By Bill Evans

A lot of people submitted links to the story written by the AP's Ted Bridis in which he states the RIAA is thinking of offering Amnesty to file traders who "admit they illegally share music files across the Internet, promising not to sue them in exchange for their admission and pledge to delete the songs off their computers."

THE RIAA DOES NOT REPRESENT ALL COPYRIGHT HOLDERS.
This is very important to remember. The RIAA only represents the performance rights, not songwriters or publishers. While the RIAA could let you off of the hook, so to speak, it has no authority to prevent songwriters and publishers from sueing you. And some of then love to pile it on when lawsuits are filed.

AS OF THIS MOMENT THE RIAA, hasn't said anything about the program, nor released any detail about the supposed program. According to the article, RIAA spokeswoman Amy Weiss had, "No comment"

THE RIAA HAS NO AUTHORITY TO PROTECT YOU FROM CRIMINAL CHARGES.
Remember Dmitry Skylrov? He was a Russian programmer arrested at DEFCON based on a DMCA complaint by ADOBE, who later withdrew their complaint. The criminal copyright charges weren't dropped, but continued even after Adobe removed their support. In the end, Skylrov had to plea bargain to be able to go back home, having already spent several months in jail for doing something that was perfectly legal in the country in which he lived where he developed the program he was arrested for.

WHAT HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT THE PROGRAM THUS FAR is that the RIAA will require that you download a form, have it notarized and send it along with a picture id to the RIAA admitting to downloading files; and, that you've removed all files from your PC and destroyed all CDRs that contain their represented music. But any details are pure speculation at this point.

THE AMNESTY PROGRAM WON'T COVER THOSE PEOPLE THE RIAA HAS ALREADY ISSUED SUPOENAS AGAINST.
If you're on the list, you're still screwed.

THE RIAA CAN"T BE TRUSTED
Just recently, Matt Oppenheim of the RIAA stated the RIAA isn't bound under Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful search and seizure (in refering to the Jane Doe case).

In other words, they can change their mind at any point. And they'll already have your photo ID and a written admission of guilt. Do you really want to give them this info?

Bottom line - wait until offers are actually made before making a decision. And don't do anything based on speculation or 'trial balloons' floated by the RIAA to reporters who favor their cause.

Check with an attorney before accepting the RIAA offer.

My money says they'll state, "Don't do it !!!!"

Looks like they're playing "Good cop, bad cop."

EXCELLENT AND MUCH NEEDED POST BILL!
I agree completely. You have to remember who the RIAA are. They are snakes, plain and simple. Cary-Sue is a copyright lawyer. You folks think that the civil suits are bad? You admit to criminal copyright infringement and you are open to prosecution under the NET Act, and that is a felony with serious federal prison time.
I don't mean to be harsh, but if anyone takes part in this program, you are a fool..sorry, but that's my honest opinion. Just think about this a minute. You've got a group that has, for quite some time, been bugging the Department of Justice to go after downloaders criminally. Around the world, they regularly associate and "assist" Interpol, and the head of this bunch is a lawyer. Hmmm, reckon you can trust them not to just turn over your notarized affidavit to the authorities? If they did, whatcha gonna say "B-B-B-B-ut you PROMISED CARY!" ...he'd just turn those big, bloated collagen filled looking lips of his into a smirk and say "Too bad, you shouldn't have broken the law and confessed". I don't think anyone here would take part, but for folks just cruising through here and thinking...hmmm, that's a cool offer...better think again boyz and girlz. AMNESTY IS JUST ANOTHER WAY OF GETTING YOU TO CONFESS!
~code

coe was much nicer than I would have been. Anyone taking such an offer from the riaa is not only a fool but they deserve what they will get. That's a little like going into a red light district in your favorite town, taking your clothes off and saying "OK rape me" and then being surprised when it happens.

I'd really like to tell the boy named sue what I think of their amnesty offer but instead I think I'll just record it in MP3 format, disguise it as an Eminem song and put it on Kazaa. That way he can subpoena me into court and I can tell him there.

I'm sorry I meant Code was much nicer.. (damn fat fingers)

Trial balloon or BS? I vote BS.

"in exchange for their admission and pledge to delete the songs off their computers."

This is the same as the hash marks thing. They want people to not just stop, but also to delete everything. They need sales of old music to go up.

be sure, if they can they will still sue you, but they want to seem like good people.

I think they have forgotten WHO HAS THE REAL POWER HERE.

It it time to increase their punishment. Stop buying CD's.

No, "one or two CD's a year" is NOT okay.

Pure BS. I agree with the good cop bad cop theory. I feel like it is just a way for them to try to look good in the eyes of the court and media. "See we tried to give the chance to come clean and promise not to do it again, but yet the continued to do it."

I believe that this will just infuriate some consumers.

It looks to me like the RIAA is wasting a lot of good money on their PR budget.

Everything they do is starting to look more and more schizoid, even to the casual observer.

If this is all part of a plan, it's a pretty lame one.

I agree, spracky, they're starting to piss me off even more, if that's possible.

Predictions:
They are starting to panic "A LITTLE" right now. You panic, and your actions get a bit frenetic. Here's what I predict. Starting around the end of September, first of October, expect to see lots of RIAA sponsored ads on all media, saying "piracy is bad, it hurts the artists and the little man". Expect to start seeing these amnesty ads around October 7th. Then, expect to see law enforcement come into play. I expect you will see a couple of arrests around Oct or early Nov.
WHY? They have found out that the boycott is NOT going away. They did this price slashing to get the folks that are NOT hardcore back. They are doing the amnesty to try to stem the boycott, and to act like they are trying to make up with customers. And, the deal with law enforcement? They will try to SCARE everyone into amnesty participation (good cop/bad cop). Ya gotta understand that a lot of music outlets, are riding the razors edge of failure. They MUST make up for lost sales between Oct 1 and December 27th, otherwise, they are going to have to close their doors.

Believe me, even if the average American has no idea this boycott is going, Sherman and crew know QUITE WELL. They have most certainly had toadies monitoring the boards, and also, may have them occasionally pop up as members, trying to moderate our fervor. So, SHERMAN KNOWS! And, the RIAA is scared.

We need to make sure that everyone that uses p2p sees this article, I may turn it in to a document and put on a p2p network. Maybe we should all do this so we can get the word to ppl using p2p that this amnesty thing is not a good idea and to not belive the bulls**t

THE RIAA IS STARTING TO WORRY, THEY WILL FALL AND WE WILL BE BETTER OF WITH OUT THEM

I dont know whether to be offended that they're that evil or they really underestimate our intelligence.

