Brianna LaHara was one of the people snared in the RIAA's sue 'em all campaign, and she's really upset.

So? Isn't everybody?

Sure. But unlike Brianna, they're probably not 12 years old.

And this particular case is going to be interesting because in its farcical 'Amnesty' deal, the RIAA makes it extremely clear that people who've already been sued won't qualify to be let off.

In the meanwhile, according to various reports, Brianna is from New York's Upper West Side. Her family signed up for the unpolluted $29.99 Kazaa three months ago, paying $29.99 for the privilege, says a New York Post story here.

"I thought it was OK to download music because my mom paid a service fee for it," the NYP quotes her as saying. "Out of all people, why did they pick me?"

Good question.

"We are taking each individual on a case-by-case basis," RIAA spokeswoman Amy Weiss is quoted as saying in a Fox News story here.

"We don't have any personal information on any of the individuals."

That's interesting. Do they learn details about the people they're suing for the first time in court?

"I got really scared. My stomach is all turning," Brianna is quoted as saying in most of the reports.

(Thanks for the pointer, gaangel648 and kneo24 : )

Suing a 12 year old girl? My stomach is turning as well Brianna. This is absolutely horrible.

This is just sad and plain stupid. THE MUSIC INDUSTRY OFFERS NO SOLUTION AS OF YET, and SUE PPL LIKE CRAZY! They could be making deals with all kinds of companies, but now the SUE ppl, go figure.

maybe they should take her sidewalk chalk and boy band trading cards too?

The RIAA just shot themselves in the foot for the congressional hearing going after a 12 year old, a grandfather and an unemployed woman.

I hope they don't sue my 6-year-old for unlawfully humming a copyright-protected tune in the school bathroom. Give me a friggin' break!

Quote from Cary-Sue in the washington post today:

"Asked if parents should be held responsible for children's actions, Sherman said: "We expect to hear, 'Hey, it wasn't me, it was my kid.' If they prefer the lawsuit amended to name the kid, we'll do that."

Sure enough, they are.

my god this is the last straw if nothing about the riaa/kazaa/any of the other big wigs trying to explot the usa gets out this will. a 12 year old girl whos mom thought paying a fee for what kazaa says you can down load 1,000,000s of music files from there software and neaver lets any one know what not to D/L and what is ok http://www.kazaa.com/us/index.htm right on there pay web site i hope that 12 year olds mom sues kazaa for duble what the riaa is sueing them for i think kazaa is one of are new foes thay have made miss clams and misrepersentions and now some 12 is going to have to pay the riaa for the rest of her and her moms life

The spin doctoring they started after filing all the subpeona's was kinda fun. I can't wait to see what they come up with when the general public hears about a 12 year old girl who's mom PAID a service fee. You can't make this kind of stuff up.

At least they have a case that stands a fighting chance to win.

If the mother can show a receipt from Kazaa to show she used their pay service, the judge will have no choice but to throw the suit right out of court and the RIAA out on their ear.

Welcome to Nazi Germany. You know, being a member of the United States Air Force, and the Air National Guard, and someone who participated in homeland security duiring 9/11, it sickens me to think about all the war vets, police officers, EMTs, doctors, nurses, and most of all fire fighters who are being targeted, if not sued, by the RIAA. Nice going. I hope someone representing the RIAA or one of its members are never in a prediciment where they actually need one of these people. Sorry for being off subject. I have a question. If you rented a movie from a mom and pop video store, and the movie was pirated, but you had no idea it was, are you held liable for a public facility's stupidity? I mean, if Kazza was a public community, and people were unknowingly downloading illegally, shouldn't Kazza be held responsible first and formost??? Just thought I would mention that since it crossed my mind. Thanks.

kaaza will walk away from that one saying they were offering a service....if someone used that service against their policy then it would be on them....sad though, now computers are making peoples lives worse....irony at its dramatic worst

We, along with the EFF, need to start buying some TV air time that could possibly feature the victims of the RIAA "sue 'em all" campaign. If America starts to see a 12 yr old girl and a 71 year old grandfather as some of the people being sued by the RIAA, maybe more people will start to support our cause.

Go figure. The RIAA is shooting themselves in the foot with every lawsuit. Hang on, peeps, it's almost over!

They'll have shot their feet so many times, they'll no longer have legs to stand on!

it's not the consumers foult that music is so made to D/L and upload on the internet it's the riaa and thay will pay and so will kazaa i bleave other p2p progs are much better any way well any of them are better then kazaa really and i hope sharman and sherman both die consumer mute ta ney hay since wear pirets i say this maybe the best thing we can do


MUTE TA NEY the riaa capten arrrr me matety then we be digin a hole and hidein are gold savvy?

riaa... go ahead, show your colors and motives. let's see how many other rediculous ways you can bully people around. it'll make a nice portfolio.

interesting point ghosthouse....they would probably say ignorance of the law is no excuse....which in that case they should mail out flyers with the new law of the month on it

HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST TO RUN A BOYCOTT.RIAA COMMERCIAL - PERHAPS WE COULD START A FUND TO EDUCATE!
the bottom line is...consumers have been shafted for years paying $20 for a C.D. I worked at Best Buy, I know the wholesale cost of $3. Now the little terds are whining because they are getting the shafting -- I say 's*rew 'em'...as the movie says "it is a service that would be dirt cheap if it weren't run by profiteering gluttons'

