Spring Break
Music group settles 52 user lawsuits
By: Ted Bridis
Issue date: 9/30/03 Section: News
WASHINGTON - The recording industry on Monday announced settlements with 52 of the 261 Internet users it sued over allegations they illegally permitted others to download music from their computers using popular file-sharing software.
The Recording Industry Association of America, which plans to file hundreds more lawsuits in October, did not specify how much it collected. Defense lawyers familiar with some cases said payments ranged from $2,500 to $7,500 each, with at least one settlement for as much as $10,000.
The settlements, which do not include any admission of wrongdoing, require Internet users to destroy copies of illegally downloaded songs and agree to ''not make any public statements that are inconsistent'' with the agreement.
The RIAA, the trade group for the largest labels, said one dozen other Internet users also agreed to pay unspecified amounts after they learned they might be sued. They had previously been notified by their Internet providers that music lawyers were seeking their names to sue and agreed to pay to avoid a lawsuit.
''The music community's efforts have triggered a national conversation, especially between parents and kids, about what's legal and illegal when it comes to music on the Internet,'' RIAA President Cary Sherman said in a statement. ''In the end it will be decided not in the courtrooms, but at kitchen tables across the country.''
Just three weeks ago, the RIAA filed 261 lawsuits against what it described as ''major offenders'' illegally distributing on average more than 1,000 copyrighted music files each. Lawyers and activists said more settlements were inevitable.
''We don't know how many additional people are negotiating,'' said Fred von Lohmann, a lawyer for the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation. ''There could well be a large number of people deciding whether to write the check or not.''
Daniel N. Ballard, a lawyer whose firm is representing at least four defendants, said the settlement offers he was familiar with - between $3,000 and $4,000 - appeared aimed at discouraging Internet users from hiring defense lawyers.
The Recording Industry Association of America, which plans to file hundreds more lawsuits in October, did not specify how much it collected. Defense lawyers familiar with some cases said payments ranged from $2,500 to $7,500 each, with at least one settlement for as much as $10,000.
The settlements, which do not include any admission of wrongdoing, require Internet users to destroy copies of illegally downloaded songs and agree to ''not make any public statements that are inconsistent'' with the agreement.
The RIAA, the trade group for the largest labels, said one dozen other Internet users also agreed to pay unspecified amounts after they learned they might be sued. They had previously been notified by their Internet providers that music lawyers were seeking their names to sue and agreed to pay to avoid a lawsuit.
''The music community's efforts have triggered a national conversation, especially between parents and kids, about what's legal and illegal when it comes to music on the Internet,'' RIAA President Cary Sherman said in a statement. ''In the end it will be decided not in the courtrooms, but at kitchen tables across the country.''
Just three weeks ago, the RIAA filed 261 lawsuits against what it described as ''major offenders'' illegally distributing on average more than 1,000 copyrighted music files each. Lawyers and activists said more settlements were inevitable.
''We don't know how many additional people are negotiating,'' said Fred von Lohmann, a lawyer for the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation. ''There could well be a large number of people deciding whether to write the check or not.''
Daniel N. Ballard, a lawyer whose firm is representing at least four defendants, said the settlement offers he was familiar with - between $3,000 and $4,000 - appeared aimed at discouraging Internet users from hiring defense lawyers.
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