Digital Payback: Mom Sued For Kids' Downloading

October 3, 2006
http://www.nbc5.com/news/9992397/detail.html

Recording Industy Makes Example Out Of Working Families

CHICAGO -- The recording industry is making good on threats to legally pursue people who illegally downloaded music over the past few years, and their long arm aiming to hit a Chicago mom right where it hurts.

Major record labels threatened to do exactly this three years ago after they sued the file-sharing Web sites, saying it would go after the consumers who swapped music without paying for it.

Now, their efforts are reaching into homes across America -- in some cases, naming defendants who have no clue what a download even is.

Back in the ancient days of music sharing -- some six years ago -- young consumers everywhere were busy swapping top tunes on sites like Napster for free. There was seemingly little to worry about.

This past summer, a knock on the door changed all that for Chicagoan Dionne Dickson."

"Someone knocked on the door and handed me this monstrosity of a legal document --it said I was being sued for copyright infringement and also said that each song was worth $1,000. "

Dickson was shocked because downloading is such a common practice.

"They would swap songs, they would burn the CDs. I had friends who were doing this -- everyone was doing it," she said.

The numbers stopped Dickson, a single parent, in her tracks. It was almost 50 pages long, full of songs allegedly downloaded to file sharing Web site Kazaa back in 2004 by her kids.

But the lawsuit was against her, the registered computer user, by major music companies.

"It's something like $300-400,000," she said. "There was no way I'd be able to afford that."

Moreover, Dickson said she's not guilty of any crime: Kazaa posted no warnings about copyright infringement to its users.

It's a defense the Recording Industry Association of America isn't buying.

"it's not right, it's illegal, and it's doing enormous damage to the industry," said Johnathan Lamy, Senior Vice President of the RIAA.

That argument isn't new. Recording artists, long furious about illegal music swapping, first went after the sharing networks. They won, but the fight didn't end there.

"We want consumers to understand there's a law out there, there are consequences of breaking the law, but better yet, if you want music online there are legal options," said Lamy.

More than 18,000 lawsuits have been filed against swappers nationwide in the last three years, and there are 654 defendants in Illinois alone.

"This is an ongoing program, and the threat of getting caught remains live," Lamy said.

Critics of the effort said it's a dragnet approach where mistakes are bound to happen.

Just last week, a Chicago man, sued by the industry, proved they went after the wrong guy.

"Infringement is infringement, regardless whether you are doing it knowingly," said Mickie Piatt, a professor at Kent Law.

So what would a jury say? That remains an open question. Thus far, not one of the 18,000 defendants sued by the industry has gone to trial. Many opted to settle.

Back in Chicago, Dickson isn't sure what to do. She said the industry wants more money than she has.

"They're still making millions and millions," she said. "I don't understand why they're going after us, the working people of America."

Most of those who've settled lawsuits paid somewhere in the $3,000-$5,000 range. Dickson said she offered to pay $1,000, but the industry rejected that number.

A spokesman for the RIAA said this is not about breaking anyone's bank, but rather, to spread the message about copyright infringement.