James Delahunty
15 Dec 2005 12:30
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed another 751 lawsuits against Internet users it accuses to have distributed copyrighted music online through P2P networks. This brings the total number of cases in the United States above 17,000. The "John Doe" lawsuits filed today simply serve as placeholders until the RIAA can find out the true identity of the P2P user. The RIAA singles out P2P for the massive drop in CD sales over the past 5 years.
It is only now however that the RIAA is seeing any real challenges. Normally people would be inclined to take the settlement offer from the RIAA, which is about $3,500 or more. However, some people being sued have decided that they won't pay the settlement and are willing to bring the case the whole way instead. One such woman is Patricia Santangelo, a mother of five who claims she is completely innocent.
Instead, she thinks the likely culprit could have been a friend of her children. That brings an important question up - is an IP address and some information on the actual music files enough to sustain a lawsuit against n Internet account holder? We will perhaps find that out soon, as Santangelo has requested a trial by jury.
Source:
Betanews