From news.com:
“The [RIAA] filed 261 lawsuits against computer users it said were exclusively “egregious” file swappers, marking the first time copyright laws have been used on a mass scale against individual Net users. The barrage of lawsuits signaled a turning point in the industry’s three-year fight against online song-trading services such as Kazaa and the now-defunct Napster and one of the most controversial moments in the recording industry’s digital history.
On Tuesday, the RIAA settled its first case with Brianna Lahara, a 12-year-old New York resident. The recording industry agreed to drop its case against the preteen in exchange for $2,000, a sum considerably lower than previous settlement arrangements. Legal actions by the RIAA had been taken on a sporadic basis against operators of pirate servers or sites, but ordinary computer users have never before been at serious risk of liability for widespread behavior.”
Phew! That must be a load off Eminems mind, eh! Chester from Linkin Park can sleep at night! Justin Timberlake can finally relax. JUSTICE PREVAILS!
Fucktards.
September 10, 2003 at 11:42 pm
This, from the ODT, as well:
“The Recording Industry Association of America said it settled with Sylvia Torres, the New York mother of a 12-year-old girl who offered more than 1000 songs on the family’s computer through an Internet service… Ms Torres’ daughter, Brianna LaHara, said in a joint statement with the association: “I am sorry for what I have done. I love music and I don’t want to hurt the artists I love.”
Brianna was featured on the front page of the New York Post and was quoted as saying: “I got really scared. My stomach is all turning.”
She lives with her brother and mother in a city housing authority apartment.”
Way to go, guys – crack down on those least able to afford a decent lawyer to defend this sort of suit, and play on people’s fears of ongoing, expensive court action. The word “extortion” springs to mind…