RIAA sues 531 more
Big Music’s RIAA has launched five new lawsuits against 531 people in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Orlando, and Trenton, New Jersey, hoping to sue them for using p2p file sharing software.
Owned by the major record labels, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has been smarting since a court ruled it must now use due process in an attempt to ferret out the identities of ‘John’ and ‘Jane Does’ it claims are engaged in unauthorised music sharing via various p2p applications.
Until a federal appeals court put a stop to it, the RIAA had been using instant ‘rubber stamp’ subpoenas issued by ordinary court clerks under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). It must now go before a judge.
“The record industry has not ensured accused filesharers a means for reviewing and responding to potentially incorrect accusations before ISPs reveal their identities,” says EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) legal director Cindy Cohn.
“The courts should require the record industry to sue people individually in the appropriate local courts and provide notice so those sued have a chance to refute accusations of filesharing before the record industry compels an ISP to reveal their identities.”
Big Music has just announced it’s now going after Canadian file sharers and last month, started suing 532 customers of Washington and New York ISPs.
Its practice is to get the names of people it accuses of swapping Big Music songs online, and then ‘persuade’ them to settle out of court.
RIAA victims – ordinary people – don’t want to go head-to-head with the RIAA’s heavyweight legal teams and risk having to pay huge amounts if they lose. So they always settle for amounts which are usually in the $3,000 range.
The RIAA has yet to say what it does with the money it gets in this way, but it’s unlikely that any reaches the artists whose music the RIAA says is being shared illegally.
“We are sending a clear message that downloading or ’sharing’ music from a peer-to-peer network without authorization is illegal,” RIAA president Cary Sherman says in a statement.
February 17th, 2004 at 9:26 pm
the RIAA can lick my nuts
February 17th, 2004 at 9:39 pm
I’ve been buying music for more than 40 years. But I’m fed up with the industry. This is the idustry that offered payola, and threatened Disk Jockeys if they didn’t give airtime to songs. The artist is caught inbetween, but if the fallout of people not buying music at outragous prices is, the lose of trash music such as gangstra. Well then it’s a win win situation. I’ve bought my last CD. That’s a promise. Look at the Major league baseball stadiums…….. Greed, through the strikes, lost millions of fans. Music’s Lawyer greed is goning to do the same thing.
February 17th, 2004 at 9:59 pm
from the sound of the current BIG hit – Best sellers, it must be that only people to poor (or too stupid) to use computers are still submitting to the rip-off of the so called “music industry”
February 17th, 2004 at 10:38 pm
I use P2P, but not for sharing music. Clowns like Sherman will screw that up with their greed.
February 17th, 2004 at 10:41 pm
of Sherman, he looks like leering perv.
February 17th, 2004 at 10:42 pm
for me to poop on……..
February 17th, 2004 at 11:31 pm
About 1.5 mil from this round of suits on average.. And just imagine none of that goes to the artists. Looks like Cary needs a new Porsche..
February 18th, 2004 at 12:18 am
Cary Sherman – “We are sending a clear message that downloading or ’sharing’ music from a peer-to-peer network without authorization is illegal, it can have consequences and it undermines the creative future of music itself,”
Here is my clear message. Most music/musicians I listen to do not participate in RIAA swindles. Here is a list of who I DON’T buy music from. http://www.boycott-riaa.com/membership
If I was downloading this trash and burning cd’s and selling them at the flea market, I could maybe see your point. As for the creative future of music, I would not care at all if the future of Rap music or most of the pop bullshit out there was on the line or even had no future at all.
“A musician without the RIAA, is like a fish without a bicycle.”
February 18th, 2004 at 2:03 am
>> Looks like Cary needs a new Porsche..
The RIAA lawyers kids will profit the most at this point. They will be driving the Porsches their Mommy’s and Daddy’s bought them that were paid for by sueing college kids.
February 18th, 2004 at 2:47 am
>”We are sending a clear message that downloading or ’sharing’ music from a peer-to-peer network without authorization is illegal,” RIAA president Cary Sherman says in a statement.<
Wrong. The only clear message they’re sending is that they’re complete assholes who don’t give a shit about artists, consumers, or anyone or anything but themselves and padding their own pockets.
“If I was downloading this trash and burning cd’s and selling them at the flea market, I could maybe see your point. As for the creative future of music, I would not care at all if the future of Rap music or most of the pop bullshit out there was on the line or even had no future at all.”
Very well said.
February 18th, 2004 at 3:17 pm
so,how do we know what a hit is?
March 17th, 2004 at 7:02 pm
Everyone! Just stop it with talking about DOWNLOADING.
Let’s clear this up. Only those who were SHARING have been sued. Regardless if their collection was ‘downloaded’, ripped from their own CDs, or borrowed. Doesn’t matter HOW you get your media. ONLY SHARING can get you sued. SHARING is the issue. Downloading without sharing music(ie. leeching) is 100% safe, and I offer anyone to challenge that. So don’t let the media or RIAA brainwash you. We all know if no one shares, blah blah blah. Yes, I understand leeching is bad, however that’s a totally different topic. But as it stands, DOWNLOADING, Borrowing CDs, Copying, etc. IS 100% SAFE! It’s the SHARING that will get’cha. Any Comments?