Attorney Find Blog

A newswire story this week indicated that several Vanderbilt University students had been notification that they’d been targeted as defendants in lawsuits by EMI Music, SONY BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group.  Then, the Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA) offered the students a surprising option–visit a website and settle your claim online.  Yep, settle the claim online.  I visited the website, and the front page offers two options–you can visit a page of Frequently Asked Questions about the lawsuits, or you can click to settle your claim online using a major credit card.

The FAQ page encourages visitors to settle their claims by suggesting, among other things, that:

• The settlement amount is generally lower if the case is settled before the record company incurs litigation expenses;
• Ignorance of the law is no excuse;
• It’s too late to fix the situation by deleting files or declining future participation; and
• You can still be identified even if you used a wireless connection.

RIAA even points out that if you’re over 18 and you settle before a lawsuit is filed, it’s your choice whether or not to tell your parents that you’ve been involved.  However, once a lawsuit is filed naming you as a defendant, it becomes a matter of public record.

The site offers the possibility of payment plans for those who can’t afford a lump-sum settlement, but warns that there will be additional fees to cover the “administration costs” of the plan.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 23rd, 2007 at 1:47 pm and is filed under Current Legal Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.