RIAA plans lawsuit binge against file traders

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Maybe the best response is to just stop buying RIAA members products.

Dave


http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/06/25/download.suits.ap/index.html

Record industry to sue downloaders

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The embattled music industry disclosed aggressive plans
Wednesday for an unprecedented escalation in its fight against Internet
piracy, threatening to sue hundreds of individual computer users who
illegally share music files online.

The Recording Industry Association of America, citing substantial sales
declines, said it will begin Thursday to search Internet file-sharing
networks to identify users who offer "substantial" collections of mp3 music
files for downloading. It expects to file at least several hundred lawsuits
seeking financial damages within eight to 10 weeks.

Executives for the RIAA, the Washington-based lobbying group that represents
major labels, would not say how many songs on a user's computer will qualify
for a lawsuit. The new campaign comes just weeks after U.S. appeals court
rulings requiring Internet providers to identify subscribers suspected of
illegally sharing music and movie files.

Facing the music 

The RIAA's president, Carey Sherman, said tens of millions of Internet users
of popular file-sharing software after Thursday will expose themselves to
"the real risk of having to face the music."

"It's stealing. It's both wrong and illegal," Sherman said. Alluding to the
court decisions, Sherman said Internet users who believe they can hide
behind an alias online were mistaken. "You are not anonymous," Sherman said.
"We're going to begin taking names."

Critics accused the RIAA of resorting to heavy-handed tactics likely to
alienate millions of Internet file-sharers.

"This latest effort really indicates the recording industry has lost touch
with reality completely," said Fred von Lohmann, a lawyer for the Electronic
Frontier Foundation. "Does anyone think more lawsuits are going to be the
answer? Today they have declared war on the American consumer."

Public resistance? 

Sherman disputed that consumers, who are gradually turning to legitimate Web
sites to buy music legally, will object to the industry's latest efforts
against pirates. 

"You have to look at exactly who are your customers," he said. "You could
say the same thing about shoplifters -- are you worried about alienating
them? All sorts of industries and retailers have come to the conclusion that
they need to be able to protect their rights. We have come to the same
conclusion." 

Mike Godwin of Public Knowledge, a consumer group that has challenged broad
crackdowns on file-sharing networks, said Wednesday's announcement was
appropriate because it targeted users illegally sharing copyrighted files.

"I'm sure it's going to freak them out," Godwin said. "The free ride is
over." He added: "I wouldn't be surprised if at least some people engaged in
file-trading decide to resist and try to find ways to thwart the litigation
strategy." 

The RIAA said its lawyers will file lawsuits initially against people with
the largest collections of music files they can find online. U.S. copyright
laws allow for damages of $750 to $150,000 for each song offered illegally
on a person's computer, but Sherman said the RIAA will be open to settlement
proposals from defendants.

"We have no hard and fast rule on how many files you have to be distributing
... to come within our radar screen," Sherman said.

The RIAA said it expected to file "at least several hundred lawsuits" within
eight to 10 weeks but will continue to file lawsuits afterward on a regular
basis. 

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press . All rig 

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