Music industry backs off in piracy suit against NY mom Last Updated: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 | 8:36 AM ET The Associated Press
The recording industry is giving up its lawsuit against Patti Santangelo, a New York mother of five who became the best-known defendant in the industry's battle against online music piracy.
However, two of her children are still being sued.
Patti Santangelo was an 'internet-illiterate parent, who does not know Kazaa from kazoo.'-Judge Colleen McMahon
The five companies suing Santangelo, of Wappingers Falls, filed a motion Tuesday in U.S. federal court in White Plains asking Judge Colleen McMahon to dismiss the case. Their lead counsel, Richard Gabriel, wrote in court papers that the record companies still believe they could win damages against Santangelo but their preference was to "pursue [the] defendant's children."
Santangelo's lawyer, Jordan Glass, said the dismissal bid "shows defendants can stand up to powerful plaintiffs." He noted, however, that the companies were seeking a dismissal "without prejudice," meaning they could bring the action again, "so I'm not sure what that's worth."
The companies, co-ordinated by the Recording Industry Association of America, have sued more than 18,000 people, including many minors, accusing them of pirating music through file-sharing computer networks, most of which have been forced out of business. Typically, the industry tracked downloads to a computer address and learned the name of the computer owner from the internet service provider.
When Santangelo, 42, was sued last year, she said she had never downloaded music and was unaware of her children doing it. If children download, she said, file-sharing programs like Kazaa should be blamed, not the parents. The judge called her an "internet-illiterate parent, who does not know Kazaa from kazoo."
Santangelo refused to settle with the record companies, pleaded her case in newspapers and on national TV and became a heroine to defenders of internet freedom, who helped raise money for her defence.
Last month, the record companies filed lawsuits against Santangelo's 20-year-old daughter, Michelle, and 16-year-old son, Robert, saying they had downloaded and distributed more than 1,000 recordings.
The companies said that the daughter had acknowledged downloading songs on the family computer -- which Glass denied -- and that the son had been implicated in statements from his best friend.
The suit against the children seeks unspecified damages. The Canadian Press, 2006
Or the Greyhound Bus trip I stoically endured where a man talked to the bus driver, himself, random folks moving along the aisle, and God - for eight unbroken hours.
We switched drivers - after about forty minutes and two warnings - the new driver kicked him off the bus to general acclaim.
Subject Object Possessive Adjective Possessive Pronoun Reflexive Male He laughs I hit him His face bled I am his He shaves himself Female She laughs I hit her Her face bled I am hers She shaves herself Singular they They laugh I hit them Their face bled I am theirs They shave themself Spivak (new) Ey laughs I hit em Eir face bled I am eirs Ey shaves emself Spivak (original) E laughs I hit em Eir face bled I am eirs E shaves eirself
Ah, but you never know which straw is the one that finally blows out the camel's back, do you? Let's hope at some point airlines and our security apparatus will try to improve the airline travel experience.
I'm even more entertained by the liberals I hear and read thinking this is the end of the conservative movement
The conservative movement died November 7th, 2000 when millions of conservatives voted for George W. Bush - and effectively trashed their own principles. The headstone was ordered in 2004, and will be placed on the gravesite in January 2009.
I'll settle for Democratic majorities in Congress and the Senate, and spreading the new fake meme: That Bush said the Constitution was "just a piece of paper."
Slashdot Mirror
>the next time hairy balls come up in conversation...
:)
If this is a common topic in your conversational circle, please include me out -
Or the Greyhound Bus trip I stoically endured where a man talked to the bus driver, himself, random folks moving along the aisle, and God - for eight unbroken hours.
We switched drivers - after about forty minutes and two warnings - the new driver kicked him off the bus to general acclaim.
Ah, but you never know which straw is the one that finally blows out the camel's back, do you?
Let's hope at some point airlines and our security apparatus will try to improve the airline travel experience.
Enabling cellphone use on airliners ain't it.
If this becomes common on US airlines, look for "plane rage" incidents to spike upwards.
Can you imagine trying to endure a long flight seated next to one of those insecure, nonstop-talking, loudmouth cell-junkies?
>Ghandi only succeeded
Gandhi ---Please note position of the "h" directly after the "d"
Thank you.
Because I'm a replicant?
Obviously they have no idea how Cinnabon markets its goods. Mmmmmm... Cinnabon.
The next flag on the moon will be Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green.
>Ever get the feeling you're trying to explain quantum mechanics to a goat?
Oooh! Ooooh! Thanks! My new sig!
I really don't like the idea of unmanned surveillance vehicles flying over urban areas, and hope they continue to not appear.
Hmmm. Maybe that burkha idea has some merit... or I could be all old-school and always wear mah hoodie.
*Looks left and right*
Stop reading my tones!
It's not sufficient - a paradigm, properly pronounced aloud, is worth only twenty US cents.
Since this helps to support a widely-held theory of the mass extinction 65 million years ago, why is this really news?
Help me out here.
Didn't they just fill in another data point?
You can pet a dog, you can pet a cat, but you can't petascale.
Gandhi. --Please note position of the "h."
*Orion turns away from the mirror*
"Does this service module make me look fat?"
Cue sound of orcs cackling wildly.
Oh R'leyh!
You're just cranky because you haven't been able to rise from the depths and bring tentacled gelatinous death to us all.
Bide your time, Elder one.
Your dark minions at PITA, er PETA will do your bidding...
The conservative movement died November 7th, 2000 when millions of conservatives voted for George W. Bush - and effectively trashed their own principles. The headstone was ordered in 2004, and will be placed on the gravesite in January 2009.
R.I.P.
I was a real fan of Barry Goldwater.
You can have that.
I'll settle for Democratic majorities in Congress and the Senate, and spreading the new fake meme:
That Bush said the Constitution was "just a piece of paper."
HAND!
.
.
.
.
(I am really just kidding. Mostly.)
I had to work many hours in 1999 to fix/patch/replace systems.
In our data center we pushed $2 million of obsolete systems over to a wall and rolled in new equipment.
Friends who worked for the power companies did the same.
Next time we'll let you freeze in the dark.
I would like to salute you for the creepiest sentence I have read in a month.
Mmmm. Irony...