Last September, the RIAA started a Clean Slate amnesty programme where music sharers could confess their crimes in written form to the RIAA and be freed from possible future prosecution so long as they agreed to destroy all infringing music files they obtained and promise never to make an infringement again. However the RIAA have been sued by a Californian resident as he claimed that this programme lead to fraudulent business practice since it could not make a guarantee.
Between this lawsuit and the amount of education the RIAA claim to have provided about sharing music is wrong, they have decided to voluntarily withdraw their Clean Slate amnesty programme. The RIAA also want the lawsuit against them dropped since the amnesty programme is no longer operational. The RIAA however
intend keeping their promise with the 1,108 people that have sought amnesty
throughout the duration of the programme. GristyMcFisty and Quakester2000 both submitted the following news via our news submit :
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So reveal papers filed with the US court last week in response to legal action brought against the RIAA, the Winona Daily News reports. The organisation, which represents the major music recording companies in the US, wants the lawsuit against it dropped because the amnesty scheme which prompted the action is no longer operational. The RIAA launched the 'Clean Slate' scheme last September. It offered to indemnify anyone who admitted to sharing music against future lawsuits it might instigate, provided they offered up written testimony that they would no longer share music without the permission of the copyright holder. California resident Eric Parke sued the RIAA, alleging that the Clean Slate programme amounted to a fraudulent business practice, since it could not make such a guarantee. "The RIAA has concluded that the program is no longer necessary or appropriate, and has voluntarily withdrawn it," the RIAA's lawyers told the court, the papers reveal. The reason: the public have received sufficient education to know that sharing music is wrong, apparently. Oh, and almost no one is now taking the RIAA up on its offer. It said it does intend to honour the indemnity offered to the 1108 people who have sought amnesty from prosecution under the now-ended scheme. |
It seems interesting that the RIAA expect the lawsuit against them to be dropped just because they have withdrawn from their controversial Clean Slate amnesty programme. I doubt that they would even consider dropping a lawsuit against one of their file sharing victims if that victim decided to stop sharing music.
Feel free to discuss and read more about file sharing, its legal issues and alternatives on our Music Downloads, P2P & Legal Issues Forum.
Source: The Register