More the reason to boycott their ass.

People...Verbalize your boycott out in public!!!

Place HUGE POSTERS TO THIS WEBSITE...GO TO EVERY KIOSK IN YOUR AREA/CITY AND PLASTER IT SO IT WONT BE MISSED.

NEW YORK AND CHICAGO ARE MY TARGET LIST RIGHT NOW WITH PLENTIFUL PUBLIC KIOSKS.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD OUTSIDE OF THIS SITE.

Sorry for shouting

Looks like the RIAA blinked first. Sorry to quote army doctrines, but when you see your enemy starting to crumble this is the time to hit harder.
BOYCOTT, BOYCOTT and BOYCOTT

What a lame thing to wake up to today! If I hadn't seen it on the CNN site I would have thought it was another joke!

Who in their right minds would go along with such an asinine thing? Sign here and we'll go easy on you? Give me a break!

One more thing to bring to the table at Tech TV's 2 hour file sharing debate on Sept 12th. pepe

ahem. (in my best Mr. Rogers' voice)


"Can you say desperate, boys and girls? I knew that you could."



my apologies to Mr. Rogers, but it seemed to fit here.

you got it indie will start his weekend in new mexico

Battle update RIAA - 0, People - 2, In doing the math, with universal dropping the cost of cd's, that is obviously going to put a little dent into the RIAA's income, the RIAA has to ask itself when is the sueing going to stop? I can log onto Kazaa right now and there is 4 million people still on it, where is the money going to come from to sue EVERYBODY, I think this is a tactic they don't want to use but are for 2 reasons, 1, you look like an ass sueing everybody and their mother (which is killing your comsumer base) and 2, you are going to go bankrupt in the process. I don't care how many billions of dollars they are making a year (ok yeah I do, but it's only when it's less than the year before) it's not enough to sue everyone and stop P2P networking. It might be cheaper to make threat firsts to the "big file sharers" and flood the tv with advertising against file sharing. They would probably be happy if only 1 million pepople shared, not 60 million. Sorry if this sound a little hokey pokey, my brain is fried from my stupid programming homework >8(

if you really think you are in trouble just get rid of the stuff on your own and the problem is solved . dont admit anything or signing on the dotted line will be your own undoing

The RIAA is engaged in insanity. Anything you do to aid and abet that insanity ultimately allows them to exist for awhile longer. Having repeatedly broken their promises to both artists and consumers, there is absolutely no reason to cooperate with them now-my advice to anyone who found themselves in this boat would be to slug it out, even if it were my own son. Give them no extra ammunition to shoot back at you.

Ok, so there are 1600 people supposedly going to court in the near? future and now they're hoping to get 60 million signed letters of confessions?

Metinks they are starting to see the futility of their actions. People, they are scared and really don't know what to do next. Crying and Begging might be a good guess. Sucks to be them! pepe

Its sort of like pulling the plug in a bath tub full of dirty soap scumy water. The sucking sound of the last bit of scum going down the drain!

Great thread....they (R.I.A.A.) are "snakes in the grass"!!

Be well.......

This reminds me of the high noon movie or gunfight at the ok corral. Here's an idea. We get the riaa to tear up those 1600 supena's, and lay down their lawsuits, and we'll consider their offer ....NOT! (sorry for the double post) but this just struck me as too weird! pepe

Amnesty huh? The only thing we need amnesty from are their stupid ideas. This is like a judicial Simon Says"Simon says anyone with illegal mp3s are free to go...who has illegal mp3s? Ooops!! You're busted, we didnt say Simon Says who has illegal mp3s" I'd rather sit back and watch the sideshow which is the RIAA pass on by.

Look Out !!! Signed affidavits are very dangerous ... I know, because I got pulled in on a 'third party' lawsuit after making true statements that a defendant 'stole' and 'copied' my circuit design which was developed for the plaintiff. Lawsuit was dropped but cost me over $11,000.00 in attorney fees (retainer was $10,000.00).

Interesting how they offer to not sue you with a civil proceeding....
As a police officer, I can't help but notice that they amnesty doesn't extend to any possible criminal charges.
In addition, they only represent their own interests, and not the interests of anyone else who may be involved.
THIS IS NOT UNCONDITIONAL IMMUNITY!!

Now I've see everything. Are these guys kidding? The sad thing is, there are people who are actually going to bite.
****************************************
Does anyone know anything about www.downloadmatrix.com? They claim to offer downloads from private servers so you don't have to file share. Has anyone checked this out yet?

bj9030- welcome to the board and great post! Folks need to understand that the NET Act is different from the DMCA. The NET (no electronic theft) Act deals with CRIMINAL copyright infringement. One difference is that under the NET ACT (http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/hr2265.html) people must get some kind of financial reward for copyright infringement, and it has to be a certain amount within a 180 day period.
Problem is, for sharers, it says that receipt of OTHER copyright materials, shall be interpreted as financial gain.

You can get up to 3 years in prison under NET, and "victims" are able to give an "impact statement". I can just see Cary-Sue crying and sobbing, and claiming how your downloading cause millions of people to lose their jobs.

Grrrrrr...the thought of Cary-Sue makes me nauseous...

Anyway, this fight is about our freedoms.."CHANGE THE LAWS, OR THE LAWS WILL CHANGE YOU!" Get registered and ready to vote. Stay legal, and BOYCOTT, BOYCOTT, AND OH, ONE MORE THING...BOYCOTT!
Love, Peace, Luck, Health, and Prosperity to all freedom loving citizens!
~code

..and another wrinkle..just in case some of this comes to trial, would't the riaa whine that they offered a "way out" of this "criminal activity," and the defendant didn't take advantage, therefore they could throw the book (or, in their case, garbage can,) at them. 1. Prove actual criminality, 2. Prove actual loss in actual dollars, you SOMAB!TCHE$!!

NO, NO, NO! This is bad. Even if they truly do let you of the hook once you know they will be watching you. They will have all your info plus the fact that you do have "criminal tendencies". They will just sit around a wait for people to do it again. Then all bets are off. Its not like they really believe that just because someones says they erased the files they actually do. They will want to make sure you did. They would be stupid if the started putting people in the clear just because they say their sorry. Thats too generous for the RIAA. They are professional screw em' over guys. Its the like the tale of the scorpion and the frog. Your going to get stung because " its my nature said the scorpion."

