Fighting RIAA Without an Attorney
2think writes "Yahoo News is reporting that Patricia Santangelo of New York will be taking on the RIAA in court without an attorney. It seems that Ms. Santangelo has committed over $24,000 due to her case and simply cannot afford to continue with the services of an attorney." From the article: "Her former lawyer, Ray Beckerman, says Santangelo doesn't really need him. 'I'm sure she's going to win,' he said. 'I don't see how they could win. They have no case. They have no evidence she ever did anything. They don't know how the files appeared on her computer or who put them there.'"
Something like this:
We don't want any of your proprietary codecs here.
oh, wait...
Actually, the real lesson is: Don't try to get justice in America. You can't afford to. Just pay the extortion fee, at least you can walk away afterwards.
I wonder why Mafia still bothers with its own-fashioned "fire insurance" type rackets, when this kind of blackmail is not only more efficient, but perfectly legal too. Why haven't they started their own "settlement" racket ? Or... maybe they have ? Maybe that's why RIAA has been so succesfull with this scene - they're getting guidance from the experts of protection rackets ?
Remember, when you buy legal DVDs, you support organized crime ! Don't finance Mafia, download your movies from the Internet for free !
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.