[quote][i]Originally posted by scramjet[/i]
<br>So did the RIAA stop sueing random individual downloaders? That was in the news a lot a couple years ago but I haven't heard anything lately.
[/quote]
No, they're still quite active. There are over 19,000 lawsuits out there right now, most of which the defendants aren't even aware of since RIAA tries to use ex parte discovery and filings (where one party doesn't know what's going on) whenever possible. There are many sites devoted to tracking this stuff like the ones below.
http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/riaa-v-thepeople.php
http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/
RIAA's dirty methods of discovery, filings, and intimidation are basically leading to more anger, more polarization, and more clever protection methods like spoofing IP addresses just for simple privacy than leading to any real results. They're abusing our legal system as part of their PR campaign. It's obvious that what RIAA is really trying to protect are not artist and label profits but a fat, centralized, oligopolistic, and now obsolete method of distribution. New methods of distribution lower the barrier to entry in the field, enhance diversity and innovation, and erode the establishment's profits...this happens in every industry, but these guys wanna go down fighting tooth and nail, dragging down their own customers to do it.
We're all at risk even if you just share innocuous stuff. They track IPs and traffic on publicly accessible P2P networks, grab the IP, and file a John Doe complaint to discover your identity then subpeona your ISP and computer. They don't know what you've shared or downloaded...they just assume (probably correctly in the case of anyone actually on a P2P) that you will have illegally obtained copyrighted material in your possession. It would be the equivilent of racial profiling of anyone's car or home if you fit the typical bill.
So why do I want to buy anything associated with these assholes versus get independent or used stuff?! [:(!]
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 1:59 am