RIAA Just Can't Seem To Stop The Momentum On Filing Those Lawsuits

from the legal-inertia dept

Mon, Jan 12th 2009 7:33am — Mike Masnick

On December 19th, it was announced that the RIAA was giving up on its legal strategy of suing individual file sharers, and instead was going to go with some mysterious agreements with ISPs (that no ISPs will admit to) to cut off those accused (not found guilty of) file sharing. In talking about it, the RIAA insisted that it had actually stopped filing lawsuits back in August. Of course, that was quickly proven to be not true leading the RIAA to clarify, saying that it hadn't started planning for any new lawsuits since August, but somehow couldn't stop lawsuits already in motion (this, of course, makes no sense).

Of course, now it's looking even worse, as on December 26th, well after it announced an end to the lawsuits, and insisted no more were going to be filed, a new lawsuit was served on an individual for file sharing. Apparently, the RIAA continues to have trouble with some rather basic facts. Saying you're not suing individuals anymore would be a lot more believable if, you know, you stopped suing individuals. Just saying...

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Filed Under: copyright, lawsuits, riaa
Companies: riaa

36 Comments

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mrt, 12 Jan 2009 @ 7:53am

RIAA? Truth? Incompatible! Just like this whole campaign is supposed to be about "education", yet they want to keep all proceedings as secret as possible.
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mike allen, 12 Jan 2009 @ 7:59am

the zahr
the new copyright zahr will sort it out ....... Well if my nomination on wired is taken have you had the phone call yet mike.
Tou cant trust this bunch of idiots with truth its not in their dictionary.
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Joel Coehoorn, 12 Jan 2009 @ 8:04am

to be fair
In fairness to the RIAA, the original article I saw (can't find the link now) only said that they would be drastically cutting back on the number of suits and would instead just target the worst offenders. That's different than saying they're not going to file any suits at all.
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Evil Mike, 12 Jan 2009 @ 8:27am

Re: the zahr
You would be pithy, if only you could spell "Czar," and properly concatenate a sentence.
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tack, 12 Jan 2009 @ 8:36am

Re: Re: the zahr
zomg, nerd alert, someone misspelled on the interwebs!! Thanks to Evil Mike, he almost got away with it.
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DRM Koolaid, 12 Jan 2009 @ 8:36am

Not only do they not stop suing, but the fucking pricks did so on Boxing Day!

Assholes. I hope someone powerful stands up to them one day and they get sued for extortion.
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Big Mook (profile), 12 Jan 2009 @ 8:40am

Just stop buying from these goons already!
I'm against piracy, personally, but I'm also against the gestapo-like tactics of this evil organization.

So piracy notwithstanding, why can't we get people to stop buying their products in the first place? Do that many people simply not care that they're supporting a corrupt, extortionate, evil group? I haven't bought a CD in over 10 years, and the last music I bought was only because my wife specifically asked for it. (Thank you, Walmart, for the $7.92 downloaded album instead of the $20 CD at FYE)

Wait a minute, 68 million people voted for the empty suit Obambi and the human gaffe machine Biden, so how could I expect most people to have enough brains to judge anything else of significance in life. My bad.

Hail Xenu!
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2009 @ 8:42am

I don't get why this is such a big deal. People are breaking the law by illegally distributing files that they don't have permision to distribute. (Either from the Artist (the creator) or the company the artist agreed to distribute that information.)

The company is has a right sue anyone who breaks the law.
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:Lobo Santo, 12 Jan 2009 @ 8:46am

Re: Re: Re: the zahr
You're welcome.

{/sarcasm}
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:Lobo Santo, 12 Jan 2009 @ 8:49am

Re: Re: Re: Re: the zahr
: P

: D

J/K. Gawd some ppl suck.
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mslade, 12 Jan 2009 @ 9:00am

To be fair
In fairness to the RIAA, they're inbred.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2009 @ 9:11am

Re: by Anonymous Coward on Jan 12th, 2009 @ 8:42am
"The company is has a right sue anyone who breaks the law."

