|
|
|
|
|
September 12th, 2003
|
|
RIAA Sues 12-Year-Old Girl, Pope, Orphanage, Puppy |
Record Industry Calls File Swappers 'The Dregs of Society'
|
U.S. - Anxious to put an end to illegal music-file swapping once and for all, the Recording Industry Association of America today filed lawsuits seeking punitive damages against over 15,000 defendants, including a 12-year-old girl, Pope John Paul II, and many others, sources say.
"Just because someone appears to be 'innocent,' or 'harmless', or 'physically incapable of using a computer,' doesn't mean that they're not guilty of intellectual property theft," said RIAA President George Shubb. "For example, our sources indicate that Randal Jenkins of Syracuse, New York, has illegally distributed over 10,000 songs, costing struggling musicians hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Jenkins, who is still a fetus, could not be reached for comment.
Another defendant, former New York City firefighter Abner Ravenwood, says he has not touched a computer in over two years. "I guess I might have used Napster once or twice, back when it was still around," he said. "But that was before 9/11, when I rescued those handicapped kids trapped in the World Trade Center and received third-degree burns over 90% of my body. Since then, it's been pretty painful to even get out of bed, much less do any file swapping."
Ravenwood, however, does admit to listening to the radio on numerous occasions.
The recording industry seems to be gaining ground. Several high-profile targets of the lawsuits have agreed to settle their cases, including the Pope and actor Christopher Reeve, who says he is too busy "trying to find a cure for paralysis" to actively fight the legal charges.
Another defendant, the Dalai Lama, is ignoring the lawsuit against him, saying it is only "a distraction on the path to enlightenment." The Tibetan Buddhist leader says he has never done any illegal file-sharing. "Well, there was that one time I downloaded those Gregorian chants," he admits, "but I'm pretty sure they were public domain."
Far from apologetic, Shubb says the RIAA has shown extraordinary levels of restraint. "I'd like to point out that, even though the late entertainer Fred Rogers was a flagrant file-swapper, he is not being named in these lawsuits," he Shubb said. "We draw the line at suing dead people. That is why we are leaving Mr. Rogers alone, and suing his widow instead."
|
|
|
