Girl, 12, Settles Piracy Suit for $2,000

Associated Press via Yahoo News ^ | 09 SEP 03 | TED BRIDIS, AP Technology Writer

[WestPacSailor]

WASHINGTON - A 12-year-old girl in New York who was among the first to be sued by the record industry for sharing music over the Internet is off the hook after her mother agreed Tuesday to pay $2,000 to settle the lawsuit, apologizing and admitting that her daughter's actions violated U.S. copyright laws.

The hurried settlement involving Brianna LaHara, an honors student, was the first announced one day after the Recording Industry Association of America (news - web sites) filed 261 such lawsuits across the country. Lawyers for the RIAA said Brianna's mother, Sylvia Torres, contacted them early Tuesday to negotiate.

"We understand now that file-sharing the music was illegal," Torres said in a statement distributed by the recording industry. "You can be sure Brianna won't be doing it anymore."

Brianna added: "I am sorry for what I have done. I love music and don't want to hurt the artists I love."

The case against Brianna was a potential minefield for the music industry from a public relations standpoint. The family lives in a city housing project on New York's Upper West Side, and they said they mistakenly believed they were entitled to download music over the Internet because they had paid $29.99 for software that gives them access to online file-sharing services.

Even in the hours before the settlement was announced, Brianna was emerging as an example of what critics said was overzealous enforcement by the powerful music industry.

The top lawyer for Verizon Communications Inc. charged earlier Tuesday during a Senate hearing that music lawyers had resorted to a "campaign against 12-year-old girls" rather than trying to help consumers turn to legal sources for songs online. Verizon's Internet subsidiary is engaged in a protracted legal fight against the RIAA over copyright subpoenas sent Verizon customers.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also alluded to Brianna's case.

"Are you headed to junior high schools to round up the usual suspects?" Durbin asked RIAA President Cary Sherman during a Senate Judiciary hearing.

Durbin said he appreciated the piracy threat to the recording industry, but added, "I think you have a tough public relations campaign to go after the offenders without appearing heavy-handed in the process."

Sherman responded that most people don't shoplift because they fear they'll be arrested.

"We're trying to let people know they may get caught, therefore they should not engage in this behavior," Sherman said. "Yes, there are going to be some kids caught in this, but you'd be surprised at how many adults are engaged in this activity."

[WestPacSailor]

Three important things to take away from this:

1)Parents, know what your children are downloading.

2)Just how many songs did this 12-year old download? (Wanna bet she wasn't the only one in the house downloading the stuff?) And, most importantly ,

3)Who the hell PAYS $29.99 for filesharing software? That stuff is free and more readily available than the SoBig virus!

[TomServo]

3rd posting.

[Wright is right!]

Same story in our local paper said mom paid THREE thousand.

Michael

[venora]

an honors student

Hmmm...what is a 6th grade "honors student"??

Is this like "Bonfire of the Vanities" where "he didn't pi$$ on my shoes so he must be an honor student"??

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Did the suers go to court and get a wire tap
court order or did they in effect wire tap
via internet?

[bvw]

A better question is what single-mom ninnie out of a housing project pays two thousand dollars when cash is presumably tight? When the notoriety of the case would make it highly desirable pro-bono work for a good trial attorney? When a jury could be easily swayed to the story of a callous corporate goliath stomping a poor 12-year old girl from a broken family?

This quick settlement just does smell right.

I said on a prior thread that I suspect the RIAA got some unnamed third party to pony up considerably more than $2000 in a contractually quiet transfer to the single mom. Walking around quiet moeny. WAQM.

[WestPacSailor]

3rd posting.

Sorry, I searched for it though...reall, I did!

[bvw]

Corretion: "This quick settlement just does {NOT] smell right."

[auntdot]

I may need by medication adjusted again, but this thing sounds like a set up.

This is all too pat.

This wunderkind, living in a housing project, with a mother who just wants to do the right thing (even though neither of them didn't know they were doing the wrong thing), and who just does't want to hurt the 'artists she loves', popped to the top of the list of 261 randomly chosen downloaders?

This thing seems about as likely to come about as a parley of twelve longshots at Churchill Downs, make that a twenty horse parley with bad fetlocks.

Phooey.

[bvw]

Correction: "Corre[C]tion"

[razorback-bert]

I am waiting for one of our fine attorney posters to tell me, how the RIAA has standing to sue. I would think it requires the injured party, Sony, WB etc.

[bvw]

A good reporter would survey her nieghbors, employer and friends to find out any possible connection to the RIAA -- in the possible case this was set-up by the RIAA. To say "See, everybody pays up! If a poor 12 year old girl from teh projects ain't exempt, you college geeks ain't exempt."

[doug from upland]

Sherman responded that most people don't shoplift because they fear they'll be arrested.
============================================

Another example of moral depravity and what those in the entertainment biz have helped do to our society. No, Mr. Sherman, it is not that we don't shoplift because we fear we'll be arrested. We don't shoplift because stealing is wrong. I learned that at about age three in my Irish Catholic/German upbringing.

[sharkhawk]

I believe the RIAA is the agent hired by the record companies to collect royalties. I remember a few years ago, before the internet, when they went after bars and health clubs, who were playing music without the RIAA's permission.

[razorback-bert]

bars and health clubs, who were playing music

I thought that was BMOC(or whatever they are called). One of my employees back in the 80's went to work for them, he would go out and write down what songs were played and when in bars. He got paid to pub crawl, the guy could hear a few bars and name that tune.

[Loyalist]

With every subpoena it issues, the likelihood increases that the RIAA is going to issue one to somebody with the money and the desire to fight it out.