Jazzmary...if you get a chance, e-mail me at:
codewarrior_wins@hotmail.com
thanks
~code

You know what. I've charged my mind. Someone please do this. Lets see if someone gets royally screwed. Maybe if they start screwing people they said they wouldn't that will be the thing dirty enough to make people take notice. RIAA now taking applications for martyrs.

ConsumersAbyss- if possible, e-mail me
at :
codewarrior_wins@hotmail.com
thanks.
~code

check boycott-riaa.com stats at www.alexa.com

Movin up............

Oooohhhh baby, I love starting my days by reading that the RIAA is beginning to crack.

This is only the first public indication that the RIAA knows they're losing. The real pain will come for them over the next two months. Remember, we're only about a week away from the pacbell case.

I think anyone who signs the amnesty form is making a grave mistake, putting just another nail in the coffin of their privacy.

And how will this stop p2p sharing? Even more important, how will this amnesty improve the RIAA's bottom line? There's absolutely no reason to believe this PR move will achieve either of those.

I say go ahead and delete any download files on your own, then not download anymore. We've already seen proof that a decline in p2p use leads to declines in CD sales. This, like every other RIAA tactic, will backfire. The damn morons.

The whole point of fighting the subpeana process is to protect our privacy. Why in god's name would we sacrafice our privacy willingly? There can be no truce in this war. We We can not let the RIAA stomp all over our rights. I suggest that when the RIAA puts up this amnesty deal, boycott-riaa.com put up and viewable online pledge to not allow ourselves to be intimidated by the RIAA, and that this movement is much more than a bunch of people who want to download music consequence free. Rather, we are here to stand together against a corporation who's taken the law into it's own hands to harass, criminalize, and infringe the rights of millions of Americans.

Sorry for the spelling errors, I was furiously typing in the heat of the moment.

Funny, in todays USATODAY(Life section) the headline reads"Swappers beware: RIAA set to swoop" and goes on to say how they are firing off their subpoenas and ramping up for the lawsuits (old news for sure....process servers should be delivering their "mail" next week

....kinda goes against the feel good amnesty program doesnt it? They have more mood swings than Mike Tyson

This is going to be used much like the price slashng. It's a tool to get sympathy from a judge or jury. "We slashed prices and still they didn't buy. We offered amnesty and still they didn't buy. Our weak numbers MUST then be from downloading." This is a ploy PLAIN AND SIMPLE. It is nothing more than another move in their legal battle, and there will be more moves along this line to come.

Yeah, I'll fill one out. "My name is Haywood Jablowme. I live on Jack Daniels way." I'll be sure to enclose a photo of Carrot top along with the Draconian profile. Idiots.

Now I am outraged.
They are beginning to believe the picture they paint of the American public (Illiterate inbreed idiots). Spread enough lies and you begin to believe them.
How stupid do they think we are? Here sign this paper that you stole my brothers car and I won't file on you, naturally my brother will, once he has a signed confession.
This is the same attitude of my ISP when I recieved a notice. I was innocent and could prove it, my ISP said just sign the letter and your cable will be back on tomorrow, thats what everyone else does. I threatened to sue all three involved parties and they dropped the case.
Do I need to send a blank check with my confession and picture? Please spell my name right when you post my picture on national tv.
Reminds me of when my brother shot me and I got in trouble for bleeding on the carpet.

sorry folks...just read all the posts at once and envisioned 60 million affidavits with pictures and names and addresses saying that they were guilty of downloading and are sorry and would never do it again. Ya gotta be kidding...since they would then have a notarized confession along with a one picture mug shot...i can see them needing to "drop by" to inspect your computer to make sure you have done your part by auditing it...and should they want to, they could turn the info over to the FBI for prosecution under the NET ACT...yeah...yeah...that's a GREAT idea...sure...that't the ticket!
~code

It doesn't take much for me to get angry these days. I was watching a CNN report covering RIAA amnesty program this morning. There were so many inaccuracies in this reporter's story that it The "cocky" older reporter, who called file sharers, and I quote, "file stealers." Along with overting slipping in his opinion into the piece, the reporter also had several inaccuracies in his story when he said that file sharers on the supoena list remain immune from prosecution if they filled out the form.
It's pure laziness on that reporter's part, not only to not report the story fairly, but accurately. But then again, what much more can we expect from the major news organizations whose subsidiaries are RIAA member. I think they should all take down their "news" monikers and replace them with the word "infotainment." At least that would be more honest.

Heh, maybe someone should sue CNN and its affiliates for the violation of NOT REVEALING THEIR PARENT COMPANY when reporting the RIAA story, most of whom are RIAA member companies. By law, they're required to do so. It probably would be considered a bogus lawsuit. It would still be funny nonetheless.

On another note, I agree with earlier posts. This is a two pronged approach by the RIAA. Cary-Sue and crew know they'll get very bad publicity from filing these individual lawsuits. The RIAA is using this amnesty program as a way squelch public outrage.

Some people will naively photocopy their identities and send into the RIAA out of fear. But, you don't know what they'll do with that information. Who knows...the way that things are going in this country, they could use this as a way to black list people from getting certain jobs they apply for. I know that this sounds almost paranoid on my part, but I believe that anything is possible these days.

I just watched another report about this on CNN and honestly, one of the newspersons couldn't keep from laughing. They wre trying to hide it, but even so, it shows they are not immune to the ridiculousness of this whole sick scene either. pepe

Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. If the RIAA does not evolve, it will die.

Immunity, schmunity. They can download a kiss and store it on the hard-drive that is my lilly-white butt.

This is a total scam.

BTW: CNN is owned by Ted Turner, who is affiliated with several RIAA companies.

I have nothing really to say, except that I agree with everyone here. This is a total sham. Who's to say that Cary-Sue (I LOVE that name!) won't change his mind?

Working in the PR biz, I can say that this smacks of a company who is desperately trying to fool the public into thinking they are "good guys" who want to "come clean." Please. This PR rep can see right through it. I've seen (and implemented) a few good PR tricks in my time, and this is one of the dumbest, most transparent ones I've ever seen.

And, it smells a bit like "entrapment." They say they are not able to stop other people from suing you. Who's to say they aren't just going to hand over your information to those people?

Another thought: I'll sign their immunity agreement when Cary-Sue promises to sign an agreement to KISS MY ASS.

