2008 Woodie Awards
What happens if the RIAA targets you?
Andrew Peters
Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: Features
U-WIRE-- When Dave went back to his room after dinner to check his e-mail Jan. 9, he almost deleted the two spam-like messages.
"The title was like, 'Fwd: Fwd, some weird numbers, from the university," he recalled.
But Dave got a sinking feeling when he realized what the e-mails were about. He had been cited by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for illegally sharing music over the Internet using LimeWire, a peer-to-peer downloading program.
The messages - one from UConn and another from the RIAA's lawyers - told Dave he had 20 days to settle the claim by paying the RIAA $3,000. If he chose not to settle, he would be sued.
"I was shocked," Dave remembered, shaking his head. "I knew this wasn't going to go away and I was in some serious trouble.
"What I didn't get was I had LimeWire but never used it," he continued. "I never download at campus, but people downloaded off of me."
But just sharing 109 songs for others to download was enough for the RIAA to target him, along with 24 other UConn students, in their latest round of "pre-litigation settlement letters."
"One-hundred and nine songs," Dave said. "People I know have thousands of songs. I guess [the RIAA] is trying to make a point."
That relatively small number of songs came at a high price. Dave wrestled with the choice of paying the $3,000 settlement or attempting to fight the claim in court.
But the chances of defeating the RIAA in court are slim, according to a statement by University Information Technology Services (UITS) Chief Information Officer Michael Kerntke.
"Several of these cases have proceeded to court and to date the RIAA has prevailed in each of them," Kerntke wrote. "A recent court decision awarded an amount in excess of $200,000 to the RIAA."
For those who have taken their RIAA cases to court, the RIAA has sought $750 in damages for each illegally shared song. In Dave's case, the total damages for his 109 songs could have totaled upwards of $80,000. Considering the risks and legal costs, he grudgingly opted to pay the $3,000 without going to court.
"The title was like, 'Fwd: Fwd, some weird numbers, from the university," he recalled.
But Dave got a sinking feeling when he realized what the e-mails were about. He had been cited by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for illegally sharing music over the Internet using LimeWire, a peer-to-peer downloading program.
The messages - one from UConn and another from the RIAA's lawyers - told Dave he had 20 days to settle the claim by paying the RIAA $3,000. If he chose not to settle, he would be sued.
"I was shocked," Dave remembered, shaking his head. "I knew this wasn't going to go away and I was in some serious trouble.
"What I didn't get was I had LimeWire but never used it," he continued. "I never download at campus, but people downloaded off of me."
But just sharing 109 songs for others to download was enough for the RIAA to target him, along with 24 other UConn students, in their latest round of "pre-litigation settlement letters."
"One-hundred and nine songs," Dave said. "People I know have thousands of songs. I guess [the RIAA] is trying to make a point."
That relatively small number of songs came at a high price. Dave wrestled with the choice of paying the $3,000 settlement or attempting to fight the claim in court.
But the chances of defeating the RIAA in court are slim, according to a statement by University Information Technology Services (UITS) Chief Information Officer Michael Kerntke.
"Several of these cases have proceeded to court and to date the RIAA has prevailed in each of them," Kerntke wrote. "A recent court decision awarded an amount in excess of $200,000 to the RIAA."
For those who have taken their RIAA cases to court, the RIAA has sought $750 in damages for each illegally shared song. In Dave's case, the total damages for his 109 songs could have totaled upwards of $80,000. Considering the risks and legal costs, he grudgingly opted to pay the $3,000 without going to court.
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