I think that this is going to lead to a very interesting study in demographics. Once more of the people that have been sued get identified, it will be quite fascinating to see if any of them fit the profile of a person who would have had the resources to buy the music in the first place. In other words, RIAA's claim that the file sharers are contributing to sales declines would seem even more farcical if the people they sue as the "worst offenders" are actually a demographic of people who simply didn't have the financial resources or ability to buy music anyway (12 year olds, the unemployed, and grandparents have a particularly ravenous CD-buying habit, don't they?). They are suing the "worst offenders", yet those people are ones who are likely not part of the buying public that RIAA says has stopped their spending (and caused CD sales declines). Did this 12 year old stop her copious CD buying to download? Did the old man's cessation of his music purchasing hobby hurt the sales. NO! These people weren't in that demographic in the first place, and it would go a long way to show that RIAA's claims that (a file sharer = lost profits from the sharer not buying CDs) is a fallacy.

One question, what are they going to sue this girl for? Her measly allowance?

Let's face it. Suing a 12 year old girl is horrible publicity for the RIAA. It's amazing how they don't even realize this. Any decline in sales that results from this will probably be blamed on piracy as well.

Check it out, please tell me if am way out of it here......

Copywright law is not applicable to partial portions of work, correct?

I mean you can sample and distribute and quote pieces of a work rgh?

Well if a record company says no single avail for an entire album and claims the album as a whole work than why is snatcing a single a complete infringment,..
ps. sorry for the spelling, at work must type fast......

i was wondering how long it would take for this to be posted. i first read it from a post link in "big champagne" about an hour ago...and though i forget which article said something to the effect that "when the riaa winds up suing a 12 year old, it's going to make them look like a bunch of bullies" lo and behold, it has finally happend. what catches my eye is the statement by amy weiss that "we are taking each individual on a case by case basis". so does that mean that, contrary to previous statements by the riaa that "no one is above the law" will be replaced with "we won't sue 12 year olds because we will be commiting public relations suicide"? i have a feeling the rules are about to change...
peace and love be unto all
iscariot~

strong-arm tactics seems to be fashionable these days.

i bought (heavy stress on the past tense) more than 50 cds a year for the past 12 years. i never downloaded any songs but i will be damned if i buy another stinking RIAA cd until they learn there are consequences to being the playground bully.

for good reading ---> http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/3074301

Excellent article.....

Check it out, please tell me if am way out of it here......

Copywright law is not applicable to partial portions of work, correct?

I mean you can sample and distribute and quote pieces of a work rgh?

Well if a record company says no single avail for an entire album and claims the album as a whole work than why is snatcing a single a complete infringment,..
ps. sorry for the spelling, at work must type fast......

where are you code?

"We expect to hear, 'Hey, it wasn't me, it was my kid.' If they prefer the lawsuit amended to name the kid, we'll do that."
-I have a little message for Cary Sherman, and if there are any toadies from RIAA on this board, you slither over to Cary and leave a slime trail pointing his way and tell him someone said this about him.

to Sherman- First off, I am very cognizant of what constitutes libel, and to be libelous, it must untrue. So , I'm about to give my opinion of you, and this opinion is one hundred percent my truthful opinion of you, and an attorney, you know truth is an absolute affirmative defense to any charge of libel or slander.

IN MY OPINION SIR, YOU ARE ABUSING THIS CHILD NAMED IN THIS DISCUSSION. YOU ARE INDUCING FEAR AND TERROR IN A MINOR AND THIS IS INEXCUSABLE. YOUR LITTLE ORGANIZATION WANTS TO ASSOCIATE US WITH EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN THROUGH PORNOGRAPHY? WELL MR. SHERMAN, IT IS YOU WHO, THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS, ARE THE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THIS CHILD AND HER PARENTS BEING SCARED TO DEATH. YOU ARE EXPLOITING HER AS A VICTIM OF YOUR THIRST FOR MONEY AND POWER.
In my opinion, Sherman, you are slime. You are a coward, who doesn't even have the strength and aggressiveness to be a schoolyard bully. You are picking on 12 year old girls, you are picking on 71 year old grandfathers in Texas, you are picking on unemployed ladies.
You're going to LOSE Sherman. As bad as the reputation of lawyers are often, you are giving even LAWYERS a bad name. There is a word that applies to lawyers who seem to have no ethics. I believe that name applies to the actions I am complaining of, SHYSTER,

So Mr. Sherman. When the RIAA goes belly up, and the "rock stars" in the labels you represent are back pumping gas and waiting on tables, look in the mirror for the person to blame.

Filesharing didn't kill music.
We can't trust labels or big music anymore because of you, the Sherman Anti-Trust Factor. LOL.

The quote attributed to you is exactly why I have adopted the tagline...

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

Hmmm, Cary Sherman seems to target children for some reason.

Brianna can tell everyone about how evil the RIAA is and to never listen to any of their music.

BTW, this exact story was on the cover of the New York Daily News today.

IsCaRiOtMyJuDaS- am here temporarily, will be leaving in a sec

i feel that, however they decide to handle this one, whether they drop this case because of volitility, or go ahead with it so as not to make liars of themselves, they just killed themselves. eithre they're liars, and little girls ARE above the law, or they're bullies, picking on little girls. in a real pickle now, eh mr. sherman?