Yeah this amnesty crap is bullshit. I think there true goal in offering this is to get a half million scared citizens to publically say that file sharing is a crime. That way the can us it in court as a general consensus to back up their position. It more fallacious evidence they will use to suck every dime they can out of the consumer. Anyone remember braveheart? What was the one thing he would not do? Admit he committed crimes against the king because in order to have committed crimes against the king he would have needed to admit that it was his king. As he said... "I've never sworn allegiance to you." I never sworn allegence to the RIAA and I never will.

On another note, I'm not sure how to post a news article. This article cought my eye today while I was on CNN.com;
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/09/03/cd.future/index.html

It's interesting because it not only presents data from a supposed study that completely contradicts what other studies have found. But it also states at the end that the goal of the organization is to get people to pay for access to entertainment and never actually own the right to it. IE you'de better through out your VCR because time-shifting your favorite TV shows will be outlawed. I also find it funny how the qoutes blaintenly state that without the assistance and intervention of the government the industry would be non-existant. Makes me wonder why we really need them if we need to expend tax dollars just to have them around. Kinda in-efficient wouldn't you say...

Sorry, sosueme, but Ted stepped down from CNN's board of directors earlier this year. The Time Warner company actually bought out the majority share of his company a few years back.

This whole amnesty deal is hilarious. Do these idiot's actually believe people will fall for their trick. The RIAA has to be the biggest buch of hypocritical dummies the business world has ever seen. Can anyone tell me when (in the history of business) a company has sued it's own customer base because of their own incompetence. They have overcahrged us for years for a CD that may only contain 1 or 2 good songs.

I see it this way. I have been buying music since the days of the LP. I had a nice collection of Lp's & Tapes. Alot of those LP's & Tapes got damaged for whatever reason i.e.. Record Scratched, Tape ate up in cassette player. Because of those damages I figure since I bought those albums already I should be able to download songs that I liked off the albums without being harassed by the RIAA. If they expect me to buy those albums all over again they are CRAZY.

Also, the RIAA claims you can't do anything with a CD that you purchase i.e... copy,download to computer, make MP3's out of songs, sell your copies. If this is the case in business, why then can you buy a car, trick it out( put on bigger rims. paint job, put on a kit, spoiler) and not have the auto makers come after you for changing the way their car was produced. Furthermore, you can sell said car and make a profit and not have to give (Say Ford) any of the money from the sale.

I aslo belive the RIAA does not want to goto court and have a jury trial. No one in this country likes big business especially after the debacles of Enron & Worldcom. We hate big business trying to tkae down the little guy no matter the circumstances. Think of it, big
business RIAA trying to sue a college student who is working his/her way thru college making minimum wage. What do you think a jury (of you peers) will think. This is how I got thru college and it was hard but rewarding when I received my diploma. I think they are just trying to use bully tactics to scare everyone into settling out of court. If you get subpeonaed fight back with a jury of your peers, you have a better chance that way instead of settling out of court. If the RIAA is going to try and bankrupt you better to go out fighting.

The only thing evil needs to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

If you stand for nothing you will fall for anything.

Peace Brothers & Sisters

Whoops ... sorry. I forgot about Ted Turner.

Maybe I should change my username to "Big Dork Duckface"

This is nothing more than a move for public support. Everybody is either neutral on this issue, or completely and utterly enranged. Most people are neutral, simply because they aren't really aware of it. Doing this makes headlines and all of a sudden it's not just "Piracy is bad" but also "We'll let the pirates go if they will just confess."

Screw off you little thieves. Where's the RIAA's confessions? Where's the headline about "Consumers will buy again when RIAA apology for price fixing makes headlines"? Now they're really going for public support. The poor RIAA.

It's just so hard to get all of the bad people! If you just promise to not do it anymore.. that's all we really want!

Meanwhile, the public: Oh come on. You're getting off the hook for free! What's wrong with these people who continue to download!!??

Fuck this. I don't care if it is "for real." I don't care if they let anyone go for anything. I'd rather more people go straight into court. Public opinion = money. And they saw what negative opinion does. They will continue to see it. But now the "neutral-ness" seems to be getting broken by the RIAA and it's little media buddies.

We aren't buying. It's efforts like OURS that are keeping cd sales down. What would this do worst case scenario.. everybody that reads the paper goes out and buys cd's out of sympathy?

Yeah right. Money's money. And we won't give it. Neither will anybody else. They'll just cry about it, if they even believe this.

It is "for real" by the way. Because by letting numerous file sharers go, they will look like saints.

Nevermind the fact that they were only going to sue far less than 1% of file sharers to begin with, and this is just an effort to utilize the remaining 99% in a way that benefits them.


Also in today's news. I was reading a USA Today at lunch (my reading at lunch wasn't the news..). Here:

UMG is cutting prices. "... BMG and EMI declined comment on UMG's plan to cut $12.98 its current list of prices of $16.98 to $18.98. The wholesale price for most CD's will go from $12.02 to $9.09.


I wonder why? Maybe because file sharing never hurt them, but our boycott is kicking the crap out of them. What a coincidence this comes the same time as the battle for public support begins.

Meanwhile, the public: "And lower prices! Why won't these downloaders stop hurting the record companies!!?" Because the music sucks. We've been lied to, our music has been controlled for too long and because George Z. lost all of his money to this cause.

Maybe some of us should stand in the middle of the road and torch the daily news.

doesn't matter, ted turner's still an idiot

Ted Turner owns some land up near where I live, and he really IS an idot.

Let the RIAA come after us.....we the people will stand together and fight against the tyranny of the fascist RIAA

By the way as I was writing my post I was under attack by someone at MIT, can you belive that. I did a trace and it traced back to the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science. I just notified their abuse person and should be getting a call back. Whoever it was tried to attack about 5 times in less than a minute. I thought they were on our side. This is not cool. Just a heads up.

Amnesty program, lower CD prices....all to garner sympathy for the RIAA. They know the are losing the PR battle and that the boycott is catching on. Just wait until the lawsuits actually start and we read in the papers everyday about how some poor consumer has had to settle with the RIAA for tens of thousands of dollars. Also, there's the Verizon, PacBell, and Jane Doe lawsuits. The bad publicity from all this is going to damage the recording industry's image even further. I expect to see CD sales to fall much further as a result. Looks like there will just be a lump of coal in the RIAA's stocking this Christmas. Boo hoo.

Looks like BS and smells like Sh*t

I think it would be hilarious if someone took a copy of a Cary-sue picture, and did a phony affidavit and sent it in saying he downloaded a bucket load of copyrighted RIAA files, and promised he erased them, and cross my heart,hope to die, will never ever do it again...Just for a goof that would be hilarious!
~code

hahaha, Code.

