AfterDawn: News

RIAA sues 754 more people

The Recording Industry Association of America has continued its battle against file-sharing by suing yet another 754 U.S. file swappers it alleges to have distributed Copyrighted tracks through P2P networks. Among the 754 people are 20 students the RIAA accuses of using University networks to distribute MP3. This brings the total number sued to 7,704 since September 2003 when the RIAA first launched its campaign against unauthorized file sharing. European lawsuits did not follow until about a year later.

The RIAA is confident that this "sue em all" tactic is working and is slowing down file-sharing. However, latest studies have indicated that the RIAA's tactics have not effected P2P use overall, but that P2P use is growing at a huge rate. In order to issue a subpoena against the user's ISP, the RIAA first must gather evidence of the user's P2P activity. They can then retrieve the identity of user from the IP address that was being used for infringement from the ISP. In some cases in the U.S. the RIAA have to file a "john doe" lawsuit against the defendant before they will even learn the true identity of the user.



Source:
BBC News

Written by: James Delahunty @ 17 Dec 2004 10:05

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• 4 comments

• meta1

  Typical of the RIAA, none of these people were breaking any laws, sharing isn't illegal.
  
  Looking at other peoples computers to see what they are doing IS illegal and yet the RIAA get away with it.. there is no justice in this world, but I'm happy enough to be in a country where a law like this would be laughed off.

  19.12.2004 03:46 #1

• Ne007

  Meta1.....The RIAA has bought the laws to make sharing their copyrighted material illegal....even if you own the material you don't own the material.
  
  Who will be around to buy music after they've sued all their potential customers? Do they really think these people are going to buy their shit after they've been sued? These people are going to spread hatred against the music industry.......hell I spread my hatred for them and I haven't been sued.......I just know what they are doing and the general public don't.

  19.12.2004 05:59 #2

• rondack

  I will not buy any form of pre-recorded music until the RIAA knocks off this "sue 'em all" BULLSHIT!!!

  20.12.2004 01:17 #3

• A_Klingon

  Well, I haven't downloaded much of any 'entertainment content' in recent months (slow dial-up connections will do that to you), but I've still got 3 (three) P2P systems on my desktop which are perfectly functional, and the leather-clad, brass-knuckle-wielding thugs haven't been sent 'round to bust me up yet. I better hide the cat though; you never know when Fluffy might get kidnapped, held for ransom and taken off the Tender Vittles. The wife and kids have all moved out to an undisclosed location for their safety, and I have frozen my bank accounts. I'm not paranoid yet, but I have retained the services of a medical professional just in case.
  
  I think it's time for another RIAA website hack, eh? Remember those? Complete with free, downloadable mp3 links.
  
  The RIAA Dinosaur, huffing and puffing, blowing fire, brimstone and smoke, threatening all lower and smaller lifeforms, is fated for untimate demise just like it's Jurassic Park counterparts. The monster will eventually get wiped out by a meteor shower, or smother in molten lava from an exploding volcano. Either way, the RIAA is fatally scheduled for extinction.
  
  But for now, in these - the last waning years of the Music-Conglomerate Monopoly, it's scary to see that 7,704 people have been sued. It just goes to show you the financial clout these oversized lizards have, but I think it's safe to say that most people, thanks in large measure to the Internet, see these people for what they truly are. Like spoiled brats they throw their final Hissy-Fits out where ever they can, suing everybody and everything in their path.
  
  It'll never work. It hasn't worked. It cannot work. The RIAA is dead in the water, and we'll be digging up it's fossilized bones for years to come after all the fallout has settled.
  
  Patience my friends, all we need is patience.
  
  A_K.

  22.12.2004 02:08 #4