damn the muse

Here's another example of David vs. Goliath in the music industry but with a twist. The RIAA sued and a music label in Canada decided to pay the legal bills to help defend the Gruebals. What I love are the arguments made in the defendants motion to dismiss:

# The RIAA's attempt to recover $750 per song, while its actual damages are only 99 cents per song, is unconstitutional;

# Since 2003 the RIAA has been actively engaged in "extortive and predatory litigation tactics" and misused the Courts to "create a veil of fear designed to frighten average consumers into paying thousands of dollars in settlements to avoid prolonged litigation";

# The RIAA's pleadings are "smoke and mirrors";

# The complaint lacks sufficient specificity;

# Tthe "distribution right" upon which the RIAA vaguely relies does not apply to electronic transmissions; and

# Even if it did, the mere act of making sound recordings available online does not constitute an actionable infringement.

It's nice to see that people are actually fighting the lawsuits and not settling. And the fact that a Canadian label is backing the defendants ( think Sarah McLachlan, Delerium) is pretty impressive and sends out a pretty loud statement. Sooner or later the RIAA will have no support.

Via Digg