Maybe a handwritten confession, a dozen roses addressed to Cary-sue, and a box of chocolates. How about a singing telegram? "I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to make you cry . . ."

I am a new member and would like to join the boycott against the RIAA. What do think about pooling some money together and organizing an ad campaign in favor of the boycott? I think it is more than critical to get the word to the public. Just a thought.

You know, they act like everyone is afraid of them, when that is not the case. Keep downloading.

P.S.
Be careful what you say on here peoplepower, especially about fascism. I made a comment equivalating the RIAA's actions to fascism,and I got flamed because I was supposedly talking about A.H. or Deutschland. Thanks averageconsumer and nyer82, that was quite kind of you. If either of you thought before you made your comments, you would know that fascism is an idea, not a concept invented by anyone in the last 100 years. Benito Mussolini was a fascist too, and he didn't kill Jews, nyer82. So don't go jumping down my throat for saying something perfectly logical that makes sense. We're all on the same team here.

i'll defer to Bill or Jon on that one
~code

Will downloading the amnesty form allow the RIAA to capture your IP address ?

Just a thought.

Sounds like a scam to me.

Why the hell couldn't they just have lowered their prices in the first place, and said something like, "we don't support pirating of music, but file trading can be a good thing for the music industry. We're working on adapting our marketing strategy to the 21st Century".

Dumbasses...

Hey, Kestral, it was a joke, lighten up.

You weren't even the one who mentioned ol' Adolf by name. I'm well aware the Axis powers didn't invent fascism.

I figured the reference to Godwin's Rule would be the tipoff, but it looks like I was mistaken. That reference is a longstanding tongue-in-cheek comment used quite often in newsgroups whenever anyone mentions Adolf as part of the discussion.

So, sue me all to hell and back for having an obtuse sense of humor.

I don't give a rip if you call the RIAA Satan, and refer to Cary-Sue as Caligula of the crumbling Roman Empire.

I saw this on Fox News Channel today, The Big Story. They do a lot of RIAA stories. This has got to be a joke.

Basically they want you to admit that you're a pirate??? Screw you RIAA.

Could this "amnesty" be a guise ? I mean maybe getting the IP's and names getting too expensive ? Could it be that they realize that the fight isn't acctually worth it to them ?

I beg anyone who reads this DO NOT FALL FOR THIS !!!
You might as well tattoo "here I am , come screw me RIAA" on your forehead.

WABBITMAN

DO NOT BE STUPID

DO NOT ADMIT YOUR QUILT IN WRITTEN FORM.

THE RIAA "AMNESTY" IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING.

nope not BS SO it is true techtv live just reported that the amnesty program is real

Regarding the RIAA's amnesty ...

"It's one thing to go up against illegal file sharers, another to go up against the ACLU," he told the E-Commerce Times. "I'm guessing the ACLU has a bit more money to spend" on protecting citizens from such an action.

Story here

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/31513.html

FIGHT TO THE END, and then KEEP fighting.

The RIAA has NO POWER over YOU!

Hi all, freaked to be here After reading this article I couldnt help but think of some of the old WW2 movies where the nazis are trying to pull a confession out of some hapless prisoner - "Sign zee paperz..."

the comment about them not held liable to the fourth is pure bullshit! the fourth amendment applies to ALL searches not just police FBI CIA NSA ATF or any other government supported security/law enforcement organization. whats next, trying to phase out the first?

Oh, wow, where's the dotted line for me to sign up? I know a sure thing when I hear it!
(And I just love sleeping on railroad tracks and believing "Read-my-lips" promises, too!)

The whole thing really is so lame; so Clinton-esque! Trial balloons, advance leaks, damage control, legal maneuvering, PR tactics -- yadda-yadda. Oh, yeah, they're posturing, alright -- deceptively! Next thing before you know it, they'll be parsing words and saying that everything depends on what "is" is.
What a travesty, huh! At first this amnesty crap seems like just so much spreadable manure, but after some thought and reading all the good insights from all the postings on this page, I suspect it is part of a clever plan -- a plan that can potentially give them an advantage either of two ways. But I'll save the details for a future post.

With tactics that would make P.T. Barnum proud, this is just one of a succession of schemes concocted by the RIAA.
The best part, for us, though, is that we can read a few things between the lines. . .
Their profits are down; they're hurting; they face imminent court battles; not everything is going to go their way and they know it; yeah, the heat's on; heh, heh! I say, good, they're hurting, but they need to hurt some MORE for a LONGER time. Let's not give in.
Who knows what evil l-l-lurks-s-s in the hearts of the RIAA? [The Shadow Knows . . .]

If it's a trick, we aren't falling for it.
If it's an olive branch, it's not green enough.
It it's intended to be a compromise, it won't wash.

Even if it's a public relations ploy to spin for their news media lapdogs, and/or if it's a plan for their lawyers to use in court, we should remain unmoved from our standing BOYCOTT position.

In the words of ConsumerAbyss: (Watch out or) the RIAA will sting you like a scorpion; "It's my nature," said the scorpion [in the tale of the scorpion & the frog].

Therefore, uh, with all due respect, ladies and gentlemen of The Boycott crusade, may I highly recommend for your worthwhile consideration:
NO CONFESSIONAL MARTYRS FOR THE RIAA!!
NO HUMAN GUINEA PIGS FOR THE RIAA!!
NO LEGAL FODDER FOR THE RIAA!!
NO SURRENDERING OF OUR LIBERTIES TO THE RIAA!!
NO PURCHASING OF NON-USED RIAA CD's!!

If the Riaa really wants to promote good will, the first step would be to drop the 1600 law suits that are pending against the individuals who got "caught for stealing". The second would be to sit down with people who represent US, it was supposed to be our congress and senate but I guess they do not represent us any longer(we don't have enough money, but we can vote, much more powerful than money) Our represenitave would let the Riaa know that we want a fair price, artist to get the majority of the profit and to open, at a minimal cost if not for free, libraries that are ten years old or older( could be five, but more like seven the lasting affect of a patent, I think that's how long a patent last but not sure) once this happens and it will not at the rate the RIAA is going their can be no stop to the boycott until we as a people are heard. In my opinion the comercials that state we as "pirates" are destroying the music industry, is completely wrong. The thing that has desroyed the industry is money. Music is a GOD GIVEN TALENT to be shared with any one who wants to listen, and a GOD GIVEN RIGHT to enjoy. No man or woman or man made government can ever take that away from us, for it was given by God who ever your God may be (and no, money is not God, it is money) but given to you a person. When money hungery people leave the music the music will be better. I have a question I would like to ask all the "STARS" when did being a musician, singer, artisit end for you and the business stsnd in. It had to at sometime, because for me writting a song is one of the greatest gifts I can give to any one.
Sorry for the long post and babbaling
but I don't get what the bitch is,(well I do and I am p***ed about it) and why a corporation ended up with control of music when it was given to me by a higher being than any of us.

