Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Happy Holidays (Sort of)! RIAA Finally Giving Up On Mass Lawsuits!
The Wall Street Journal has announced that the RIAA will no longer sue fans who download music from the web for copyright infringement. Instead, it will work with ISP's to limit and even cut web access to the offenders. They will, however, continue with the lawsuits already in progress. They also apparently believe that piracy would have been much worse had they not used the lawsuit strategy at all. Sure.
However, this is not as great as it may seem...
Depending on the agreement, the ISP will either forward the note to customers, or alert customers that they appear to be uploading music illegally, and ask them to stop. If the customers continue the file-sharing, they will get one or two more emails, perhaps accompanied by slower service from the provider. Finally, the ISP may cut off their access altogether.
A few people I've spoken to actually think this is worse. But maybe this will create some interesting challenges to service provider contracts?
More from the WSJ:
The new approach dispenses with one of the most contentious parts of the lawsuit strategy, which involved filing lawsuits requiring ISPs to disclose the identities of file sharers. Under the new strategy, the RIAA would forward its emails to the ISPs without demanding to know the customers' identity.
Though the industry group is reserving the right to sue people who are particularly heavy file sharers, or who ignore repeated warnings, it expects its lawsuits to decline to a trickle. The group stopped filing mass lawsuits early this fall.
It isn't clear that the new strategy will work or how effective the collaboration with the ISPs will be. "There isn't any silver-bullet anti-piracy solution," said Eric Garland, president of BigChampagne LLC, a piracy consulting company.
Mr. Garland said he likes the idea of a solution that works more with consumers. In the years since the RIAA began its mass legal action, "It has become abundantly clear that the carrot is far more important than the stick." Indeed, many in the music industry felt the lawsuits had outlived their usefulness.
"I'd give them credit for stopping what they've already been doing because it's been so destructive," said Brian Toder, who represents a Minnesota mother involved in a high-profile file-sharing case. But his client isn't off the hook. The RIAA said it plans to continue with outstanding lawsuits.
I would write a lot more about this but I'm on vacation and have to go track my parents' luggage down at the Honolulu airport. Let's just say I'm pleased that they're not going to sue but a little disturbed by the new arrangement.