"They're wasting money on the lawsuits -- they're not scaring anyone," said Dustin Rhoads, a freshman film major at California State University, Northridge, who uses Kazaa to download movies, music videos and CD tracks.
"If they got Kazaa's database, I'd be scared, but right now, it's like a roomful of rats. You can pick off one or two, but you can't get them all."
The San Francisco-based Electronic
Frontier Foundation blasted the industry Monday and is assisting Internet users by offering them a way to check and see if their usernames are specified in hundreds of subpoenas the RIAA issued in June.
"I don't think a steady diet of news about lawsuits is going to motivate people to buy more CDs," said the EFF's Fred von Lohmann, an intellectual property attorney.
"Six months from now, there will be just as much file sharing as today, CD sales will have continued to slide and hopefully then executives of these labels will have been sacked by their shareholders. Then maybe we can start talking about constructive alternatives that allows file sharers to pay a reasonable amount."
The RIAA said file sharers not currently being investigated could avoid being sued if they sign a notarized affidavit in which they pledge to honor the copyrights of recording companies.
"For those who may want to wipe the slate clean and to avoid a potential lawsuit, this is the way to go," said RIAA Chairman and CEO Cary Bainwol. "We want to send a strong message, that the distribution of copyrighted works has consequences, but if individuals are willing to step forward on their own, we want to go the extra step and extend them this option."
But Von Lohmann warns users against the amnesty offer, which he has derisively nicknamed "shamnesty."
"It doesn't prevent bands, companies or music publishers if they choose to come after you; they can rely on your signed confession," von Lohmann said.
The lawsuits filed in federal court Monday named 24 people in Los Angeles County, including Northridge resident Peter Bartlett, Camarillo resident Elizabeth Ojeda, Castaic resident Randall Grant, Canyon Country resident Charles Bryant and Pacoima resident Ron Lisberg, according to court records.
The RIAA filed the lawsuits on behalf of its members which include Universal Music Group, Warner Music, BMG, Sony Music and EMI. If successful in court, the RIAA could receive damages of US$750 to US$150,000 for each song illegally downloaded.
"We've been telling people for a long time that file sharing copyrighted music is illegal, that you are not anonymous when you do it, and that engaging in it can have real circumstances," Sherman said.
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