Internet Cafe Chain Settles Music Download Suit

from the why-bother? dept

Last summer we wrote about how the British version of the RIAA, the BPI, was trying to extort money from EasyInternet by suing them because they included CD burners on their cafe computers where people could burn their own CDs. When EasyInternet refused to pay, BPI threatened to "go public" with the info, which EasyInternet realized was hilarious (since it would just be giving them free publicity) - and instead went public with it themselves (at which point BPI tried to get a gag order to shut them up). Now, however, EasyInternet has decided the legal battle is getting too costly, and have settled the issue, paying a fine and covering BPI's legal costs so far. This is too bad. I still don't see what's so illegal about offering a CD-burner in an internet cafe. It seems like there are plenty of legitimate uses for such things.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.