CODE before you leave!!!!!


Can you enlighten a brother?


Check it out, please tell me if am way out of it here......

Copywright law is not applicable to partial portions of work, correct?

I mean you can sample and distribute and quote pieces of a work rgh?

Well if a record company says no single avail for an entire album and claims the album as a whole work than why is snatcing a single a complete infringment,..

good to have you back code

I wonder what the artists that belong to the RIAA even think about the extremist actions they are taking. Even hacker sthat are caught never really get tat severly punished.

I agree with Haola, we need to run a boycott-RIAA commercial. I mean..today the RIAA is suing a selected group of individuals who they think have violated copyright laws. What's to stop them from going after the 60 million people who have downloaded at least one song from the internet? The RIAA is upset because they are losing millions in revenue from CD sales. The public is upset because we have to pay an average of $14.99 per CD, even if only 1 song is worth listening to. Why the hell should I spend $14.99 per CD so that the big shots at the record companies can live richly. The American public definitely needs to make a statement to stop the RIAA from attacking the consumers.

Tuggle they don't care......If you don't believe me send them an email or even snail mail and ask em what they think......

humm think he might be a pervert otech1 thay say perverts try makeing it look like thay have power over there underage victems and the child obays becose of ignorance humm makes me think about the riaa a bit diffront thay target childern with power plays and intemadateing artests that use suggestive content to influince cliden into bleaveing what thay see and what thay hear is true well thats it for me on this post sorry about so many posts and the almost unreadable last two i'm a Po'ed pit bull with the tast of riaa blood i will neaver go back to eating my kibbles and bits



thay have steped across a boundery and now it's to slap them back into place BOYCOTT and support indapendent artests

I encourage all of you to buy Boycott-RIAA bumper stickers or T-shirts to spread the word that the boycott is ON!!
This is the greatest power we have.
We are the consumers,We are the voters, We are the people.

The RIAA really have but two things to say:

"All your 12yr olds are belong to us!"

and

"All Your Sole are belong to us!"

I'd figure the most they could do would be to issue a cease and decist order since she didn't know what she was doing was wrong since her mom had paid for the service. The order would have made her parents explain what she could do and not do. But of course...you can't make any money off of the deal that way.

I've been posting these stories on www.indymedia.org (in the "frontpage" section), a global news source with no corporate ties, read my millions. I've been posting our address, and have been getting replies by people on our side of the issue. Every day I will attempt to post stories there, maybe you could, too? People post a lot of stories on there, so the more we post, the more RIAA related issues will be on the first page.

Thanks

IsCaRiOtMyJuDaS- thank you. I really appreciate your kind words my friend!!!!!

~code

Ripandburn- it gets a bit confusing.
In printed material, you could use part of a work under fair use, usually like you critique a work or something.
The Home Audio Recording Act, allows you, under fair use, to record movies on videotape, record things on tape from the radio.
The DMCA gets into all things digital, and tends to say that digital works are protected en toto and don't give you even a fair use for say, uploading half a song. I need to look at that closer.

Thanks.......aprreciated

Thanks.......apreciated

suing a 12 year old girl, how can anybody support such an industry that would sue a 12 year old girl that was probably downloading her favorite pop bands song. i have a 12 year old cousin and she downloads music and if i would ever find out she was being sued ohhhh there would be major problems because i get really angry easily and there is no sayng what i would do

"I thought it was OK to download music because my mom paid a service fee for it," the NYP quotes her as saying. "Out of all people, why did they pick me?"

Here's my concern. There's a difference between a service fee and a payment. I don't recall of the recording companies signing a service agreement with Kazaa to provide content. So no "service fee" would allow downloading of copywritten content. I think the $29.99 was the cost of the ad-free Kazaa program. The cost of the software, not a subscription or service fee. I can understand how a 12 year old girl can be confused by this. I can even understand how an adult could be. But a litigated company like Sharman should have known well enough to make it clear one their website to prevent this problem.

like i said earlier, either they sue a 12 year old girl, and commit pr suicide, or they don't...and commit legal suicide. they can't go after some and not others...
iscariot~

I found this post on TechTv
Thought it made a lot of sense!


Here we have an industry that cynically works its way around parents, aiming their product and message directly at adolescents, backed up by what is in effect an absolutely massive propaganda effort, with an advertising budget larger than the military budget of many countries, that does everything it can to "hook" adolescents into what is an increasingly nihilistic culture which industry reps claim they have no responsibility for, now suing those very parents, most of whom are working class or lower middle class middle Americans. The overwhelming feeling toward the music industry is one of absolute disgust.

Sueing a 12 year old girl sounds as close to child abuse as you can get with out actually touching her.

And to repeat Codes tagline:
"Mr. Sherman,at long last, sir, have you no sense of decency? Have you no shame?"

I share your outrage that the RIAA, which represents wealthy corporations and performers (that have so much money they don't know what to do with it except to put it up their noses and wrap expensive sports cars around trees), is going after average people of modest means as well as children.

The boycott is the only way to fight this. Like some of you have noted, I sent all my e-mail buddies notice of wrong-doing by the RIAA and encouraged them to join the boycott (gave them this website to check out). I did the same on all the message boards I belong to.

I've found that people know of the lawsuits but don't realize the injustice being done by RIAA or how to fight back. Even if folks diagree with the boycott, the important thing is that we keep the discussions going -- keep the issue of the front burner. I plan to make flyers to distribute on local college campuses, as college students are prime downloaders and certainly affected by the witch hunt.

