With 60 million Americans using file-sharing software, more lawsuits are simply not the answer. It's time to get artists paid and make file-sharing legal.When the RIAA threatens someone with a lawsuit, it offers to settle the case for a carefully chosen amount that is smaller than the legal fees required to fight the accusations.But you can change this!
Faced with this choice, many innocent people settle simply because it's the most reasonably priced option. However, a few individuals like Amurao have decided to battle the RIAA in court.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a brief with a New York district court, urging a judge to allow the victim of a recording industry lawsuit to fight back with counterclaims of his own.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has already moved to sack copyright infringement claims against Rolando Amurao. However, Amurao alleges that the RIAA's case is meritless and intended to hassle him, so he has sued for a declaration of non-infringement and a finding of RIAA copyright misuse. In its amicus brief, EFF argues that giving Amurao his day in court increases RIAA responsibility in the industry's broad lawsuit campaign against file-sharing.
'If Amurao's accusations are true, then he has the right to clear his name,' said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. 'It's simply unfair to shield copyright owners from the consequences of careless lawsuits. Counterclaims like Amurao's help make sure that the RIAA can't simply dismiss its case and walk away when an innocent target fights back.'
The RIAA has sued thousands of persons for supposedly sharing music over the Internet since its campaign began in 2003. But sloppy investigation methods have left innocent people tangled in expensive legal proceedings.
