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RIAA Lied To Congress About New Filesharing Suits
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "On December 23, 2008, the RIAA's Mitch Bainwol sent a letter to the Judiciary and Commerce Committees of both the House and Senate, falsely representing to them that the RIAA 'discontinued initiating new lawsuits in August.' A copy of the letter is online (PDF). In fact, as many of you already know, the RIAA brought hundreds of new lawsuits since August. See, e.g., these 40 or so cases which just represent some of the cases brought in December." Maybe they're just taking a broad view of the world "initiate."
I'm riddled with surprise.
Is lying to Congress illegal? Is it considered perjury?
that this will result in any form of purgery charges for said lawyer, or any form of legal consequence.
The RIAA seems to enjoy making a mockery of the legal system and legal process.
In other news grass is green, bears defecate in the woods. More at 11.
According to this link on Gizmodo.
Does this make promissory estoppel a defence in these new cases? (I didn't know what it was either until it was mentioned on /. a while back, basically it's legalese for 'hey no fair, they said they wouldn't sue if I did it'.)
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But without windows, how would we know if the sky was blue?
Indeed, the only time I ever see the sky is when I'm using Windows XP.
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... and use good old-fashioned violence. The effectiveness of physical violence in achieving goals is much underrated these days. I seem to recall the American Revolution involved a bit of violence, didn't it, and we trumpet the success and worthiness of that violence in every classroom in the country, right? A second revolution in these not-so-entirely-United States seems a bit overdue. We have more than a few barons and overlords and Captains of Industry just begging to be introduced to a guillotine. I think the folks in Texas would readily understand this notion that some people just need killin' (http://bennettandbennett.com/blog/2007/11/texas-murder-sentences-probation-to.html).
What sort of revolutionary vigilante violence might we visit upon the RIAA's clients and its sympathizers in Congress?
...then recontinued very shortly thereafter. I discontinue driving at every red light...
Never has there been such a parallel in our history. The Prohibition in the United States, from 1920 to 1933, and the Information Prohibition, 1996-2010.
A close second is the novel Dune and the parallel to the Clinton/Bush/Obama triumvirate.
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The MPAA brings frivolous suits too, just less of them. It makes the same frivolous arguments and supports the RIAA in its frivolous suits, sometimes submitting amicus curiae briefs on behalf of their brethren. To its credit, in its cases against individuals, (a) it seems to do a little homework -- unlike its RIAA brethren -- prior to bringing suit, and (b) it uses lawyers more nearly resembling human beings who are permitted to negotiate more reasonable settlements.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
Who would you take a case to? The DOJ? Oh wait, the DOJ and the RIAA are basically clones now.
That is a problem, isn't it? That Mitch Bainwol's lawyers occupy key posts in the Justice Department.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
Yeah, but lying to the senate is perjury. Every single one of their lawyers and executives should not pass go, not collect $200, and go straight to jail.
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That is a problem, isn't it? That Mitch Bainwol's lawyers occupy key posts in the Justice Department.
As I see it, it is. So the question needs to be asked. Is there a way to overcome that obstacle?
Yes there is. But the only people who can do it are (a) President Barack Obama and (b) Attorney General Eric Holder.
Also, the Jenner & Block attorneys who received the appointments -- Messrs. Perrelli and Verrilli -- can conduct themselves with personal integrity, establish a "Chinese Wall" around record industry and motion picture industry matters, and recuse themselves entirely from anything having to do with those clients.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
As it turns out that one was settled too.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
The obviousness makes it no less important to report this. The day we just let it slide unnoticed is when we've truly given them free reign.
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But without windows, how would we know if the sky was blue?
Indeed, the only time I ever see the sky is when I'm using Windows XP.
The only time I see blue is when I use Winders also, but it's unrelated to my desktop-pattern...