RIAA Suspends File-Sharing Lawsuits

The music industry has finally wised up and changed tactics in its quixotic legal campaign against peer-to-peer file sharing. Rather than continue to sue consumers who illegally download music, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) will get Internet service providers to send warning letters. If you ignore the letters, you may find your bandwidth reduced or your service eliminated altogether.

Between 2003 and 2008, the RIAA sued 35,000 consumers, although most of these cases didn’t make it into court. Instead, the would-be plaintiff usually demanded a sum of money $5,000 or so and dropped the suit. In cases that did enter a courtroom, the copyright law permitted the RIAA to demand statutory damages of up to $100,000 per song. The most flagrant downloaders we’re talking 5,000 tracks a month may still be sued, but the RIAA will no longer pursue small fry in court.

The new strategy will require the RIAA to work closely with ISPs, sometimes with the support of state authorities. At least one small ISP in Louisiana says cooperating with the RIAA will cost it time and money, and it’s demanding payment. Internet filtering is not part of the plan, although detection of illegal downloading will be.