RIAA continues assault on file sharers

In its latest round of lawsuits against file sharers, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) will get $6,050, or $756.25 per song, from a Bronx woman who allegedly shared eight music files through the peer-to-peer program Kazaa more than three years ago.  The woman, Denise Barker, initially challenged the constitutionality of paying up to $150,000 per file, but later decided to settle out of court with the RIAA, even though her attorney, Ray Beckerman, apparently was game towards attempting to litigate the case.

Even after admitting she had used Kazaa, Barker and Beckerman tried to convince the courts that the maximum penalty per shared song should have a maximum cap at $3.50 – up to five times the maximum the RIAA makes per song downloaded.
 
The RIAA and Barker agreed to a $110 monthly payment for 55 months, which will end in February 2013.

"Now that Ms. Barker has laid down her sword and shield, I hope other defendants will pick them up and carry them into battle," Beckerman told p2pnet.

To date, the RIAA has filed John Doe lawsuits against 20,000 people in the United States, with most people choosing to settle out of court for a few thousand dollars.  The RIAA’s suit against Barker is one of the longest running file sharing suits, after beginning an interesting journey more than three years ago.  While Barker decided to settle and let others fight the battle against the RIAA, the U.S.-based trade group has had ups and downs in the court room over the past few months.

Several cases have been overturned, and at least one case will likely head to retrial in the immediate future, while many people simply decided to settle out of court.