The RIAA has declared victory over Russian music download store AllofMP3, which it accused of the illegal distribution of millions of copyright tracks. The site, which was declared legal by a court last October, no longer offers music - but has spawned dozens of fully operational spin-offs. Victory for RIAA? Not quite.
There is a great deal of confusion on the net, as to just how people get warning letters and notices from ISPs and copyright holders. In an attempt to clear the murk, we’ve produced this guide to help clarify what actions are taken, by whom, and how to respond to it.
College students have always had the dubious distinction of being easy marks in the target against P2P file sharing. As of February 2007, the RIAA has dispatched thirteen new waves of litigation letters against U.S. University students in their ‘deterrence’ campaign aimed at more than 5,000 students. But one University is fighting back - albeit very quietly - and that’s Purdue.
Despite collecting an estimated several hundred million dollars in P2P related settlements from the likes of Napster, KaZaA and Bolt, prominent artists’ managers are complaining that so far, they haven’t received any compensation from the labels. According to a lawyer, some are considering legal action.
Former Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra has torn into the RIAA, likening them to the mafia, threatening to leave a horse’s head in the beds of old women and children alike, whilst destroying the education of student file-sharers. Don’t even get him started on the media: “Goebbels would be proud” he said.
In a major file-sharing legal case in the United States, a renowned P2P expert has offered his critique of the expert witness report offered by the RIAA. Prof. Johan Pouwelse’s testimony will be a devastating blow to the music industry as he labels RIAA expert Doug Jacobson’s report as “borderline incompetent”.
Apparently the RIAA is so busy suing consumers that they forgot to hire a decent programmer. With a simple SQL injection, all their propaganda has been successfully wiped from the site.
Things seem to be going from bad to worse, for Minnesota’s Jammie Thomas. After incurring a hefty judgment in the October trial vs the RIAA, she is now having to look for new representation.
Users of OiNK-replacement What.cd, are receiving emails from what appears to be the RIAA. In it are threats that users must either stop their ‘criminal acts of piracy’ or have charges pressed against them. But is it the RIAA? Rival Waffles.fm? No, it’s a 14 yr old script kiddie out for revenge, says What.cd