While I like the idea of boycotting the RIAA.... I tend to feel that there are too many untouched by this. And that all the subpeonas and legwork is a corporate backed plan to slow down the file trading services just enough so that there is still revenue when each of the RIAA members gets their "legal" version of per song pay or subscription based system online. all about $$$$

Damn forgot to put this in
as Code warrior, Jazzmary2, I and Countless other have posted,
Register, educate, Vote
well good night my friends and talk with you Tomorrow

Yeah right. Send the RIAA an admission of guilt. Notorized with a photo id. Who could be so stupid.

Just a ploy to find even more people to sue

We aren't the only ones who think this is all BS, just look at this site:

http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/32327

Code - scroll down to the Spanish Inquisition! ROTFLMFAO!!!!!!!!!!

Amnesty, reminds me of an Eastwood movie. Jose. Whales. They gave amnesty to the soldiers, to gather them for an exicution.

Sorry averageconsumer, I didn't understand what you meant by the Godwin rule. I apologize. Although I will sue you...that seems popular these days. But I'll give you amnesty if you...uh....format your hard drive.

For a laugh, check this out:

http://overstated.net/media/RIAA_PSA.mpg

The RIAA will get you!!!

We are Americans…we do not succumb to fear! We will not fall to the latest lie of Amnesty! It is not their business to know what the American public has on their personnel computers. We will not confess to a fascist style of interrogation .A regime that has already been brought up on charges of stealing from the public for price gouging. Tactics like these were used against prisoners of war to get a public confession creating fear and false propaganda. Do not fall for it!

Remember!

If you do not buy then they will die! BOYCOTT

I wonder when the RIAA will change their dominant strategy from trying to salvage their failing moneymaking scheme to getting a new job.
Lately, their whole organization seems to be run either by crackheads, retards, or both.



(btw i am sorry for all previous typos, hehe)

what? amnesty from a privacy violator.. hahaha. nycfashiongirl lawyers start digging into how riaa gets its info and instead of corpus delecti and sue the downloadin mofos.. amnesty evolves..from the haze of impotency of the riaa. why dont they just make affordable good music out of the 20 year old cd technology and maybe they wud be making the big bucks agin (agin?? what a laugh)

what? amnesty from a privacy violator.. hahaha. nycfashiongirl lawyers start digging into how riaa gets its info and instead of corpus delecti and sue the downloadin mofos.. amnesty evolves..from the haze of impotency of the riaa. why dont they just make affordable good music out of the 20 year old cd technology and maybe they wud be making the big bucks agin (agin?? what a laugh)

This is insane.

IFeelFree that link was funny.. coming soon to a home near you..exactly how i pictured the riaa.

Okay, we cannot stress the word BOYCOTT to much, right?

Oh sure, all of us HERE agree that the RIAA is the most rediculous and facist/schizo phenomena of this Century, but what about other people?

Talk to your family, your friends, your fellow workers. Tell them that copyrights were not meant to be Gestappo tools to bind the masses. Level with them and ask them what they think about the potential problems here. Counter the RIAA propaganda by noting how the music industry is competing with other media, (DVD's, Games, etc.) in tough ecomomic times. Not how HIGH the prices are and how the price fixing might be the real problem and that file sharing is being made a SCAPEGOAT.

I think the boycott issue just has to be exploited to the maximum. In other words, we must take this to the level that: To buy CD's from anyone connected to or represented by the RIAA or anyone like them, is to finance the legal persecution of everyday, good people, just like YOU. Who would want to pay their hard earned money to put innocent people in financial jeopardy? How could anyone buy a CD knowing that it will give more money for litigation that will RUIN, not enhance, so many lives?

So, lets' get the show on the road! Time to ROCK AND ROLL! Let's take everyting the music used to teach and give a very BIG middle finger to the RIAA by taking it to the streets! Make some posters, spray some paint, tell your Mom, Dad, Uncles, Aunts, and anyone you can that this is NOT what music was meant to be. This is not about profits as much as it is about a Facist, bring them to their knees!

Now we need to add that nobody should be INTIMIDATED by a rediculous offer for an amnesty that is not required in any way. You are a consumer! You do NOT have to go to your local store, YET, and say, "I promise I will never shoplift here if you will give me amnesty!" That's pretty much where this could go if you let it. Every consumer of goods should SMASH this down and make it look really bad before it gets any kind of realistic foothold, or you are looking at a very bad future for you and your kids, and so on! I think even Grandma and Grandpa could understand and support that.

Get that list of labels here printed and spread it to the people you know. If we HIT the RIAA by totally diminishing the money they have to BUST us, they won't be so smug and powerful. They SHOULD NOT be so smug and poweful, ever.

There may be many ways to stop this, but the boycott is numero uno. And we WILL NOT offer any amnesty to the RIAA at all now. Get everyone to agree and understand and abide by the FACT that NO MORE CD's will be purchased by anyone who is reached by this litany, and the battle is won for now!

Can you do this? Yes you? I am doing that with a passion. That's the front, and the war, and the army, all in one fell swoop. Get over your RIAA music fix, cut them dry, and go spend your money on other things like Indy lables and games, or save it for when the RIAA falls to the ground in shame and defeat!

BOYCOTT EVERYTHING THAT IS RIAA AND SPREAD THE WORD AND THEY WILL DIE AS IF HIT BY AN ATOM BOMB!

You know what to do, so spend less time preaching to the choir here and spend a LOT more time spreading this message like a plague, like a Divine Revelation, like a Tsunami, and don't rest until you see the RIAA BEG for amnesty from US the conumers who pay their freekin' bills in the end!

We are going to win this if you do your part and make it your cause. We have to do this because that cause is not JUST about music, you know. Its about everything going on right now.

I think that this whole "amnesty" thing is another ploy by the RIAA to get people to openly confess their file-trading.

