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Suing Your Customers: Winning Business Strategy?

Posted by michael on from the history-lesson dept.

Cobarde Anonimo writes "The Knowledge at Wharton has an interesting text about the RIAA strategy of suing its customers. As Wharton legal studies professor G. Richard Shell writes below, this same tactic was tried 100 years ago against Henry Ford. It didn't work then, and it won't work today."

2 of 395 comments (clear)

  1. Misconceptions. by Krapangor · · Score: 1, Troll
    1. These sued people ain't RIAA customers but potential customers of it's member. In fact with increased file sharing these people won't be customers. But the sueing will convert them into customers.
    2. File sharing is illegal. No, please spare any rubbish discussions about "music should be free" or "bad sucking companies". File sharing is illegal by the IP laws in most countries of the world. If you don't like that then you can lobby your politicians. But this doesn't give you the right to break the law. There is something called democratic process. Anything else is anarchy and crime.
    3. It doesn't matter for laws if the damaged party is wealthy or not. People always give this lame "rich companies" excuse for file sharing. But this doesn't matter. You break the law. If you burn down Arnold Schwarzeneggers car, you would get arrested, too, not mattering how much bucks the governator has in his pockets.
    4. Copyright is not an evil invention. If you think about - the whole OSS scene uses it. Artists have rights on their creation. You can't take these away just because they are annoying. And if they choose to lay the commercial use of these right in the hands of the companies, then this is ok. It's their decision and not your. You do not have the right to negate this decision and break the revenue system.
    --
    Owner of a Mensa membership card.
  2. "Customers" is the Wrong Word by ReadParse · · Score: 1, Troll

    Regardless of agreement or disagreement with the RIAA in general or this particular lawsuit strategy, "suing your customers" is a silly way to put it. If I walked into Wal-Mart and stole a case of Coke, they would not worry about whether or not it was a good idea to "put one of our customers in jail". They would be stopping their loss and taking legal action against an offender. If I happened to be a past or future customer, that's a separate issue.

    RP