The first wave of 261 lawsuits were filed in early September,
following a carefully planned RIAA summer campaign to tackle the
illegal downloading of copyrighted music over file-sharing networks
such as KaZaA.
The RIAA announced in June that it would be turning its
attention to individual pirates, not just the file-sharing networks
that facilitate file swapping.
The organisation was heavily criticised for the flood of
subpoenas it issued under the controversial US Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA). The subpoenas ordered ISPs to identify
targeted individuals, allowing the RIAA to take legal action
against them. But it has not been an easy process for the RIAA.
From a PR perspective, the campaign has been a disaster, with
the RIAA being slated for the way in which the identities of the
defendants were made public. Sometimes the first a defendant heard
of the legal action against him was when a reporter phoned him up
to ask for a comment.
It was particularly unfortunate that the first person to settle
an action was a woman whose twelve-year-old daughter was caught
with songs on her computer.
As a result of the criticisms, the RIAA sent warning letters
this month to its next batch of 204 targets, explaining that they
could settle or be sued. Eighty suits have now been filed, and 124
settlements are being arranged.
"We are pleased that our efforts to extend illegal file sharers
an additional chance to come clean and work out settlements are
proving successful," said RIAA President Cary Sherman.
