Where the Kids Come to Mouth Off - Page 130

Anne Elk · 09-17-2004, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bilmore
Probably not.

Why not defend him? Answer, send them piles of discovery along with the answer, request open dates for all their execs' depos, demand their proof on his downloading . . . . .

Then offer them a grand.

(Keep in mind I have no idea the real risk of actually trying the case. What do they get if they win? Some per-song amount?)

I'm not an attorney (surprise), although most of y'all have probably figured that out by now.

According to their documents he had 650 songs available for sharing. Their formula is $750 per song. I don't know if they have stats on how many songs were actually shared.

LessinSF · 09-17-2004, 05:47 PM

1. I don't claim to be a good kid.

2. They all come from Yahoo!'s site, which encourages that their pics be sent to other people (and in fact list which are the most popular).

Hank Chinaski · 09-17-2004, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bilmore
Probably not.

Why not defend him? Answer, send them piles of discovery along with the answer, request open dates for all their execs' depos, demand their proof on his downloading . . . . .

Then offer them a grand.

(Keep in mind I have no idea the real risk of actually trying the case. What do they get if they win? Some per-song amount?)

Quick question. Is your malpractice insurance all paid up?

There are statutory damges per infringement. There is no real defense here and attorney's fees are a very likely outcome of a trial.

Anne, have your brother go to the page and comply and register*. Then send that to the other side and beg them to let the kid out.

*unless he has some real defense.

bilmore · 09-17-2004, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Quick question. Is your malpractice insurance all paid up?

This is why I added the disclaimer about my lack of knowledge of the legal basis.

On all of my legal analyses, I have an auto-sig that does a watermark at the bottom of each page that says "But, then what the fuck do I know about any of this?"

Greedy,Greedy,Greedy · 09-17-2004, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bilmore
This is why I added the disclaimer about my lack of knowledge of the legal basis.

On all of my legal analyses, I have an auto-sig that does a watermark at the bottom of each page that says "But, then what the fuck do I know about any of this?"

Oh, this is so tempting.

Why, Bilmore, Why?

taxwonk · 09-17-2004, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bilmore
This is why I added the disclaimer about my lack of knowledge of the legal basis.

On all of my legal analyses, I have an auto-sig that does a watermark at the bottom of each page that says "But, then what the fuck do I know about any of this?"

I actually got an opinion letter through two rounds of review before someone noticed that the last sentence of the letter was "Of course, that's just my opinion; I could be wrong."

Greedy,Greedy,Greedy · 09-17-2004, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by taxwonk
I actually got an opinion letter through two rounds of review before someone noticed that the last sentence of the letter was "Of course, that's just my opinion; I could be wrong."

I trust they were objecting to the way it was said rather than the sentiment itself?

Say_hello_for_me · 09-17-2004, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Anne Elk
My brother has been sued. In the letter they offered to settle for $4500. In the first phone call it dropped to $3000. While doing some research he discovered that there was an amnesty period, where you could comply with a list of RIAA demands and register. Doing so removed you from their to-be-sued-list. Turns out he complied with amnesty website requirements. Does he have a shot at getting the amount reduced even though he didn't register (didn't know about it)? I know, I know, ignorance isn't a defense, but hey, it's my brother, and he's a good kid who doesn't have $3000.

Hello Anne.

Last week, a partner at my firm told the story of a friend who's son got burned with this. The friend asked the partner for advice, and the partner told him to negotiate the amount down. These people are in the business of setting numerous examples. You might get them to drop below $3000, and I'm sure someone or other on the internet has published all kinds of statistics on what they settle for. But AFAIK, they ain't going to zero for anyone I've heard of. The friend's kid paid more tha $3000 for more than 1000 songs (I think it may have been amost 2000, but I can't remember).

Good luck.

Hello

PS It appears that IP-types also like Buckaroo Banzai.

taxwonk · 09-17-2004, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
I trust they were objecting to the way it was said rather than the sentiment itself?

The reviewing partner was certainly in that camp.

Anne Elk · 09-17-2004, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Say_hello_for_me
Last week, a partner at my firm told the story of a friend who's son got burned with this. The friend asked the partner for advice, and the partner told him to negotiate the amount down. These people are in the business of setting numerous examples. You might get them to drop below $3000, and I'm sure someone or other on the internet has published all kinds of statistics on what they settle for. But AFAIK, they ain't going to zero for anyone I've heard of. The friend's kid paid more tha $3000 for more than 1000 songs (I think it may have been amost 2000, but I can't remember).

Thanks, that helps. I told him to search for stats on the number of songs and the settlement amount so he could offer something in that ballpark.

I found a couple of useful websites. So far none have recommended going the amnesty route.

He doesn't want them to go to zero, he just can't afford the $3000.

09-17-2004, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Anne Elk
He doesn't want them to go to zero, he just can't afford the $3000.

I represent losers with no money far too often. Use the following terms liberally, "Judgment-Proof," "Chapter 7 Bankruptcy," and "Payment Plan" and you should get them down to a reasonable amount.