I ask that people, if they don't want to stop their music purchases, just be more discriminating in what they purchase: to reduce their normal frequency of purchases, not only of CD's but also concert tickets, posters, apparel that features RIAA artists, etc. Every little bit helps. Thanks to you for this site -- now it lies with all of this to make this work! IAWAF

That's just sick and heartless...

What's next? Lawsuits against people taping shows off of TV?

Spend your money going after the true pirates and leave "copyright infringers" the F alone you sorry sacks of )(&$%&*(#$#*(^

I was watching MSNBC today and they had a toadie liar from the RIAA (Amy Weiss) telling their "side of the story". When are these "news" organizations going to allow our side of the story? There are always two sides to every story and ours is not being heard. I am getting sick and tired of the coverage being so bias towards their side.

The RIAA is one of the most CORRUPT, DISPICABLE, LYING companies ever to do business on the face of the planet.I HATE THEM WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING.Everytime I see one of their lying toadies it just upsets my stomach. They act like they are doing this for the betterment of the artists, when in fact they are doing this for the betterment of their wallets. I can't wait till their lil evil empire crumbles. What a glorious day that will be. They also sued 71 year old man today. What a bunch of losers. First a little girl now an old man. What a bunch of bullies. Their day is coming.

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

The story about the little girl did two things to me..it made me very sad, and then I felt like laughing my butt off.
1) The fact that they have generated so much fear and terror in this poor sweet innocent child, made me very very sad, and mad. We can imagine how WE would feel if we were 12 and being sued in federal district court and have news networks stumbling over themselves to talk to you.
I also felt very sad for her mom.

2) This was a classic, worst case scenario lawsuit...she's 12, an innocent little girl, her mom PAID for a service the little girl thought meant she could legally download music, and
3) They live in the homes controlled by the New York Housing authority.

I'm sorry, but talk about getting egg of an ostrich size on your face...
if I sat down and wrote the MOST sympathetic character I could for them to pick on...it couldn't have been better.

LOL>..good luck on this case...
and how about Mr. Pickle, a 71 year old grandfather in Richardson Texas...

Yeah, dragging 12 year old girls and 71 year old grandfathers who hardly ever use a computer, dream defendants there...right?

SHARKS IN SUITS PROFESSING TO KNOW THE LAW...
IT'S THE FUNNIEST DARN THING I EVER SAW!

The RIAA's gone as low as they can go.....or have they?

I have a question...why hasn't the EFF or the ACLU jumped at the chance to challenge the Digital Millenium Copyright Act's provision for the ability for the RIAA to get a supoena without proof of a crime? The RIAA doesn't even have to appear before a judge for a supoena...all they have to do is to have a clerk rubberstamp the request for a supoena.

Shouldn't some organization be challenging the constitutionality of this law? If anything, at least a few of these supoenaed file sharers could challenge these laws all the way to the Supreme Court.

I dunno if the ACLU knows about this. I will probably write a letter later on tonight to ask them have they even looked into this. Although, I'm not a big fan of the ACLU, I think that even they would jump at the chance of looking into the constitutionality of the DCMA and the infringment on p2p users' rights.

ly jumps at this time of legilstative stuff that infringes

We obviously need to make our best efforts to get this into the media, whether it be posting it ourselves or writing letters to the editors of our local news organizations. Many think that this is one sided but so many, many more than that think the RIAA's actions are truly and completely OUTRAGEOUS!!! I can't be the only one who sees this as a pressing matter. In fact, I won't buy any music affiliated with them this Christmas shopping season AT ALL and I am spreading that word to everyone I know.

demon--3012 --Agree with you completely my friend!

John316- my brother, I understand your feelings. But, remember what the Bible says about hating people. Praying for those who spitefully use you is hard.
I struggle with the same feelings my friend. I find Mr. Sherman to be totally without redeeming qualities, and in violation of community standards, so in my view, since he seems to enjoye tormenting children by suing 12 year old girls, he appears to be an obscene thing, legally speaking, but don't let hate get the better of you my friend. You know Jesus would not hate Sherman or the rest.

Peace and blessings John316

John, uh, check out this link, http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/7680 , to see why why the media organizations are ignoring our side of the story. Mainly, it has to due with their affiliations with their parent companies who own RIAA member subsidiaries.

THE TIME has come. Let's spread the info about boycott-riaa.com on ALL webportals you know. Do you understand? ALL of them; all forums, comments, etc; don't spam, just exploit the RIAA-related topics, and express your outrage, along with calling everybody to BOYCOTT those bastards, and giving the address of 'boycott center', that means, boycott-riaa.com (giving the link would be completely justified when you tell the folks that here they can find the list of RIAAite companies to boycott, thus giving your act a merit).

