StlSluggers wrote:I do believe you missed my point. A person who stole my identity can't be prosecuted until I actually lose something, but if a song is available for download, the RIAA has the right to damages even if they can't prove they ever lost anything.
What are you talking about?
DaQ wrote:I think they "caught me" sharing 98 audio files and only mentioned 10 on "Exhibit A"
Plus who is stopping you from suing the guy who stole your identity? Go ahead and sue him.
DaQ is not getting criminally prosecuted, this is a threatened civil suit. You could do the same thing if you wanted. You are mixing up civil and criminal processes. Different standards of proof, different goals.
The Cafe input here is definitely must easier to interpret than what the lawyers wrote in the letter to me. I got 2 letters actually, but the "98 audio files" one looks more like the real one, as the "97" letter says the exact same thing, and it doesn't appear they are going after 98+97 (because the University cover letter says only one situation is under review). Also, the "97" one was made a few weeks before the "98" one. Hence, it looks like the "98 audio files" is a revised version - again, they both are verbatim with one another.
Regardless, my dad told me to forget about the whole thing, and he'll handle it. He has some fellow "lawyer friends" who will look it over, and he read both the EFF link and the RIAA link provided in this thread.
bigken117 wrote:I heard on the news once...and please correct me if I'm wrong...that downloading the songs from Limewire is not illegal, it is in fact the uploading (or sharing) of the file that is, and that's who the RIAA targets. The preventative measure they suggested was to just disable the uploading feature.
If this is correct, then I have my case. The only reason I downloaded songs from LimeWire was to put them in my IPod for my own enjoyment, and that's it. I don't want to share any of them or sell them. Apparently, my IP Address had other ideas, and did share the files. I thought I had LimeWire off (now it's removed), but apparently it wasn't at the time. I was completely unaware LimeWire shares files by itself, since of course I wasn't the one who installed it into my laptop.
bigken117 wrote:I heard on the news once...and please correct me if I'm wrong...that downloading the songs from Limewire is not illegal, it is in fact the uploading (or sharing) of the file that is, and that's who the RIAA targets. The preventative measure they suggested was to just disable the uploading feature.
If this is correct, then I have my case. The only reason I downloaded songs from LimeWire was to put them in my IPod for my own enjoyment, and that's it. I don't want to share any of them or sell them. Apparently, my IP Address had other ideas, and did share the files. I thought I had LimeWire off (now it's removed), but apparently it wasn't at the time. I was completely unaware LimeWire shares files by itself, since of course I wasn't the one who installed it into my laptop.
If that's true, they still aren't going to let you go because you "only meant to download, not share"
They will be out to get you and you'll have to pay a fine per song shared....I really think you're wasting your time fighting it.
They have the proof that your computer shared songs, they really don't care about the reasoning behind it.
bigken117 wrote:I heard on the news once...and please correct me if I'm wrong...that downloading the songs from Limewire is not illegal, it is in fact the uploading (or sharing) of the file that is, and that's who the RIAA targets. The preventative measure they suggested was to just disable the uploading feature.
If this is correct, then I have my case. The only reason I downloaded songs from LimeWire was to put them in my IPod for my own enjoyment, and that's it. I don't want to share any of them or sell them. Apparently, my IP Address had other ideas, and did share the files. I thought I had LimeWire off (now it's removed), but apparently it wasn't at the time. I was completely unaware LimeWire shares files by itself, since of course I wasn't the one who installed it into my laptop.
Ignorance is not a valid defense. Even if you didn't want to share the files, you still knew that what you were doing was wrong.
bigken117 wrote:I heard on the news once...and please correct me if I'm wrong...that downloading the songs from Limewire is not illegal, it is in fact the uploading (or sharing) of the file that is, and that's who the RIAA targets. The preventative measure they suggested was to just disable the uploading feature.
If this is correct, then I have my case. The only reason I downloaded songs from LimeWire was to put them in my IPod for my own enjoyment, and that's it. I don't want to share any of them or sell them. Apparently, my IP Address had other ideas, and did share the files. I thought I had LimeWire off (now it's removed), but apparently it wasn't at the time. I was completely unaware LimeWire shares files by itself, since of course I wasn't the one who installed it into my laptop.
The problem is that the original statement is completely incorrect. Downloading copyrighted property without the copyright holder's permission is 100% illegal. Perhaps the confusion came from the fact that the LimeWire program itself is legal. All it does is provide an interface to share files. Sharing files is also legal (it is one of the foundational purposes of the internet) as long as you are not breaking copyright protections.
The RIAA does typically go after the sharers more than the pure downloaders. For one, they can create a stronger case against them and two the amount of damages they can estimate is much higher.
DaQ it doesn't matter in the least if you had no intention of sharing. Downloading songs through limewire just for your own enjoyment is illegal. The whole file sharing thing is only secondary to your first offense. I'm not sure how you plan on fighting that one, but the whole ignorance thing isn't gonna fly. You should take a new approach, or just pay the fine and move on. This is exactly why I either buy music, or share it with my friends.
One of the schools I'm looking at offers free Napster to all their students to avoid this kind of thing. I can't add anything that hasn't been said really...just because you didn't know it was happening, doesn't excuse you from it. Good luck in whatever happens though.
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