Now upon searching for the Settlement
Support center in Washington State, we see
that they are the shadowy stooge for RIAA
shakedowns.(I seem to recall that the mom
accuser of Michael Jackson received $100,000
for some such unprovable shoplifting
accusations and bodily roughening up.)
After you are yelled at and intimidated into
signing a supposed admission of guilt, you
are thereupon harrassed by mail for
escalating (and varying) amounts of
shakedown fees, none of which are legal.
Only if you fall for it! On the level of
jaywalking misdemeanours or removing the
tags from your mattress.
Biology senior added to list of alleged
file-sharers
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2004/12/08/PageTwo/News-Notes
UT biology senior Emily Simonek has been
added to a list in a New York federal court
by the Recording Industry Association of
America for allegedly illegally sharing
music. Simonek has never been to New York,
but she still received a letter from Time
Warner stating they had released her name
after lawyers subpeonaed them to reveal
identities tied to IP addresses.
"I was shocked because I'm such a casual
downloader. I didn't think this stuff was
really happening" she said.
Simonek has already contacted the Settlement
Support Center, a group that works
exclusively for the RIAA handling settlement
negotiations. She said attorneys she talked
to told her to hold off on settling because
her case had a good chance of getting thrown
out. The Settlement Support Center declined
to comment. Representatives from the RIAA
and Time Warner's Corporate Office did not
call back.
- Andrew Tran
Judge orders Villanova U. to deliver names
in RIAA case
Penn and Drexel U. brace for similar fates,
rulings expected soon
By elizabeth thomas
http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/06/03/40beb79d96c2b
June 3, 2004
Penn students who have illegally downloaded
and shared music files online are starting
to bite their nails.
Any day now, their names could be handed
over to the courts with a list of other
alleged illegal file sharers who use Penn's
internet service, PennNet, to trade music
and movie files. The Recording Industry of
America Association is in the midst of a
sweeping series of lawsuits that encompass
file-sharing students at area universities.
Right now, the lawsuit identifies those sued
solely by their computers' Internet Protocol
addresses.
The only thing standing between the court
and the actual names of the Penn students
involved in the lawsuit is a judge for the
Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania. The
judge has yet to rule on a motion for
expedited discovery originally filed at the
end of March of this year.
If granted, the motion legally requires the
University to hand over the names that
correspond to the IP numbers.
"The courts move at their own timeline,"
said Robert Terrell, an associate general
counsel for Penn.
"You can't predict when it will be ruled
on," he added.
For Villanova University students, whose
case was assigned to a different judge, the
waiting is over.
"The judge has issued a ruling, granting the
motion for discovery," said Debbie Fickler,
a member of Villanova's general counsel.
Drexel University's case was assigned to yet
a third judge. Laurie Bachich, an attorney
on Drexel's general counsel, has not yet
received word of a ruling on the motion.
"They keep telling me another few weeks,"
she said. She estimates that it will take
two weeks.
Still, the Drexel students who will be sued
have been notified.
"The university knows who the students are,
and it can give them a heads up and time to
prepare," Bachich said.
"Then the students can contact the company
to settle."
Once contacted, the RIAA referred all of the
Drexel cases to the Settlement Support
Center, a group of lawyers who specialize in
settling.
Bachich is unsure of the students' plans,
but she said that their attorneys "took the
Settlement Support Center number and
information."
The number of college students sued thus far
is low. Drexel had only three students whose
IP addresses were identified by the RIAA.
The RIAA has been initiating lawsuits
against illegal file sharers since last
fall. Most who have been sued choose to
settle at an average cost of $3,000 per
individual.
Tom Barger
pepe512000
jsk2001