Cheerz,
Critto

Sherman, what has this little girl ever done to you? NOTHING. so why are you injecting fear in her if all she did was sampling/listening to a couple of MP3s off of kazaa. Sherman, you f-ing maggot you make me sick. now, if i see you putting a kid in jail just cuz he downloaded 1 tune off of kazaa. i will personally come to your house and beat you to a bloody pulp and make that lower lip of yours even bigger >:=(

We really should get active like callin in on our favorite radio stations and discuss these inhumane tatics done by the RIAA. trust me next thing you know RIAA will release an aggresive street team to tackle and arrest anyone with MP3s and burned music CD-Rs

This is really sad, I have lost total respect for teh artists who do not stand up for this poor family. If you read the article, tehy say tehy are from a housing project in NY. $2,000 is a lot of money for someone on a fixed income. I hope RIAA is happy that they took food out of these poeples mouth. Oh these poor rich record labels and musicians...they will make 10 million instead of 12 million dollars this year. I hope some good hearted musician or band repays that family back since that is probably how much tehy spend on a pair of pant. COme on Britney, $2,000 is a minute of your time.

This is really sad, I have lost total respect for teh artists who do not stand up for this poor family. If you read the article, tehy say tehy are from a housing project in NY. $2,000 is a lot of money for someone on a fixed income. I hope RIAA is happy that they took food out of these poeples mouth. Oh these poor rich record labels and musicians...they will make 10 million instead of 12 million dollars this year. I hope some good hearted musician or band repays that family back since that is probably how much tehy spend on a pair of pant. COme on Britney, $2,000 is a minute of your time.

If I were on the jury with this little girl as a defendant, I would look at her side, a frightened twelve year old girl living in a New York housing authority housing, with probably a public defender, and on the other side, the RIAA, all lawyered up with all the legal talent money can buy, suited up in Gucci and Versace suits, with polished leather brief cases and laptops out the wazoo... I wouldn't care if they had a video made from her home of her jumping up and down and saying "I'm downloading illegal videos" and even if the video showed the file progress of the dat file being downloaded...
I gotta tell ya...I'm finding for the defendant. Plaintiff was lacking in proof in MY estimation.
____________________________________
Sharks in suits professing to know the law...
Funniest darn thing I ever saw!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
and
"Mr. Sherman,at long last, sir, have you no sense of decency? Have you no shame?"
~code

CoedWarrior...

My hat GOES OFF TO YOU!!

You've stated my UTTER OUTRAGE AND DISGUST more than I ever could, or would be able to!!

Cary Sherman IS a MEAN, DIRTY SHYSTER!!

Personally, I hope his RIAA organization, AS WELL AS ALL the record labels it represents, ALONG WITH ALL, and I mean A L L recording artists whom are under those labels, end up LOSING BIG-TIME!!!

And I don't mean just merely losing their well-financed promotional campaigns either!!

I mean LOSING their recording contracts, LOSING their so-called "popularity", LOSING their MILLIONS OF DOLLARS (if they even HAVE that money for real, considering the SHADY contracts they signed), and ULTIMATELY SENT PACKING, back into UTTER DESTITUTION!!!

As for the record labels, I hope they end up LOSING the artists under their stables...losing them to the Internet (and YES, FILE-TRADING SERVICES!!) I hope the record labels LOSE their well-financed accounts with the big media companies that have done LITTLE MORE than "SCHMOOZE" with them by making news stories that are CLEARLY SLANTED in the RIAA's favor!! I hope the record labels LOSE IT ALL!!!

Then, as far as the RIAA itself is concerned...

I hope they LOSE ALL the record labels that they're purporting to represent!!

I hope they LOSE the CLOUT that they've "won" with the Congressmen & Senators who FOOLISHLY side with THEIR "CAUSE"!!

As to those politicians who FOOLISHLY DEFEND the RIAA and their ILK...

I hope we get AS MANY VOTERS AS WE CAN POSSIBLY get, to VOTE those F***ERS OUT OF OFFICE NEXT YEAR on Election Day!!!

*Aaahhhhh* (Deep, cleansing breath)

Now I'm calmed back dwon.

You all know what to do!!

DeanSB2000

Just a little food for thought:
When cassettes first came out, the RIAA cried that everyone would be recording from other people's tapes, and that would kill the music industry by aiolating copyright law ($)! Well, td did not, they thrived. Now, here's where it gets interesting, from the introduction of the ability of the average citizen to record music at will, the RIAA never invoked copyright protection laws. It would seem to me that a sharp lawyer could establish that in NOT taking legal action over a number of years, the industry set a precetent to the recording of music by individuals, thus in a sense concenting to the activity, being fully aware, and taking no action!!

So why after all this time does the RIAA want to sue 12 year old girls?

From the Register:

RIAA keeps 12-year-old quiet with $2,000 bill
By Ashlee Vance in Chicago
Posted: 10/09/2003 at 00:28 GMT


The RIAA took quick steps to blunt a public relations atrocity by agreeing to settle out of court with a 12-year-old girl accused of trading copyrighted songs.

It took all of twenty-four hours for young Biggie Brianna to be hit with a lawsuit and then pay up for her alleged crimes. The youngster's mother has agreed to shell out $2,000 to get the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) off her family's back. This marks the first settlement to come as a result of the 261 lawsuits the RIAA filed earlier this week.

Earlier in the day, Brianna complained of stomach pains and emotional suffering as a result of the RIAA's actions. After signing the soothing settlement, however, she expressed regret at having harmed the precious artists.

It's okay, Brianna, don't worry. Fox manufactures new artists every few months.

The pigopolists no doubt prepared a contingency plan should any toddlers, pre-teens or bedridden seniors get caught in their web of lawsuits. Alarm bells must have sounded in the swine cave when word of Biggie Brianna got out. A number of news outlets rushed to tell the story of the honors students gone wrong.

