Spring Break
What Happens If The RIAA Targets You
Andrew Peters
Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: News
"I thought, 'what are the chances they issue a subpoena?'" Dave said. "But I didn't know anyone who's taken that chance, and it would have cost at least $3,000 to get a lawyer to fight the case."
Dave barely had the $3,000 that he was forced to pay. Working at his on-campus job 10 hours a week for minimum wage, he would have to work over 43 weeks to recover his losses.
"I tried to think of ways around it," he said. "But you can't run away from it."
Since paying the settlement, he's had to make some adjustments to cut his expenses.
"I don't go out as much. I don't drink when I do go out," he said. "Nothing in this world is free. I wish I could have just paid $100. But to take everything I have, everything I've worked for, it's ludicrous.
"It does seem a little unfair," he continued. "They go after the first people they see. Not just big people - they'll go for anyone."
"They're going to catch bigger fish -" Dave stopped to correct himself mid-sentence, "more fish in a bigger pool here."
As for the music, Dave said he wasn't even particularly attached to the songs he had been sharing.
"I'll listen to anything," he said. "Half the time I'll hear a song and not know the name, who sings it, or the lyrics."
But no matter the song or the software, UITS recently warned that illegal downloading could mean harsh fines.
"It is important that you understand the consequences of engaging in the sharing of copyrighted material such as music and movie files," Kerntke's statement reads.
"Several individuals at UConn who have received pre-settlement letters claim that they were unaware that they were running software that was sharing their files via the Internet." The statement continues, "In the interest of avoiding a costly error, each of you should examine and remove from your computers any peer-to-peer software and infringing material that you may find."
But the most recent warning was too late for Dave, who had received the RIAA notices over a month before.
Dave barely had the $3,000 that he was forced to pay. Working at his on-campus job 10 hours a week for minimum wage, he would have to work over 43 weeks to recover his losses.
"I tried to think of ways around it," he said. "But you can't run away from it."
Since paying the settlement, he's had to make some adjustments to cut his expenses.
"I don't go out as much. I don't drink when I do go out," he said. "Nothing in this world is free. I wish I could have just paid $100. But to take everything I have, everything I've worked for, it's ludicrous.
"It does seem a little unfair," he continued. "They go after the first people they see. Not just big people - they'll go for anyone."
"They're going to catch bigger fish -" Dave stopped to correct himself mid-sentence, "more fish in a bigger pool here."
As for the music, Dave said he wasn't even particularly attached to the songs he had been sharing.
"I'll listen to anything," he said. "Half the time I'll hear a song and not know the name, who sings it, or the lyrics."
But no matter the song or the software, UITS recently warned that illegal downloading could mean harsh fines.
"It is important that you understand the consequences of engaging in the sharing of copyrighted material such as music and movie files," Kerntke's statement reads.
"Several individuals at UConn who have received pre-settlement letters claim that they were unaware that they were running software that was sharing their files via the Internet." The statement continues, "In the interest of avoiding a costly error, each of you should examine and remove from your computers any peer-to-peer software and infringing material that you may find."
But the most recent warning was too late for Dave, who had received the RIAA notices over a month before.
Viewing Comments 1 - 9 of 10
Ed Tomassi
posted 3/06/08 @ 12:34 PM EST
I would fight the RIAA!! To me, as long as your not selling the music, file sharing should be legal. Limewire or other peer-to-peer sources are no different then a library. (Continued…)
bbb
posted 3/06/08 @ 2:20 PM EST
UConn should tell the RIAA to pound sand and STAND UP FOR THEIR STUDENTS.
Other Universities have refused to tell the RIAA the names of students they accuse of filesharing. (Continued…)
King8654
posted 3/06/08 @ 5:22 PM EST
Obviously you dont read any P2P news or recent events of the past year or so. Taking the RIAA to court has only worked in a couple of cases, with the defendents being older single mothers being represented by the EFF at no charge, and they come out lucky. (Continued…)
Andrew Wise
posted 3/06/08 @ 6:57 PM EST
Go to your student council, get them active, and then have them go up the chain to the University President.
If a University is publicly known to rat out their students and not protect them, it doesn't bode too well for their ability to win-over prestigious new students, faculty, etc. (Continued…)
http://www.Swamp-Ass.com
posted 3/07/08 @ 2:29 PM EST
Every student at UCONN should get a router & leave it open/unencrypted.
This way, there is no way of knowing who, out of the whole student body, downloaded what from whom! What is the RIAA gonna do then sue 25,000 students????
Justine Clarke
posted 3/12/09 @ 6:20 AM EST
That looks like lots of fun. When I was in college we didn't had so many fun activities.
Monica Ackers
posted 3/16/09 @ 9:14 AM EST
Good and interesting article, thanks!
Maria Schellden
posted 3/20/09 @ 11:52 AM EST
Good scene, interesting post, thanks.
Russian Girls Dating
posted 3/24/09 @ 8:17 AM EST
Your article is fine for all its distinctive features.
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