Q&A with the RIAA

ILS: What is the association's realistic goal behind the lawsuits?

MG: To change behavior. It's not our first choice. We tried education programs first and we offer legitimate methods of downloading music, but behavior was not changing. Once we announced the collection of evidence, pirate use dropped, and once we filed suits, it dropped further. Unfortunately, it took this effort to get people's attention that this is illegal activity.

ILS: How far is the association willing to take these cases?

MG: We take it on a case-by-case basis. We've shown a willingness to settle for very reasonable amounts. If it turns out we don't have the right person, because again all we start with is a name and address, we'll withdraw the suit. We'll evaluate these just like any other copyright case. If a defendant has a valid defense, we'll withdraw. There's no hard and fast strategy on how far each case will be taken. We have a very limited amount of information when we start; there could be lots of circumstances involving each one and we'll evaluate those circumstances case-by-case.

ILS: At some point does the cost of litigating these cases outweigh the result?

MG: There's a limit to the amount of cases you can bring. We hope that the possibility of getting caught will have an exponential effect and we won't have to bring too many.

ILS: What damages is the association looking for in these cases?

MG: It depends. We'll go on a case-by-case basis.

ILS: Are there more lawsuits coming?

MG: Yes. It depends on where the evidence leads us. There may be several more rounds, but we don't know when that will be.

ILS: What is the status of the current lawsuits. We've all heard about the 12-year-old girl settling. Are there others we haven't heard about?

MG: There have been lots of settlements. I don't know the exact number. We'll compile and release that information systematically, but it's not just up to us – we need the permission of the defendants. We'll probably make a determination as they go as to when we release that information.

Despite all the publicity and numerous articles on the subject of the RIAA's lawsuits against music downloaders, some questions we thought important to Internet Law & Strategy users were left unanswered. So Managing Editor Steven Salkin, Esq. placed a call to the RIAA and spoke with Mitch Glaser, Senior Vice President, Government Relations to get the answers.

Internet Law & Strategy: How were the defendants in the lawsuits selected?

Glaser: Randomly. We had an IP address connected to a screen shot of the content they're making publicly available. We send the addresses of the egregious users to the ISPs and all we get back is a name and address. We don't get any further information due to the privacy protections in the statute (the Digital Millennium Copyright Act).

ILS: What is the association's realistic goal behind the lawsuits?

MG: To change behavior. It's not our first choice. We tried education programs first and we offer legitimate methods of downloading music, but behavior was not changing. Once we announced the collection of evidence, pirate use dropped, and once we filed suits, it dropped further. Unfortunately, it took this effort to get people's attention that this is illegal activity.

ILS: How far is the association willing to take these cases?

MG: We take it on a case-by-case basis. We've shown a willingness to settle for very reasonable amounts. If it turns out we don't have the right person, because again all we start with is a name and address, we'll withdraw the suit. We'll evaluate these just like any other copyright case. If a defendant has a valid defense, we'll withdraw. There's no hard and fast strategy on how far each case will be taken. We have a very limited amount of information when we start; there could be lots of circumstances involving each one and we'll evaluate those circumstances case-by-case.

ILS: At some point does the cost of litigating these cases outweigh the result?

MG: There's a limit to the amount of cases you can bring. We hope that the possibility of getting caught will have an exponential effect and we won't have to bring too many.

ILS: What damages is the association looking for in these cases?

MG: It depends. We'll go on a case-by-case basis.

ILS: Are there more lawsuits coming?

MG: Yes. It depends on where the evidence leads us. There may be several more rounds, but we don't know when that will be.

ILS: What is the status of the current lawsuits. We've all heard about the 12-year-old girl settling. Are there others we haven't heard about?

MG: There have been lots of settlements. I don't know the exact number. We'll compile and release that information systematically, but it's not just up to us – we need the permission of the defendants. We'll probably make a determination as they go as to when we release that information.