• The RIAA has finally paid $107,834 (plus $117.03 interest) to Tanya Andersen, a former target of a lawsuit by the record-industry consortium who spent two years defending herself in court. Andersen has since countersued the RIAA under conspiracy laws, a suit that she’s hoping to turn into class-action litigation. [BusinessWeek via The Daily Swarm]
• A federal court is going to decide whether or not the RIAA’s lawsuit against Jammie Thomas, who was found guilty of “making available” copyrighted material via Kazaa and subsequently ordered to pay the record companies $220,000 for sharing some not-that-great songs. The decision hinges on whether or not “making available” is considered copyright infringement; a District Court decision said that it didn’t. [WSJ]
• President Bush has signed a bill that gives universities money as an incentive to fight on-campus piracy. [Variety]
File-Sharing, The Government, And You: A News Roundup
August 15th, 2008 // 1 Comment
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Is Jessica Simpson Getting Married On This Day? – Huffington Post |
 This Could Be The Worst Celebrity Outfit Ever – Fox News | |
| Rihanna Debuts Her New Look – Global Grind | |
| Jennifer Lopez Drops Her Crotch – Huffington Post | |
| What You Need To Know About Phillip Phillips – Fox News | |
| Beyonce Is Ready To Steal The Spotlight Again – Global Grind |
Tanya Andersen is a rarity in so far as she had $110 000 to spend on a court case and she actually spent it. Most innocent people (and yes there are innocent people caught in the non-governmental, non-accountable RIAA dragnets) are forced pay because they cannot afford to fight mammoth corporations. Justice is for the rich, as they say, unless you live in Norway/Sweden/Finland.
Kudos to her for trying to get a class action lawsuit started.