EZ RIAA: ShareNGo

Filed in archive Legal , RIAA, IFPI on March 12, 2007

RIAA has unveiled P2PLawsuits.com, its new online payment web site for pre-lawsuit settlement. If you're sued for copyright infringement, just enter your case and pay by credit card or check. The settlement amount is discounted if paid online.

RIAA has renewed its consumer lawsuit push in recent communications with ISPs and colleges. There is no word whether RIAA has also talked with P2P software developers to embed the online payment option directly into their file sharing software.

The site's FAQ does a masterful job in obfuscating the weak evidence of such lawsuits. For example:

What evidence prompts a lawsuit?

If you've been sued, it is because you have been identified as uploading or downloading copyrighted music without authorization.

Not true. If you've been sued it's because an IP address belonging to you was reported by your ISP. That's a long way from identifying the recipient of the lawsuit as the actual user that uploaded or downloaded the music.

If I have Wi-Fi at home, how can you be sure it was me who did the downloading?

The fact that a wireless connection is involved does not mean that the individual engaging in copyright infringement cannot be identified. Cases are routinely pursued where a wireless connection is involved.

This is especially rich, RIAA indeed has pursued such cases. And lost.