If the RIAA 's goal was to force a quick settlement, and bring XM back in line, it appears the recent lawsuit is an abysmal failure.

"We will vigorously defend these radios and your right to enjoy them in court and before Congress, and we expect to win.", that message from a statement released on XM Satellite Radio's own website within recent days.

Both ends pitted against the middle in a battle royal, with the fair use home recording rights of millions of Americans at stake.

"We've developed new radios -- the Inno, Helix and NeXus -- that take innovation to the next level in a totally legal way. Like TiVo, these devices give you the ability to enjoy the sports, talk and music programming whenever you want. And because they are portable, you can enjoy XM wherever you want.

The music industry wants to stop your ability to choose when and where you can listen. Their lawyers have filed a meritless lawsuit to try and stop you from enjoying these radios.

They don't get it. These devices are clearly legal. Consumers have enjoyed the right to tape off the air for their personal use for decades, from reel-to-reel and the cassette to the VCR and TiVo."

Wall Street seems to agree, at least so far. "We think the RIAA is merely aiming to receive additional compensation, which XM could pass on to the subscribers as premium service, if required," wrote Robert Peck, an analyst for Bear Stearns, in a research note Thursday. I hate to be so venomous, but that's a very nice way to say that the RIAA is merely running an extortion scam against XM subscribers. Pay up, or the shiny toy you bought won't work anymore.

The scary part of this, and the real heart of the problem, is that we've settled this all before. The Audio Home Recording Act, in a House Report issued August 4th, 1992 states, "In short, the reported legislation would clearly establish that consumers cannot be sued for making analog or digital audio copies for private noncommercial use."

Make no mistake, the RIAA is suing you by proxy. The XM devices in question have no feature allowing the recordings to be transferred or saved outside of the devices themselves. These are not devices you can use to cherry pick music, then transfer to your iPod to save. This is very simply about time-shifting, and being able to listen to a program or song as many times as you wish.

In short, if the RIAA wins this, which is indeed doubtful, keep a very close eye on your TiVo.