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RIAA Apologizes for Incorrect Infringement Notice

Posted by timothy on from the oopsie dept.

theradixhunter writes "News.com is reporting that the RIAA has apologized to the Pennsylvania State University for sending a threatening letter making an incorrect allegations of copyright violations. It appears that the automated system that the RIAA uses picked the term "Usher" and the extenstion ".mp3" on an FTP site hosting the work of Professor Emeritus Peter Usher and falsely assumed that the files were songs by the musician Usher. The university accepted the apology saying "that this was an honest mistake by the recording industry" and Spokesman Tysen Kendig said Penn State "remains committed to working closely with the RIAA"."

27 of 483 comments (clear)

  1. finally by tetro · · Score: 2, Insightful

    finally, a public apology. Didn't this happen a while back when some child got in trouble for having a Word document and the line "Harry Potter" was found.

    --
    .smell my feet.
  2. So... by nebaz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is the RIAA going to pay for the legal fees the university incurred? Or the time they could have used to educate their students rather than going on a wild goose chase? I rather doubt it.

    --
    Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
    1. Re:So... by hype7 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      more importantly, it shows why the RIAA shouldn't have instant access to ISP details (Verizon case IIRC). They make mistakes; a judge is a relevant and important step in the way of preventing innocent people from being nailed for errors like this.

      -- james

    2. Re:So... by Gortbusters.org · · Score: 4, Insightful

      In other words we have corporations snooping in on our transport medium. It's a dangerous slippery slope, what's next... I turn on my computer and it says "Your internet may be monitored for quality assurance purposes."

      --
      --------
      Free your mind.
    3. Re:So... by etrnl · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If it's username and password restricted, it doesn't matter if it's guessable. You can still claim it was hacked, because they were not the authorized user of that account.

      After all, most hacks are done to people who did not adequately secure themselves. There's a difference between open and vulnerable, and it is a legal distinction.

      --etrnl--

    4. Re:So... by MisterMook · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Its also a reason why the Patriot Act is a bad idea, because ALL people make mistakes and having access to information doesn't automatically make people informed. Checks and balances for all sorts of things are being thrown away in this country or legislated away in the interest of fighting "the war on piracy" or "the war on terror" and it just isn't a good idea. Accountability and review are GOOD things, the RIAA should have checked things BEFORE they sent a letter.

    5. Re:So... by Latent+IT · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Oxdung. A burglar won't get away with "but, your honour, his unlocked screen door was flapping in the wind, so I was able to go in his house without any effort".

      Well, no. But that's because they're a burglar - they'd get charged with *theft*, but not breaking and entering. Which is why it's called breaking and entering, and not just uh... entering. =p

    6. Re:So... by sqlrob · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It was *NOT* an honest mistake.

      If you don't verify that infringement is actually happening, don't blame them for it.

      You're saying the RIAA can't afford 3 or 4 people to verify infringements? Those people are going to be cheaper in the long run than if they make too many mistakes and get sued over those mistakes, or even just the bad publicity from it.

  3. False Accusations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Shouldn't the RIAA be liable for making such false accusations?

    Perhaps I should create a work of art called JPG, and then start sending out threatening letters to any site that may have "JPG" on it...

  4. A Small Victory, Perhaps... by Stephonovich · · Score: 5, Insightful
    ... But a victory nonetheless.

    I have nothing better to do while waiting for a kernel to compile, so...

    I find it to be the usual government style of action: act first, apologize later. They send out threat form letters to anyone who might be violating their stupid-*** laws, and then when they find they're wrong, they throw out a whoops, and they're done. There is something very wrong with that picture.

    (-:Stephonovich:-)

    --
    "Who needs reincarnation when we've got parallel universes?" -Me
    1. Re:A Small Victory, Perhaps... by Stephonovich · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Yes, I do. I was simply saying it's rather like the government in it's modus operandi.

      (-:Stephonovich:-)

      --
      "Who needs reincarnation when we've got parallel universes?" -Me
    2. Re:A Small Victory, Perhaps... by LamerX · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Oh so you think. Who's pockets do you think get lined to pass laws like the one that extends copyright indefinitely? Or how about the DMCA? Or how about the CDBPTA, or DPCPTA or whatever it's called? I'm sure that there were plenty of lobbyists in the government, and plenty of politicans that are former or still are CEOs or VPs. The problem today is that he who has the most money, can get into office, and pay lobbyists enough money, and run the biggest campaigns to get whatever they want done.

    3. Re:A Small Victory, Perhaps... by Gortbusters.org · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Hey, it's like Iraq... attack first, find no weapons of mass destruction, and apologize later! It's almost laughable! ... if it wasn't so scary.

      --
      --------
      Free your mind.
  5. Like MS Office vs OpenOffice.org by DJ+Rubbie · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Just like that other time when OpenOffice.org got nailed for distributing their own software.

    Yup, that's their mentality: Guilty until proven innocent.

    --
    Please direct all bug reports to /dev/null
  6. subtlety of the term "temp employee" by swifticus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "We have withdrawn, and apologize for, the DMCA notice that had been sent to Penn State University in error. In order to safeguard against errors like this one, we have individuals look at each and every notice we send out. In this particular instance, a temp employee made a mistake and did not follow RIAA's established protocol, and we regret any inconvenience this may have caused. We are currently reviewing any other notices this temp may have sent."

    I think by "temp employee," they mean to say the person responsible is now fired. Doesn't sound like the RIAA really took responsibility for the incident either, but rather placed the blame on John Doe.

