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RIAA sues computer-less family for downloading music
April 24, 2006
A family in Georgia is being sued for illegally sharing downloaded music - despite the fact that the family doesn't own a computer.
The Rockmart
Journal reports that the Recording
Industry Association of America alleges the family "infringed on copyrights for recorded
music by sharing files over the Internet.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction and requests unspecified monetary
damages."
News of the lawsuit came as a surprise to James and Carma Wells,
who say they haven't been served with legal papers. What perplexes
them even more though is the fact that they don't have a personal
computer in their home.
"I don't understand this," Wells
told
the Rockmart Journal. "How can they
sue us when we don’t even have
a computer?"
According to the lawsuit, however, the RIAA
maintains that Carma Walls, through the
use of a file-sharing program, infringed
on the copyrights of a number of popular
ballads including: "Who Will Save Your Soul,"
by Jewel and "Saving All My Love
for You," by Whitney Houston.
The lawsuit against the Wells is one of many
targeting alleged file-swappers. The RIAA's litigation has been criticized
by some as an effort to intimidate consumers from file sharing activities.
via: BoingBoing
related CBC Indepth: Copyright and
the web
related Marketplace murmurs: Downloading
doesn't hurt business: Canadian Record
Industry Association study, Digital
music sales triple in 2005, Protect
consumers' digital rights, British MPs urged, Several
lawsuits filed against Sony over rootkit fiasco, Revenge
of the movie industry: Authorities shut down file-swapping site, Labels
to appeal file-swapping decision, Music
copyright case heads to Supreme Court
murmur categories: technology
tags:
consumers consumer news consumerism DRM copyright technology music downloading research P2P
posted by Tessa | 10:16 AM (ET) | Permalink
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