Brianna thought the $29.99 fee her mother paid for the Kazaa music trading service entitled her to download songs at will. Nothing like a lawsuit seeking $150,000 per song to correct that misconception. This is what some refer to as a growing pain.

This settlement has taught us a few valuable lessons about the RIAA's methodology. Apparently, young teens hit the copyright infringement scale at the $2,000 mark. College students, by contrast, must cough up between $12,000 and $17,000 for their violations, as we saw earlier this year. So any parents out there with children under 12 can expect their precious tots' crimes to cost around the $1,000 mark. That's comforting.

It's also clear that the RIAA has no leniency for the less well off in society. Brianna happened to live in a New York Housing Authority apartment, which provides safe, affordable housing to low- and moderate-income families. The music label executives are struggling to pay the rent on their penthouse apartments because of file-trading, so why cut the lower class some slack? We all have needs.

The RIAA's actions, however, aren't going unnoticed by the government. During a Senate Judiciary Hearing Tuesday, the RIAA president Cary Sherman faced some tough questions.

"Are you headed to junior high schools to round up the usual suspects?" Sen. Dick Durbin asked, according to the AP.

"Yes, there are going to be some kids caught in this, but you'd be surprised at how many adults are engaged in this activity," Sherman said.

Don't let your emotions get the best of you, Cary. Come on, stay tough.

The RIAA is sure to have some PR gaffes as their legal crusade goes along. But a few miscues are certainly worth it when we are all being taught such a valuable lesson.

WIley I agree, but when you have billions of dollars at your diposal and buy if the government, you can say or do basicly what you want to.
This is why we need to find out every person in congress and the senate who voted to let the RIAA have this control
and voyte their a**** out of office. Then ALL PUBLIC RERESENITAVES WILL KNOW THAT WE AS THE COUNTRY WILL NOT TOLERATE THEM BEING BOUGHT!!!!!!!!!! YOU REPRESENT ME!! NOT BIG BUSINESS!!!!!

If the above story from the Register disgusts and appals all of you as much as it did me, here's what you can do:

1) e-mail them at webmaster@riaa.com. September 11 beginning at 8am I urge EVERYONE to do this. It takes no more time or effort than posting here. And wouldn't it be a shame if so many people e-mailed them that their server crashed. Boo-hoo.

2) Send a few of your favorite smashed CD's to:
Amy Weiss
Senior VP, Communications
Recording Industry Association of America
1330 Connecticut Avenue, NW
#300 Washington, DC 20036

3) Call them at 1-800-223-2328
What the hell, it's their dime so call to express your outrage and pledge to boycott them.

If everyone just talks, nothing gets accomplished. Time to put up or shut up, people!

Didn't I hear sales were down some more? Not sure, somebody told me that.

However we can and will win as all the "get the word out" posts here take root.

This is easy and simple: Keep getting the sales of the RIAA members to go down. The bigger the percentage the better. The longer, the better.

If the BOYCOTT keeps increasing the financial HIT points for our side, (that's our booty in the struggle) they will then correspond with RIAA legal actions and any drop in file-sharing.

I think we are seeing the BOYCOTT just start, good people. I know I am doing everything I can to keep it spreading like wildfire. Hehe, that list of labels here is VERY handy! Thanks to the people who run this site for giving us a locus to fight this tyranny.

Oh ... I was thinking how a cool, online sales meter would be ... watching it go down, down, down ... that is, if you can get true information.

The RIAA could counter by doing what they should have and dropping prices, which might be an attempt to hurt this goal, but it is really a boon. However, I am not talking $13.00 US per. Being realistic and getting under $10.00, (ideally $8.00) is realistic and more fair ... plus, if they are listening, why not start adding some value-added content for PC owners (you know, like DVD's have). "Yohoo! Big Record Dudes and Dudettes, get your thought knobs out of your rears and do something constrrutive, instead of sueing your customers and little kids!"

Wiley69, I too was thinking of cassette tapes. I can just see a future 2004 newsflash...
The RIAA announced plans today to offer rewards to children who turn in their friends and family for handing out free copies of their favorite cds. This piracy has been going on since the early 70s when cassette tapes came into wide usage. RIAA lawyers were quoted as estimating a trillion-dollar loss from such piracy. "We had no good way of tracking these little sleazeballs before coming up with this plan." A lawyer close to Cary Sherman gushed. Now, a $50 reward and a free Sherman Youth Movement pin will be awarded to any good child who turns in a classmate or parent. "We expect to file millions of lawsuits over the next few years in our special RIAA District Courts approved by congress in late 2003." said the lawyer.
P.S. Sorry if I gave these jerks any ideas.......Heil Sherman and the Music Nazis
P.P.S. Sorry, just venting and God Bless Code whose posts help keep me sane and all the other people working so hard to try to stop this insanity!

RIAA's sales have gone down not because of any boycott, but because of their own lack of productivity. They produced 10,900 less titles in 2001 than in 1999 (courtesy of The Register). It took the RIAA until this year to release those figures (so much for getting timely and accurate sales figures for your meter because it shows that it is their own fault rather than P2P sharing that results in less revenue for them)

Boycotts are good but you must attack on many fronts to get some immediate action. Read the post above yours. I gave you all an e-mail address, the RIAA address in DC and a toll free number for the RIAA. Use them all and use them often in conjunction with the boycott. MAKE yourselves be heard!