I can tell you right now, that I don't currently trade music files online, nor do I even use file-trading software.

I won't, until this whole mess gets resolved by either Congress or the courts.

I hope that, for those who are sued by the RIAA, that they will opt for a jury trial, and that those selected to be on the jury will be sympathetic to that person's cause.

I think that the RIAA needs to be taught a very HUMBLING lesson in HUMILITY!!

DeanSB2000

First off, let me say thank you. Now that's for all of you. For getting the info out there.yes i am a copyright holder that was passed down to me, thur my grandfather who died in 1941.then to my mom and now me. it really does not amount to much. 500-1000 a year depending on the year. bmg makes all the money. but that another story. i do not believe in downloading for free.yes download it listen to it delete it is ok.to make back up copies is ok. any way you want to make them. whether by downloading or copying your cds. now for itunes etc. i have a 2cd album with about 38 songs on it which cost me $22.00. now with these on line companies pay a fee and 99 cent a song. at 128 kbs.now in my book that's 38x99=$37.62 plus the monthly fees in some cases, and what ever restrictions they put on it. which is not fair to anyone it's just another way to charge more for their product. RIAA is getting over and it cost more. 5 cent a download and maybe a monthly fee is ok in my book.but it would have to be 320kbs or wave.128kbs is not a cd make.hey i do not have buy another cd ever again. from 1963 to the present. you could say close to 800 lps, tapes and cds.
i would never ever believe what the RIAA/MPAA ever said........ i am going to give you my name address phone number date of birth. a photo of myself and notarized it also.Hello, da, I'm off to see the wizard the wonderful wizard of I promise to delete all of it.my hard drive just got a touch of electro magnet. you should have seen the smoke delete what. i never had any.then say oh bye the bye you can not sue me now. "well my name is sue, what will you do. and now your all gonna die"well as for my address it's in the east river,cement feet you know, as for my phone # it's 555-1234, date of birth the first full moon of 1909, My photo will mickey mouse do for you it was notarized by minnie mouse,would you like to know what i wear also. i wear a black hat, black shirt and pants,with tails, black leather boots and two black Glock nines on my hip.they shoot spit balls of sue paper out.
1st step Boycott yes been doing it since 2000 haven't bought one since then. like a few songs here and there. but to buy a cd for $20.00 for one or two songs no way man just no way.step 2 is to use the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which calls for punishment of anyone who "intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or Exceeds Authorized Access" with fines and between one and five years in prison, depending on the charges,and the DMCA TITLE 17 > CHAPTER 12 > Sec. 1201 against them.they said they went into your putters and copied your files.what files did they copied? beside your mp3 files.did you give them the permission to copy all your files.by just having one file that you yourself wrote it's copyrighted .so is your putter.start filing under DMCA in every city in the USA.make them hire lawyers to go to each city.keep them in so much paper work.have them send you all the email between the companies that they hired.but only the ones pertaining to the infringements.have the court to order them to take the bots out of the net.to find out what data they have been collecting. where did it go in your computer. what did it do to that computer.did it crash it and you lost work ? well then then they are hackers and you will have to impose a penalty of $750 to$750,000 for each word lost. oh and bye to bye what i do get from BMG goes to my grandfathers foundation and given away each year to a elementary and high school musician.it helps them buy something better in their field of music. this rant is only an idea. which may not be right.since i am no where near being a lawyer.but it is the way i feel about riaa/mpaa if all else fails use ricco act,

Someone should tell nycfashiongirl's attorneys about the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Chapter 12, Section 1201 that hawk7771 mentioned.

MerylStryfe;
Sounds like a good idea!
(I wonder how to suggest this to her attorneys; let's see if Code or somebody reads your post.)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but back in June they said they were going to sue and have court dates by early August, then it was late August, then it was early September, well it's early September, no one is IN court, now they offer Amnesty? This whole thing is starting to sound like all bark and no bite to me.

I think they found out it isn't as easy as they thought it would be.

First, Boston and MIT tell them to go to hell, then Pac-Bell hauls them into court, and nycfashiongirl hires a lawyer, and all of a sudden they start squirming. Gutless wonders, if you ask me.

Amnesty? Yeah, right. They hope people are stupid enough to give them the very information they've been filing subpoenas for all along.

Time to crank up the boycott for the Christmas season. If you want to give the gift of music, give indie.

I don't care if all of these other thieving bastidges fall off the face of the earth. There's no way they have enough money to sue each and every perp they go after.

So far, only 1600 subpoenas? What happened to the firestorm they promised? As far as fear is concerned, my daugter's college friends laugh openly when I tell them to be careful about file sharing.

No one gives a rip about the RIAA any more. They should just walk off quietly into the woods and die somewhere.

I wonder who dreams this stuff up. Are they that naive to belive that everyone will spring for a letter a Poloroid, and a Notary to do this? Maybe the can set up booths at the colleges where you an sign up and get a free CD of Orrin Hatch's greatest hits.

I guess pigs are flying at RIAA headquarters.

LOL, and monkeys are flying out of my butt.

We will have to wait until the RIAA does something stupid enough to embarass their buddies in DC. And I think that's coming not too far off, the way they're going.

Once they piss off their paid-for congress members, all bets are off. Stranger things have happened. I didn't expect Pac-Bell and the Boston folks to tell them to get bent, either.

I'm hoping the boycott draws some real blood for the Christmas season. Let's how they fare then.

You see, this is not an amnesty but a cloaked way to invade the privacy of users by tricking consumers into individually and voluntarily give up name, address, age, music tastes and more. Who the hell is the RIAA to store my photo and personal information on their database. Info I'm sure they will pass on to the marketing departments of member record companies.

Story here

http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2003/amnesty.html

I agree. A successful boycott of a product during the holiday season would be brutal. I really hope and truly look forward to seeing what kind of financial damage we are capable of.

One of the things that has been pointed out in this so called "amnesty" is that the RIAA won't pursue legal action against those who "admit" to P2P downloading and send in their information. Since the RIAA is a clearing house for ALL major record labels, I would find it very difficult to believe that they would *NOT* pass that information on to the lable in question, which in turn could result in a lawsuit due to "admission of guilt" by way of the notarized letter.

