensive costing in the region of a quarter of a million dollars to start, so the RIAA, EMI (Britain), Vivendi Universal (France), Sony BMG (Japan and Germany) and Warner Music (US) may be in effect wagering this alone will be sufficient to stop a class action from being attempted.
Also See:
p2pnet – Patti Santangelo v RIAA: battle won?, April 8, 2007
Recording Industry vs The People – Elektra v. Santangelo — Case Closed Except for Defendant’s Attorneys Fees, April 10, 2007
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at thIs the end (of the Net) nigh?zze 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.
rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php | | And use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site
Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!
April 10th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I think it is time for p2pnet.net readers to start a fund. I have very little, but I’m willing to contribute my $100.00. I wonder if any shark lawyer reading would be willing to take the class action on a contingency basis. It would be a good way for a lawyer with a relatively small practice to make a name for him/her self. I would love to see the RIAA/MPAA made an example of and be put out of business.
April 10th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
Well I HOPE this is the beginning of the end for these stupid lawsuits!
Mabye if they DO file a class action lawsuit, they can win.
But the class action fund is a good idea also.