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MediaDefender Buys MediaSentry For $136,000 (Not $20M)
newtley writes "SafeNet paid $20 million for MediaSentry in 2005, but has just sold it to rival MediaDefender for a paltry $136,000, with a promise of more later. MediaSentry's new owner says the combination will allow it to 'dramatically expand its effectiveness.' Is it time for an official government inquiry into MediaSentry and the RIAA? A Chicago student said she was planning on killing herself because the RIAA promised her she'd land in court unless she paid almost $10,000 to 'settle' an alleged copyright infringement. She 'couldn't sleep, couldn't study, couldn't live a normal life because of the worry.' The RIAA 'evidence' came from MediaSentry, accused of operating illegally."
Fleeing the country at that age and with those limited resources is worse than suicide. The countries where it's reasonably safe to flee to, even with money, are extradition countries, so she'll be right back in the US in time for summer. And a lot of those non-extradition countries are inhospitable to a poor teenager, so she'll just die or end up a meth-addicted prostitute.
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Oh give me a break. They'd get a civil judgment. You don't even have to flee the country to escape those. It's called Chapter 7 and it's the first thing I would do if I was a student facing a $10,000 judgment from RIAA. If she's like most students she probably doesn't have many assets and they are likely all be exempt. In other words she'd lose nothing but the bankruptcy filing fee and the time it took to appear at the hearing.
If that's all it takes to make her suicidal then she really needs to seek some outside help. In the grand game known as life she's going to face many challenges that are far more scary than a RIAA action. Better learn how to cope with them now.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
... than is within reason if you're waiting for a government investigation of the record companies and/or their cronies. The party of Hollywood is in charge of the government, and the RIAA/MPAA are all paid up in their contributions.
Could be a million reasons. Maybe she is suffering from panic anxiety for instance (maybe the extra stress actually triggered latent illness). When you can barely get out of bed killing yourself can probably look like a good deal compared to moving to a foreign country.
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She'd also lose all her liquid assets(if any)
Umm, no, she'd lose her non-exempt assets. I'm not familiar with the specifics in her state but in my state you can exempt up to $2,500 of cash, "tools of the trade", family heirlooms, an automobile worth less than $5,000, etc, etc, etc. The overwhelming majority of Chapter 7s are "no-asset" cases, meaning all of the assets of the debtor are exempt. How many students do you know that have large enough net worths to have to worry about having non-exempt assets?
and she'd have a bad credit rating for the next 10 years
There are worse things in life than a bad credit rating and you'd be surprised how quickly your credit rebounds after a bankruptcy. My bankruptcy was three years ago and my FICO score was 757 the last time I checked. I haven't run into any problems obtaining credit, even after the economy took a nosedive.
And 10k is the settlement, not the judgement.
So what? Let them get a judgment for more than that if they think they can. It will make the bankruptcy even easier to file.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
Exactly. The RIAA would have to track her down in the country she moved to and then get a court there to rule that she had to pay up. Good luck with that, though, because foreign courts are rather reluctant to involve themselves of civil matters that happened outside of their jurisdiction. In fact, they pretty much flat out refuse to.
For that matter, she could flee to Canada or Mexico.
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I suspect she's young, struggling in any case, and inexperienced in legal matters. The RIAA tactics are fearsome, and they're deliberately calculated to induce the state of mind she's in now. They've evoked the kinds of feelings of helplessness or hopelessness that can lead to suicidal thoughts in vulnerable people. It's to be hoped that she's able to secure some kind of counseling (or legal counsel) to put the situation into perspective. If you look back, you don't see the RIAA attacking well-established, well-heeled middle aged people. They go after the young, the inexperienced, the poor, the elderly, and the sick--just the sorts of people who are vulnerable. They'd probably be delighted by a suicide. It would scare a few more victims.
"Here's what's happening. You're starting to drive like your Dad..." - Red Green
That was their own damn stupidity. Why would you agree to pay a debt that can't be collected upon and which you have no legal obligation to pay?
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
There's no need for any country-fleeing for someone without significant assets or income. Just pull a Bernie Goetz: do nothing. Let the RIAA obtain all the judgments they can. Declare bankruptcy (the BARF bill a few years ago made it harder, but someone with no assets and low income still has the option). Laugh at the RIAA.
There's also no point in threatening suicide. For students to threaten or even attempt and/or complete suicide over these cases is playing directly into the RIAAs hands; they're trying to frighten people into obeying them, and convincing people that the disobedience is worse than death by one's own hand is an effective motivator.
That's what I just can't grasp. Suing students.
What do you have here: Someone who is about 20, who already has racked up around 50k in debt for his tuition, and then you go an sue him for a bazillion (or just one tiny million if he wishes to settle out of court).
So you start your life with over a million down. What would you do? Know what I'd do? Wellfare. Yes, exactly. Work? Am I nuts? You won't get out of debt ever in your life, living the life of a minimum wage slave no matter how much you earn for the rest of your days. Why the heck should I try to pay a debt that was created basically by racketeering and extortion? Often enough without the defendent breaking any laws, his only crime being that he cannot stand up in court against the allegations.
I'm actually waiting for the first to ponder that his life is over anyway, so why not arm up and take a few of those with him that ended it.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.