$2000 to settle....Wow......First abuse the poor child and now rape her mother right in front of her. Seems to me that a good lawyer could turn around and sue the RIAA for mental cruelity or something like that.

i'll be emailing them...on september 11

What the hell good will contacting the RIAA do? They don't care what we think. They only understand one thing - falling revenue. A boycott is our best weapon.

How to make money and friends! My wife is ratting me out as I type. We will take three grand and give it to Brianna and take the rest for a vacation to the Grand Canyon. Where, of course, we will deposit any RIAA label media. Maggots. Sorry for that, but they are maggots.


How to Report Piracy

Up to $10,000 in Reward

Over the years, RIAA’s goal has remained constant: to create a fair and equitable marketplace free of the illegal activities of music piracy.

For those who want to contribute an ounce of prevention, RIAA is making it easy, and potentially lucrative. In August of 1999, RIAA launched its CD-Reward program that provides monetary awards of up to $10,000 to an individual who provides the association with information regarding CD manufacturers illegally producing RIAA member company sound recordings.

Consumers, retailers and replicators can report any suspected music piracy to the RIAA by dialing a toll-free hotline, 1.888.BAD.BEAT, by faxing this Badbeat Form, by sending email to cdreward@riaa.com, or visiting the website at www.CDReward.com.

RIAA will not publicly disclose the identity of the person submitting information without consent, unless it is requested by a government agency, law enforcement agency, or by court subpoena.


anti-piracy
· penalties
· what the riaa is doing
· cd/cdr piracy
· online piracy
· how to report piracy


Artist Contracts Issues
freedom of speech
copyright
music & the internet
audio technologies
licensing & royalties
information for parents
ask the riaa
glossary

I can't wait to see how much of that money will be going to the artists of the songs she downloaded. They should get a piece of it shouldn't they? hmmmm.....

To IFeelFree: What good will contacting them do? How about clogging their mailroom, crashing their server and a huge bill on their toll free line? Look at the big picture here.

hmmm, what?

If you haven't tried this yet go to google and type in Riaa and read the lastest news about this 12 yr. old from the Register on line news report.The reporter really slam's the Riaa!!!!!!!!!!

You know what? I'm never buying a CD again by these monsters. I'm sick and tired of listening to derivative music and then getting watched like some child just because some pathetic middlemen can't catch up with reality. Hell with it, I'll just listen to the radio and live with that.

ON WITH THE BOYCOTT! DOWN WITH THE RIAALIBAN!!

i just joined today and i'm outraged at these idiots. who died and made them got to invade our privacy and frighten little children like a witch in a fairy tale that will fatten them up and eat them. like poor hansel. that poor little girl probably scared out of her wits and if i were her parents i'd be getting a damned good laywer and counter suing for harrassing my child. to quote dee shnider(probably not how to spell his name) from twisted sister,"we're not gonna take it"!!!

this is too much like the book 1984. privacy is getting no aknowledgment. i saw a shirt once that said, where am i going and why am i in this handbasket. we are all in the handbasket heading for the 10th level of hell, the no privacy no rights section. to get info from someones computer you need a warrent and a damn good reason. this should not be allowed

And the worst yet that people will shake their heads and continue buying their next Britney or Justin album like the good little bitches they are.

Welcome to America

Actually all you really need to do is create a powerpoint slide show and start emailing it out to your friends... That's a free commercial that won't go unnoticed

uh... demon? i believe codes has copyrighted the tagline he used about sherman and you enfringed on it by quoting it. Sounds stupid huh? Well it's lot like what the riaa is doing to a 12 year old girl

IS been a busy day I've sleept through. This 12yr old thing sure has turned up the heat.

Um yah why dont you just pay a little $2000 settlement and we wont drag you into cort. (Pleeeeas take it we will loose if you take you into cort and ever second you dont a hundred people give birth to seathing hatred for us.)

You'll take it! Good a wise choice(Thank GOD!) See America we are not vicious bastards. We are not charging this little downloading slu...SWEET SWEET little girl out the ass. We really are OK people.

Truth is if they had to fine her something. Letting her off the hook would cause trouble down the line. Going to court would be a disaster. They would loose and the bad PR would drag on evey day untill it was over. Kill it kill it quick. This was settled in record time but it still got peoples attention.

Maybe just maybe you guys should do a touch more recon before tossing out charges like candy on Halloween.

Has anyone thought about creating a victim fund? Where people could help pay off the fines of some of the sick cases like this one. Sure they get their money but they get it anyway. But the people get helped and it would be a public slap in the face against the lack of morals in this. You could hand the money over in public and invite the local news. Pass out some stickers or something.

just a note to the people asking how much of the money is going to the artist's from the lawsuits.... 0 notta none its all going to the enforcment

dumby and Wiley69
Guess what, Hop in your go back machine and visualize Vinyl records being copyed, (very expensive equipment) then visualize Reel to Reel tapes (still expensive) being duped, and how about 8 tracks? As the economy grows, and prices of equipment become more aligned to the average persons income, more people can afford the latest stuff to copy what they enjoy. So copying has gone on a lot longer than you think. I do not support riaa and their tactics of invasion of privacy of United States of America Citizens. We do not (will not) live in a country that is not By The People, And For The People. Those who are in an elected office that support riaa need to be voted OUT, because out interests, and freedom are not being supported. Thanks for letting me vent. Right on code.
Chip

our interests....

hmmm...sueing a 12 year old girl...well there is an upside to all this...it shows to the public just how pathetic the RIAA really is.