I hope I am not repeating this, I didn't get to read through all of the comments in this section. I do find it very "Big Brother"-like for the RIAA to ask consumers to do this in order for an exchange of not being prosecuted. Does the average consumer understand that the DMCA's provision on accessing computers does put a question of voliation of the Computer Abuse and Fraud act which was passed before the DMCA? Also, reading the legal history of the courts, and understanding Marbury Vs Madison (please reference http://www.jmu.edu/madison/marbury/background.htm), the DMCA might be in for a constitutional challenge, of which, the RIAA is realising with Jane Doe filing a response to possibly go to trail.

Even though the RIAA has documented on how it had obtained the information, there still is a right-to-privacy issue, and no one in this country should have the ability to be ABOVE the law in order to have someone prosecuted for a crime that has allegedly taken place.

Even as a private citizen, we are still bound by our rights in the Constitution and the unalienable rights the 4th amendment gives us in our right to protect ourselves from illegal search and seizures. I'm sure the RIAA attorneys know this and that's why they are now backpedalling and offering American's the "opportunity" to "come clean and confess" - what a load of heaping cow dung.

Ok, I'm done ranting, who's next?

(P.s. the article on the iTunes song being sold on eBay, why aren't we posting news on it? Doesn't that concern our community at large?)

Hee Hee, I'm going to do this, I'm going to send them a picture of my ass, all notorized and professional, saying I downloaded all kinds of stuff, oh and sure I'll just out in the back yard and burn all my cdr's, right after I make new copies of em too. Oh and don't forget my addtional external hard drive, I'll burn that up too, maybe if we all send em pictures of our butts they will get the idea of where they can stick their "Sue Em All" campain. ROTFLMAO!

Who would want to buy any new CD's today.

There is a mad rush to exterminate the original 20-year CD for the 'copy protected' CD which is certainly defective and will not play on many computers or auto CD players. Sad part, most retailers will not even give you a refund for the defective CD.

These new CD's no longer conform to the original 'red book' standard and according to Philips (the creator of the CD standard) they may no longer be able to display the familiar CD logo.

Story here

http://wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50101,00.html

Not only do they want you to remove any mp3's downloaded on your pc, but they want you to destroy any cd's you already made, this is rediculous and whoever falls for such a low down filthy scam needs to have their head examined! Keep P2P download Kazaa K+ edition, the newest version features even stronger IP blockers and can be updated to prevent from future RIAA scuum.

===(R3VOLT)===

Foopah wrote: "Even though the RIAA has documented on how it had obtained the information, there still is a right-to-privacy issue, and no one in this country should have the ability to be ABOVE the law in order to have someone prosecuted for a crime that has allegedly taken place."
I agree, BUT:
Someone correct me if applicable, but I was under the impression that the RIAA are engaging these judicial cases on the civic level where criminal statutes are not necessarily relevant. RIAA has already said that certain of our amendment rights do not apply in civil courts;
I would disagree, of course, and hope that most judges would, too; but these days things are so crazy, all bets are off!
So, Foopah, when you mention "crime" here, I'm questioning whether this is part of thejudicial parley that's involved here. (Maybe Code or someone can speak to this issue in an authoritative way; I'd be very interested if they would.)

good post Hawk/ I have been talking about using USC TITLE 18,Part 1, Chapter 121, Sec. 2701, on the board a lot in the past. - For a long explanation and exploration, please check "Squeezing Sharman" in the CodeWarrior Forum. I didn't want to take too much space in the news area.

"Mr. Sherman,at long last, sir, have you no sense of decency? Have you no shame?"
~code

Hi all Yeah...this is a pretty pathetic effort on the part of the RIAA. Anyone that falls for this is nuts! Has anyone heard of anyone taking this "deal"..lol. When I first read of it yesterday..it sounded like some sort of joke...hard to believe that they think anyone will take them up on it.

What I believe it's.... BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS! BS!
They are DESPERATE. Their Amnesty offer is a DEATH WARRANT signed in your OWN BLOOD, if you take it.

I WOULDN'T BELIEVE THIS TYPE OF VANILLA FLAVORED BULL-SHIT EVEN THEY MADE IT A LAW IN CONGRESS AND THE SUPREME COURT SUPPORTED IT IN A LANDSLIDE CASE, THAT YOU GET AMNESTY IN ALL MEANS OF THE WORD. AMNESTY IS OVERDUE BOOKS AT A ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'S LIBRARY. RIAA DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE I'LL EVER ACCEPT ANY AMNESTY IN THE REAL FUCKING WORLD! IF YOU DO, YOU A DRUNKEN, POT-SMOKING, BRAINLESS, GORMLESS, RETARDED, SYCOPHANTIC, IMBECILE OF DIMENSION-SHATTERING PROPORTIONS.

Edit: You ARE A DRUNKEN...
I've run out of Mega-jolt so bear with me.

Notice how the Riaa is trying to sound like some "official" government agency in a way. Who are they to issue any kind of amnesty? Amnesty International might want to know.

grumpygeezer: The "crime" that the RIAA is alleging is the violation of the Copyright Act under the DMCA - and although they are claiming to be "civil" enforcers, from my understand of the law, even a civilian can be bound to 4th amendment rights (such was the case when specific laws were passed in some states that forbid "bounty hunters" or "repo men" from taking a person or item into "custody" without the correct paperwork to accompany the said act).

In an example of reposessions, in the state where I live in, you must contact the local jurisdiction on the day in question that a vehicle (of any type) will be repossesed. It is a violation of State law if you reposess a vehicle without contacting the local authorities and the vehicle in question is reported as "stolen". Reprocussions could be from fines to loss of the state license and possible jail time. It is also illegal to go onto someone's property to retreive such vehicle if the property is secured.

So, even though the RIAA claims "civil" enforcement of laws of this land, I am sure the challenge of the DMCA's power to be greater than the 4th amendment may be it's own downfall, and thus, the RIAA attorneys are trying to protect their collective asses are re-acting as such. I'm sure that they believe that they can "scare" the American public into thinking they can receive "Amnesty" by confessing to something that they did.

The whole problem of the DMCA seems to be, from observation, that although it is a "civil" matter, ANY law, regardless of intent of what it's supposed to do (i.e. COPA), cannot be above any law, especially those in the US Constitution.

Ok, I'm done ranting, someone give me a spritzer

I still can't get over how stupid the RIAA is being! If they devoted one-tenth the energy in updating their antiquated business model that they are in this public relations hari-kari campaign the would have no problem! I would glady pay a buck for digital quality tracks rather than sifting P2P networks. Besides, I have bought many CD's that I never would have otherwise due to downloading on P2P's. Of course, now I won't EVER buy another RIAA CD until the RIAA comes to their senses and ends this insanity.