That’s right, the RIAA got smacked with $68,000 in attorney fees. You can thank Deborah Foster for having the courage and intelligence to fight back when the RIAA went after Deborah and her daughter Amanda in 2004.
In November 2004, the Recording Industry Association of America sued Deborah Foster for copyright infringement, claiming her IP address was connected to illegal downloading. It expanded the suit to include her adult daughter Amanda and won a default judgement against Amanda. But the RIAA kept going after Debbie, trying to nail her for secondary copyright infringement. In July 2006, a federal judge threw out the charges against Foster, dismissing the case with prejudice and making Foster eligible to win attorney’s fees.
The RIAA indicated the extent of their cluelessness in a statement they issued:
The RIAA told News.com in a statement: “We respectfully believe that this ruling is in error and is an isolated occurrence.” But that statement doesn’t indicate whether they will appeal or just hope that it doesn’t happen again.
I am ecstatic about this ruling, one of many that have been made recently that rightly put a stop to the RIAA thug tactics, one battle at a time. What’s the moral of the story? Don’t back down. Take a page from the book of Deborah Foster and others like her and fight back. We shouldn’t disrespect artists by stealing entire albums without paying, but we also should be able to use our music that we pay for in any way we see fit, including backing up our files and sharing a few songs with friends or making mixes for the car and the like.
riaa, deborah foster, riaa sued, riaa fined
[posted with ecto]
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