God be with that 12 year old girl


**********************************
For the love of the music!

Good conscience prevents me from saying what I think right now. Actually I don't think they would leave it on the board that's why I'm not going to tell the boy named sue what I think of him but I will say this, your day is coming pal. Ever hear of Ebeneezer Scrooge? Sleep tight ol' buddy, the people are sick of you and the riaa. It won't be long now.

What really discusses me is how she in the end makes the mainstream press (CNN) think she was wrong to fileshare and the RIAA is right to crackdown on her.

Oh the poor artists, GIVE ME A ****ING BREAK HERE!!!

THIS ANGERS ME MORE THEN THE LAWSUIT ITSELF! WHY NOT FIGHT BACK? A CASE LIKE THIS WOULD OF HAD A LOT OF OUTSIDE SUPPORT FOR HER!

Simply put....this action by the R.I.A.A. PROVES they are DOLTS!!

Be well all....keep fightin' the MAGGOTS!!

They don't care who they sue, as long as they get some kind of settlement and some $. Here is a a quote from Matt "the rat" Oppenheim:

RIAA Vice President Matt Oppenheim said he was not surprised to see young and old alike caught in the industry's snare.

"We know that there are a lot of young people who are using these services and we totally expected that we would end up targeting them," Oppenheim said. "As we have said from the beginning ... there is no free pass to engage in music piracy just because you haven't come of age. We're not surprised and we're not deterred."

btw, my tagline of:
"Mr. Sherman,at long last, sir, have you no sense of decency? Have you no shame?"
is free to use by everyone in their e-mails, posts,etc. No copyright by me and no creative commons either...it's public domain...and I ENCOURAGE you to use it. Who knows, it may become a "meme" (runaway idea that catches public fancy and spreads). I'd like for old Cary/Gay-Sue Sherman to start hearing that line, because it's very true. He has NO shame.

PS dumby, gftr52 - thank you both so much for the kind words. like i always say, we are ALL in this together, and we WILL be victorious thanks to the efforts of such great fighters as you both~
props and high fives...
~code

Someone should represent this girl in court, Then file a counter-suit. This is, in a sense, child abuse.
This poor little girl is only 12 years old and is being paraded around by the RIAA as a "pirate" and a poster child in their crusade for total music domination.
At the very least she should be paid by them for using her name and likeness.
WABBITMAN

If you were to run a commercial that spoke out against riaa you would want it done by a big name artist that was recently dropped from thier label. e.g. Kelly Osbourne....yeah her band sucked, but she got dropped and almost everyone under the age of thirty knows who she is. That would hit home better than a bunch of no names from the teaming masses.

Wow!! All kinds of new names here!!! I think we have a movement going!!! I'm sure as the lawsuits pickup the RIAA will continue to give us ample ammunition and plenty of support. Welcome to all and (of course)BOYCOTT those scumbags!!!!

I have read many excellent posts above; I'd like to say that I agree with many of you here. This is our time to act, everyone that was watching the nightly news yesterday must have been outraged by this 12 year old girl story. I know I was which is why I’m here right now... They tried to put fear into us, but it backfired. Nobody wants to see a poor 12 year old girl being sued. This will hurt them bad but only if we take full advantage of their stupidity.

1) We seriously need ads on TV and radio. Commercial radio stations might not support us but we can probably get on most college stations...

2) We need to boycott their cd’s for the Christmas season. I feel really bad doing this since it might hurt retailers and the economy more than the riaa but we have no other choice, it’s our primary weapon. If we take away a big enough chunk of their sales I’m sure they will pay attention.

3) I’d like to setup a website or even here on boycott-riaa.com (if someone would set it up) where we can donate $1 via paypal to a fund until we have raised $2000 to give to that little girl. This would help her, and send a message to the riaa that we’re a real team and will help each other out.

Code: You are right my friend. Thanks for correcting me. I guess I let my feelings get in the way of my judgement. Jesus does say love your enemy and pray for them (Matthew 5:43-4 and this will heap coals upon their head. You know I am not as angry at Sherman as I am at their organization. I can't stand corrupt, deceitful companies who say one thing and turn around and do another. Being a hypocrite is what the RIAA is all about. Going after this lil girl and elderly man will be their ultimate downfall. This is PR SUICIDE. The RIAA will not be around for much longer after this debacle.

I was watching Dan Abrams last nite, and he too sides with tthe RIAA. He says that file sharing is a crime and that those who are caught should have to face the punishment the RIAA wants to dish out. Well I guess I will NEVER watch his show ever again. I am going to Boycott any person or company that sides with the HYPOCRITICAL RIAA.

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

If you stand for nothing you will fall for anything.

Peace Brothers & Sisters

Id rather donate my money to the girl if it was used for her lawyers to fight back with, not if it goes to the RIAA. Besides, if someone has 2000 dollars to throw around, her mother obviously did, they arent that bad off.

this absolutely sickens me.

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

let me just say, these people have no shame.

they absolutely disgust me.

I hope the filth in the RIAA reads this board. I hope they see the real outrage from what they are doing.



if i was them i would be concerned about these guys knocking at there door.