[Corporations] Fwd: Resisting the corporate Gestapo

[CounterCorp]

	From CounterCorp's "Corporation Watch" list:


> Pursuing Pirates, No Matter the Cost
>
>  By Scholle Sawyer McFarland
>
> (MacWorld, July 5) -- In case you missed it amid the iPhone hoopla,  
> a single mother from Oregon won a victory against the recording  
> industry in June. The Recording Industry Association of America  
> (RIAA) finally dropped its 2005 case, Atlantic v. Andersen, against  
> Tanya Andersen.
>
> 	The RIAA had accused her of using the peer-to-peer file-sharing  
> program called Kazaa to illegally download gangster rap songs.  
> (Some blog posts give specific song titles, including Ludacris’  
> “Hoes in My Room.”)
>
> 	Andersen filed a countersuit later that year, accusing the RIAA of  
> racketeering, invasion of privacy, and malicious abuse of the legal  
> process.
>
> 	According to the text of her countersuit, an employee at the  
> company trying to collect a fine from her [on behalf of the RIAA]  
> told her that, although he believed she was innocent, the RIAA  
> would not “quit their attempts to force payment from her because to  
> do so would encourage other people to defend themselves.”
>
> 	And unless she immediately paid them the sum of roughly $4,000,  
> the RIAA allegedly would “ruin her financially.”
>
> 	Andersen provided the RIAA with a MySpace page (entitled “Chad’s  
> Wacky Life Stories”) linked to the user name that the RIAA said  
> that she used, as well as the author’s name and location.
>
> 	But the RIAA continued to pursue her. It threatened to force a  
> deposition of her 10-year-old daughter — even going to the lengths  
> of masquerading as the girl’s grandmother in a call to her  
> elementary school.
>
> 	And so the whole sad affair continued until earlier this year,  
> when the recording industry agreed to drop their case — if Andersen  
> dropped hers. She refused, and filed a motion demanding that the  
> RIAA provide proof she had illegally downloaded music. Right before  
> the June deadline, the RIAA relented.
>
> 	The case was dismissed, significantly, “with prejudice.” In legal  
> speak, the court said Andersen is innocent and can try to recover  
> her attorney fees.
>
> 	Andersen filed a new suit in Oregon to seek additional damages  
> from the RIAA, the company that collected fines for them, as well  
> as the private investigation company that helps them in their  
> pursuit of pirates.
>
> 	That the RIAA thinks it necessary to stoop to such ham-handed  
> tactics — pursuing the innocent when there are plenty of real  
> pirates out there — is truly frightening. (And, of course,  
> frightened is exactly what they want us to be.)
>
> 	But it also goes to show how impotent the recording industry must  
> feel as electronic music completely reorganizes its world. Let’s  
> hope Tanya Andersen’s victory gives them pause before they do  
> anything like that again.
>
> _________________________________________
>
> ** Corporation Watch: Shining a spotlight on corporate pathology **
> Submit feedback or articles to corpwatch-editor at countercorp.org
> For more information about CounterCorp, visit www.countercorp.org



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