Of the 13,000 lawsuits brought to ordinary people by the RIAA, not a single case has reached court. The settlement
office employed by the RIAA has been reported using bullying tactics to
encourage quick settlements of $3,000 to $7,000. It's not the money the RIAA wants; it's the opportunity to brag of
quick compliance of thousands of customers who have, we are urged to imagine, seen the error of their criminal ways and
turned away from file-sharing. The real truth is saturated with bewilderment and intimidation, plus an unwillingness on
the part of individuals to risk money and time fighting an international consortium of giant media companies with
limitless resources. This despite claims of some attorneys that the RIAA
does not have a particularly strong case to bring to court.
Now a single mother from White Plains, NY
cannot
stomach the idea of paying a settlement cost for something she did not do—and neither did her kids. Apparently
KaZaA was downloaded and actrivated by a friend of one of her kids. The RIAA viewpoint has always been that the ISP
account holder is responsible for all activity on that household's computer. U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon will
decide whether that holds up. McMahon, in a moment unrelated to this case, once issued a heartening quote: "I would
love to see a mom fighting one of these."
If McMahon throws out the case, the RIAA will minimize the damage and continue its public relations campaign
relatively untroubled. The importance of a win here for the White Plains woman would be the setting of precedent—the
only ruling ever made in an RIAA vs. Consumer case. It could give hundreds of other confused lawsuit victims
the courage to escape the bullying and intimidation without paying what is, for most people, a whopping financial
settlement. Of course, there are lawyer costs. But I'm guessing many people would rather pay several thousand dollars
to their lawyer than to the faceless, meaningless RIAA.
Finally: A Lawsuit Victim Refusing to Settle
Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. id definately contribute to that fund. ive wanted a fund to develop for ages. if every file sharer contributed $1 we could actually, we could actually begin to fight this thing
Posted at 5:58AM on Dec 19th 2005 by sam
4. So let me get this right. I buy a $25000 vehicle. I decided to let 20 friends use it for one hr each. Of those 20 friends 15 decide that they like the vehicle so much they go out abd buy the same.Do you see where I'm going. Buy me purchasing that car I have the right to loan it to anyone that I wish for compensation or no. What's the big deal it's paid in full the manufacture has recieved there cut as well as the car dealer who I'm I hurting by loaning my car to friends. Wait 40 years from now it's a classic and a musuem wants to display it and will pay me for the "use" of my vehicle for a determined amount of time. Does the manufacture of said car try to block the viewing or sue me for taking money or even just loaning the car for free. What are these people thinking of. I paid for it so it's mine to do with as I please. For instance flag burning. If I decide to burn my own flag that I purchased what will happen. I will be called un-american but that's about it. So everytime somebody burns a flag do we sue the lighter company or the company that produces matches. My god people where does it stop...
Posted at 5:58AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Darkiq
6. id definately contribute to that fund. ive wanted a fund to develop for ages. if every file sharer contributed $1 we could actually, we could actually begin to fight this thing
Posted at 5:58AM on Dec 19th 2005 by sam
8. So let me get this right. I buy a $25000 vehicle. I decided to let 20 friends use it for one hr each. Of those 20 friends 15 decide that they like the vehicle so much they go out abd buy the same.Do you see where I'm going. Buy me purchasing that car I have the right to loan it to anyone that I wish for compensation or no. What's the big deal it's paid in full the manufacture has recieved there cut as well as the car dealer who I'm I hurting by loaning my car to friends. Wait 40 years from now it's a classic and a musuem wants to display it and will pay me for the "use" of my vehicle for a determined amount of time. Does the manufacture of said car try to block the viewing or sue me for taking money or even just loaning the car for free. What are these people thinking of. I paid for it so it's mine to do with as I please. For instance flag burning. If I decide to burn my own flag that I purchased what will happen. I will be called un-american but that's about it. So everytime somebody burns a flag do we sue the lighter company or the company that produces matches. My god people where does it stop...
Posted at 5:58AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Darkiq
1. Glad to hear she's willing to stand up to the bullies. I'll be the first to chip in to her legal defense fund, if someone wants to provide the contact info. Do the folks at downhillbattle know yet?
Posted at 5:58AM on Dec 19th 2005 by Jason