RIAA Ends Lawsuits of Internet Song Swappers

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has announced that it will no longer sue Internet song swappers for copyright infringement. Outstanding cases will be litigated until the books are clear but no new cases are currently anticipated.

With about 35,000 lawsuits behind it, the RIAA realized that the total return was less than its legal costs to file suit. Heh, so high-priced lawyers are blamed.

Instead of lawsuits, the RIAA intends to collude with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to identify illegal file-sharers and cut off service if violations continue after warnings.

Under the new strategy, the RIAA is working with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and ISPs on a number of voluntary online anti-piracy initiatives that would include service providers passing along RIAA copyright infringement notices to subscribers. Those people who ignore repeated notices would face the possibility of having their service reduced and possibly suspended before a lawsuit is considered.

In return for ISP cooperation, the RIAA would no longer file lawsuits to force the service providers to turn over identifying information of suspected illegal file sharers.

Besides the negative publicity from past lawsuits, the RIAA has recently come under fire from the legal front. Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson last month filed a brief in federal court in Boston challenging the RIAA's use of the Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 in suing online music sharers. Nesson claimed the act is "an unconstitutional delegation by Congress of executive prosecutorial powers to private hands."

Therefore, it's not only that individual lawsuits are a money loser, it also appears that Congress is delegating powers it doesn't have.

Heh.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.