Dweeb AC, yes they have the right to sue, but that isn't the point of the story. The point of the story is the fact the RIAA said it would stop suing, but continues to file lawsuits.
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Luci, 12 Jan 2009 @ 9:18am

Re:
The big deal is that these lawsuits are being filed on flimsy, if not entirely nonexistent, evidence. An IP address is not evidence, as these can be spoofed. It's happened to me, already, getting a DMCA notice from my ISP for supposedly downloading and sharing a movie. My response was to let my ISP scan my hard drives for any evidence whatsoever of illegally downloaded files, which they declined. Probably helps that I know more than half the people who work there.
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Erv Server, 12 Jan 2009 @ 9:18am

Its the lawyers stupid
I think there is a bunch of lawyers involved here who don't want to lose their sugar daddy ( RIAA )
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David, 12 Jan 2009 @ 9:32am

On copyright laws in general
There was a great link to some free books downloadable online by Stanford Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig a few days ago.

lessig.org
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2009 @ 10:02am

Re: Re: Re: the zahr
A nerd? On TechDirt? What's the world coming to?
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2009 @ 10:12am

fuck the RIAA

Not 1 cent!
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CMeeks, 12 Jan 2009 @ 10:37am

Re: the zahr
BTW it is Tsar not zahr. That is if Tsar is now a restricted trademark or a copyrighted word. %#$@@*^% I GIVE UP!!!!!
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Michial, 12 Jan 2009 @ 10:55am

Re: to be fair
This site has never been concerned with getting the facts straight. This author will twist the facts any way he has to to further his agenda for abolishing IP rights.

Case in point. Even your original article typed by you said that they were only stopping law suits against users on ISP's that had entered into the agreement.

Read your current article and of course now you claim they said they would not be filing any more law suits.

When will you get even the remotest of facts straight?
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TPBer, 12 Jan 2009 @ 11:00am

Re:
Once it is digital on the net it is no ones, and yes we can distribute, share or whatever at will. All of these lawsuits are about as enforceable as jaywalking, wait jaywalking is more enforceable.

I prefer the new dvd screeners that are not in the us theaters yet, like The Wrestler, Gran Torino was out 30 days ago, Defiance was outstanding and out 30 days ago. Why should I wait for the movie companies when a good digital copy is available, I don't have to.

Modern music is not even worth DL for free.

"SHARING IS CARING"
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Spelling Police, 12 Jan 2009 @ 11:22am

Re: the zahr
Czar is spelled "czar" not zahr. You make Babar proud. You and the elephant kingdom.
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DanC, 12 Jan 2009 @ 11:25am

Re: Re: to be fair
This site has never been concerned with getting the facts straight. This author will twist the facts any way he has to to further his agenda for abolishing IP rights.

And you've never been overly concerned with backing up your arguments, choosing to constantly rely on the "that's the way it is" defense. You've been called on it constantly, which explains your animosity towards the site.

Basically, the RIAA initially has said it would not file any new lawsuits against individuals. After it was shown that that wasn't true, the RIAA has been redefining what it actually meant by "new" and "individuals".

Their current stance is that they aren't filing any more individual lawsuits against John Does, unless they were already pending or they had already entered into discussions for a settlement. In other words, it appears that the RIAA will continue to redefine their original statement to excuse their actions.
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usmcdvldg, 12 Jan 2009 @ 11:34am

Re: Re: to be fair
Although this site is a good for being pointed in the direction of current issues, the shoot from the hip mentality very discouraging. Take all opinions presented to you by this site with a grain of salt!!
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usmcdvldg, 12 Jan 2009 @ 11:38am

Re: Just stop buying from these goons already!
Palin?
Palin?

You find it acceptable for Palin to be your Vice President??
You find it acceptable for your president to think Palin is the number one pic for Vice President??

Politics aside, at least the next President will have an IQ above 80 and be able to speak at at least a 8th grade level.

You IDIOT
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Big Mook (profile), 12 Jan 2009 @ 12:03pm

Re: Re: Just stop buying from these goons already!
Who said anything about Palin (or McCain)? Not me. McCain wasn't my pick; Palin was the biggest mistake he could have made in an already dead campaign.

Of course, there is the fact that she at least has experience in government, unless you count voting present over 160 times in the IL Senate, never sponsoring a single piece of legislation in the US Senate, and never convening the committee to which he was appointed in the US Senate as experience in government. Maybe you count his work with the fraudulent ACORN organization as experience? Or is it the 2 years he spent running for president while a US Senator? But he sure is good at reading a teleprompter.

The next president is a product of the corrupt Chicago and Illinois political circle, and his VP doesn't even know which article of the constitution outlines the duties of the office. You can always tell when Joe Biden says something dumb: His lips move. But those Botox injections sure did make his forehead look smooth and shiny for the debate. Obama's cabinet and administration are full of Clinton cronies. Change we can believe in, my eye!