    1. Re:subtlety of the term "temp employee" by adsl · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Simply amazing that the RIAA with all their highly paid Lawyers is actually run by temporary employees who have the real Power. LOL Are the RIAA for real, trying to blame some temp employee upon whom they gifted the ultimate powers of a Billion dollar organization..... Sort of sets up a defence, I am sorry I didn't actually download these illegal music files, it was done by a temp empoyee of mine who I have fired. Please accept my apologises like yours were accepted by Penn State University or is there one Rule for you and another fo me:)

  7. Penn should have pushed its advantages by SysKoll · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Penn acted as spineless morons.

    They should have slapped the RIAA fools with a libel lawsuit and requested an injunction to keep RIAA away from their computers forever or else. Then, only then, settled out of court if needed.

    You can't even trust academia to defend their own these days. Sheesh.

    -- SysKoll
    --

    --
    Mad science! Robots! Underwear! Cute girls! Full comic online! http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/

    1. Re:Penn should have pushed its advantages by finkployd · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Penn acted as spineless morons.

      With a member of the RIAA on the board of trustees, I doubt PSU will ever stand up to the RIAA, no matter what they do.

      You can't even trust academia to defend their own these days. Sheesh.

      Look at the state of higher ed today. It is all about corporate sponsership and pleasing their corporate masters. The students are just a necessary annoyance. At PSU our career services building is called the MBNA building and Pepsi products are the only soft drinks that are allowed to be sold on campus.

      Finkployd

  8. Re:Hit Me Baby One More Time by wo1verin3 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    On that note, maybe we should start putting files called "this_is_not_britney_spears_hit_me_baby_one_more_t ime.txt.mp3" files on public ftp servers..

    That aside, is there any sort of legal problem with the RIAA randomly searching FTP sites and logging in to them searching through directories for files? Is this unauthorized access if there is an MOTD that states they are not allowed to access it?

  9. Re:Why pay attention when your extorting? by sisukapalli1 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I agree... It is also just a matter of time before some people's careers or lives will be irreversibly harmed by this "shoot first, ask questions later" approach. All for protecting a dying business model of corportations that refuse to be nimble.

    I hope that one day the RIAA programs will trespass some secret government sites and the execs get punished as severely as Kevin Mitnick was.

    S

  10. Re:Hit Me Baby One More Time by Esion+Modnar · · Score: 2, Insightful
    On that note, maybe we should start putting files called "this_is_not_britney_spears_hit_me_baby_one_more_t ime.txt.mp3" files on public ftp servers..

    Madonna and others place bogus mp3 files out there, just to make it harder to find real mp3's...

    And now we're going to put bogus mp3 files out there, to make it harder for the RIAA to find real mp3's (and up their noise to signal ratio)...

    i like it, i like it!

    --

    They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
  11. Re:database of RIAA ips? by cptgrudge · · Score: 3, Insightful
    It's like you're having a garage sale, all your stuff sitting on your front lawn, inviting everyone to come by and take a look. In addition you lay out a nice sack of Marijuana and a cop walks by, I guess if he busts you without a search warrant it's illegal search and seizure?

    RIAA =! Law Enforcement

    --
    Qualitas edurus commercium, nullus penitus net rimor, nullus deus beneficium
  12. Re:Hit Me Baby One More Time by Repugnant_Shit · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm not sure you can have an FTP that allows anonymous access and not call it public. If you're going to host videos/songs then you should be smart about it. Some dumbass that puts an MP3 file on his school's FTP server deserves to get caught. Just don't allow anon access, and you should be okay (because if they try to break in, guess what? That's called illegal entry)

    --
    Vote for global prefs bug
  13. don't care... by RMH101 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    they can monitor your internet if they like, just keep their hands off mine!

  14. Or give it a valid name... by TamMan2000 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    like 'Ushering in change at RIAA.mp3'

    fill it with a rant about how much (and why) the RIAA sucks...

    --
    "I'll have a Guinness, no wait, make that a Coors Light" -Grad student I work with, who shall remain anonymous...
  15. Re:The current state of things... by stubear · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You only have the right to copy intellectual property you personally own and only for limited uses. You do not have the right to copy your pal's entier CD collection under ANY definition of copyright law and associated legal rulings. By stating "without the right to do so" they are saying that not withstanding issues like fair use it is illegal to make copies of copyrighted material.

  16. Re:Using this to our advantage by Quixotic+Raindrop · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Actually, yes. I think you've hit the nail right on the head: one way to combat the stupidities of the RIAA and MPAA, and demonstrate that their arrogance and the DMCA clearly overstep all reasonable boundaries established in the Constitution, is to expose them.

    If the RIAA and MPAA are incapable of determining whether a given file is a violation of copyright automatically, then how is it that they expected Napster to do so? How about Verizon? Or any other ISP/University/person? Basically, the RIAA and MPAA get to talk out of both sides of their mouths (do as we say, not as we do?). This we must fight with all of our strength.

    Also, be sure to pad your files with random noise, or non-copyrighted things (reading aloud the works of Shakespeare, for example), so that the final file size reasonably approximates the size of the Matrix Reloaded movie on divx, or any given song you want to spoof. That way file size no longer serves as a useful way to determine whether a given file might be a violating file. Of course, this also makes it harder on people who have legitimate reasons to find those files (Matrix Reloaded may not have any legitimate reasons to be on p2p just yet, but I can think of at least two perfectly valid reasons for a person to d/l, say, "Music.mp3" by Madonna over p2p networks).

    --
    Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. (Einstein)