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RIAA Drops Enforcement Case To "Sort Out" Inaccuracies
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "The other day I reported on my blog that the record companies had assigned, to the RIAA itself, a $4000 default judgment they'd gotten against some lady in Massachusetts, and that the RIAA was going after the defendant with an 'enforcement' proceeding to squeeze the money out of her. Today, it turns out, the RIAA withdrew its motion because, according to the RIAA's collection lawyer, the motion 'contained factual inaccuracies ... which plaintiff needs to sort out' (PDF). The collection lawyer must be new around here; a few little 'factual inaccuracies' never bothered an RIAA lawyer before."
They are learning the lessons.
I don't think so. I really think this collection lawyer is new to the process, and just realized his clients lied to him. The RIAA's main lawyers wouldn't care about that. This guy might be more of a regular lawyer, who does care about that.
Ray Beckerman +5 Insightful
RIAA: Me fail lawsuit? Thats unpossible!
The modern legal system: flip a coin, chances are better, either way.
What a wonderful hole we've dug ourselves into. I wonder how many generations it'll take to sort it out? Assuming we start now, that is.
Sure makes for plenty of material for future historians to debate ;)
Pardon me if I think that our society is well and truly fucked.
SB
It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
Is that he's the first one out of however many the RIAA employs that seems to have a vestige of conscience and a care for due process.
Is it really that bad in your profession Ray? A single guy sparks up and says something decent and it's a news item?
You must have been pretty lonely in law school. We slashdotters always knew you were rare. We just didn't know *how* rare.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
it's quantity over quality, I always say.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
It really sucks when you hire someone that turns out to
have integrity and won't roll over and be your lackey.
Sounds like RIAA could not afford to properly vet this lawyer.
You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.
Do you really think that it's the threat of the RIAA that has caused file sharing to drop?
First, I'm not sure whether or not that's actually the case. However, even if it is, the RIAA's lawsuits is not, I think, the best explanation. The rise of iTunes, free songs on MySpace, free music videos on YouTube, etc., has made a much bigger difference. People don't do filesharing as much as they used to because they don't need to. Why download a P2P client and expose yourself to risky files of uncertain provenance when you could just listen to Pandora?
I know that my own file sharing activities have significantly dropped, not because of anything the RIAA or MPAA have done, but because there are loads of television shows and movies available to watch anytime, for free, on Hulu.
Can I just pause for a moment and point out the futility of attempting to argue with 'our champion' here? I mean, it's one thing to point out an actual fallacy in Ray's logic or reasoning, but when you just try and attack Ray, that will not work out in your favor very well. We all hold him in high regard, and appreciate his work at publicizing the wrongs that are being committed in the name of 'justice'. I know he's not the only lawyer out there doing this, but he's 'our' lawyer.
Then again, you did post AC, so perhaps you realize that.
Also, how is making a guess as to someone else's frame of mind a bad thing? Do you really expect NYCL to just "know" what someone else was thinking? All he can do is guess.
Way to reinforce the stereotype that AC comments have no valid substance on a regular basis, and for reminding me why my thresholds subtract 1 from AC comments. Cheers!
2^3 * 31 * 647
This is an issue that many people have heard of, yet it does not appear to inspire very many people to protest.
But protest is exactly what it would take to end this nonsense. It could almost happen overnight. Get a rebellious populace to boycott RIAA-defended products. No, don't even pirate them. Make it clear that a large segment of the population is upset. That kind of unrest gets the attention of businesses and politicians alike.
Unfortunately, it won't happen in the foreseeable future because people just don't care. A business that donates a dollar to a community family planning service is much more likely to be targeted than an industry lobbying group that abuses the legal system.