The man has never done anything of substance, and yet the people fawn over him as if he were the savior. He claims Christianity while having absolutely no regard for the unborn. He sat in a church for 20 years that teaches separatism and hate, and still does; have a look at their web site, but replace BLACK with WHITE and tell me it isn't blatantly racist and disgusting. He will stand with the Muslims if the wind should blow in a bad direction. You know, those people who hate us and want us all dead because we won't convert? Obama's short list of close associates reads like the FBI's most wanted list. I could go on and on.

Idiot, indeed.

Hail Xenu!
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lordmorgul, 12 Jan 2009 @ 12:31pm

This whole 'lawsuit truce' by the RIAA seems like a devilish ploy to me. As soon as they announced that I'm sure alot of people went happily on their way downloading while the RIAA kept stacking up piles of paperwork for future action... in a few months we'll see these lawsuits renewed with an incredible torrent (ahem) of new citizen defendants getting served.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2009 @ 12:35pm

Re:
And they do not have the right to sue people who they do not KNOW broke the law... and they do not have the right to penetrate my (or others) personal networks looking for clues to use as flimsy evidence that someone broke the law. And they do not have the right to even accuse me of breaking the law without proof (defamation of character) but of course they have been getting away with exactly that.

The RIAA is not just suing people who broke the law. Open your eyes.
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Killer_Tofu (profile), 12 Jan 2009 @ 12:58pm

Re:
I would like to see your proof that they do not have permission from the artist.
I have full permission from Trent Reznor to distribute his music. He has told plenty of fans at plenty of concerts to download and share his music.
So I think you need actual proof that they in fact, do not have permission.

Also, I would say that uploading shouldn't be infringement at all. Who is to say that everybody who is downloading it does not already own the CD. Can you prove that they do not?
I think the laws should be tougher on them for them to be able to sue.
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mike allen, 12 Jan 2009 @ 1:45pm

Re: Re: the zahr
as some one once said "frankly my dear i dont give a damn".
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chris (profile), 12 Jan 2009 @ 1:52pm

Re: Re:
I prefer the new dvd screeners that are not in the us theaters yet, like The Wrestler, Gran Torino was out 30 days ago, Defiance was outstanding and out 30 days ago. Why should I wait for the movie companies when a good digital copy is available, I don't have to.

those are academy award screeners. there is always a flood of them at the end of the year as the studios push them out to the members of the selection committees and they get leaked.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2009 @ 1:57pm

Re: Re: Re: to be fair
Just an observation. There are many articles talking about what the RIAA is supposed to have said, but as yet I have not read any document authored by the RIAA and talking about this issue. Instead of relying on third party accounts, would it not make more sense to pose questions directly to the RIAA?
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chris (profile), 12 Jan 2009 @ 1:58pm

Re: To be fair
In fairness to the RIAA, they're inbred.

that is an insult to inbreds everywhere. inbreds: raise your flippers in protest!
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Jared, 12 Jan 2009 @ 6:45pm

Talked to RIAA
Hi everyone. I saw this article and discussed the discrepancy with an RIAA spokeswoman. You can read the response, linked above, or at CDFreaks.com.

Later,
Jared
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Damien Bizeau, 18 Jan 2009 @ 10:05am

Dr. Eric Vermote (Piracy expert)
Several years ago I denounced a music piracy case caused by a NASA contractor and University of Maryland scientist/professor: Dr. Eric Vermote from France. This man used peer to peer technology to create CDs for third party distribution to his friends; the home computer lab he was using for his peer to peer activities contained a NASA computer keyboard and he was using his NASA based E-mail account to communicate with third parties about his amateur counterfeit CDs. NASA and the FBI did not take the case seriously and no legal action was taken against Dr. Eric Vermote to my knowledge. The RIAA has a lot of work waiting in my humble opinion (FROM: Damien Bizeau - International artist, Promoter and Producer, France).
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Pathos Kavol, 13 Feb 2009 @ 6:03am

Re: Re: Re: Just stop buying from these goons already!
All hail "Big Mook" ......But on the behalf of the rest Mr.Mook,When surrounded be sheapeople it's not hard to look intelligent.......
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daretoeatapeach, 21 Apr 2009 @ 4:47pm

Re: Just stop buying from these goons already!
"why can't we get people to stop buying their evil products in the first place?"

Why do people continue to buy iPhones (which require AT&T contract) and use AT&T when there's hard evidence that they have given the NSA access to thousands of innocent Americans' private data without a warrant?

People are caught up in their daily lives. Even when there is a huge, well-organized campaign, getting people to think differently is a little like moving mountains.
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