Riaa: Amnesty Nets Calls

The music industry's amnesty program for illegal downloaders is generating plenty of interest—and yet another lawsuit.

A California man has filed a class-action suit against the Recording Industry Assn. of America (RIAA). The suit seeks an injunction, claiming the offer is misleading because it doesn't shield users from legal action by other parties.

Eric Parke, a mortgage lending executive, is asking a Superior Court judge in San Rafael, Calif., to shut down the RIAA's Clean Slate amnesty program and inform the public that its offer is "false and misleading," according to news reports.

The RIAA launched the program Sept. 8, the same day the major record labels sued 261 people for allegedly violating their copyrights by sharing files online.

The amnesty program, which is being offered to peer-to-peer infringers, is off to a slow start, with little fanfare, according to RIAA officials.

An RIAA official says the organization has had many phone calls about settling lawsuits. But the RIAA says it's too soon to get a reading on how well the amnesty program is faring.

Critics say the program does not offer any guarantee that would prevent another entity in the music industry, such as a music publisher, from suing for copyright infringement.

Others worry that the notarized form sent to the RIAA by amnesty seekers pledging to rid their hard drives of illegal music files, destroy all copies and never infringe again could somehow be leaked and used against a born-again infringer.

Matt Oppenheim, RIAA senior VP of business and legal affairs, says if people want to modify their behavior themselves, "that's fine with us.

"But what the program does offer is relief, a level of comfort, a way to come clean and be able to sleep better at night with the assurance that we're not going to come after you with a subpoena and a lawsuit," he adds.

As to the concern that another music group might sue an infringer, Oppenheim says that in the discussions about the program, music publishers made the point that they didn't want to be part of it because joining the effort would mistakenly suggest "that they were part of our enforcement effort."

Carey Ramos, counsel for the National Music Publishers Assn. (NMPA), says his organization has no plans to sue infringers.

"It would be a logistical nightmare. Remember, the RIAA's main members are the big five; NMPA is composed of thousands of music publishers. Then there are co-publishers, co-writers. You'd have to get permission from all of them," Ramos says.

One federal lawmaker says just the threat of lawsuits might cause downloaders to change their behavior. "As far as the amnesty program goes, I think most will choose to modify their behavior on their own," Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, says.

Smith, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, was an early and strong supporter of the decision by the RIAA to go after individual infringers.

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., ranking minority member of Smith's subcommittee and also a strong industry supporter, characterizes the Clean Slate program as a "well-meaning gesture by the RIAA."

But he says that each P2P file-swapper must make his or her own decision about whether to take advantage of it.

"I think the criticism of the program by piracy apologists is an unfortunate if intentional distraction from the real issue, which is the massive illegality occurring on P2P networks," he says.

On the other hand, a prominent child psychologist says that from what he's hearing from young people, they dismiss the amnesty program.

"From what I hear," Dr. Michael Rich says, "kids think the lawsuits are just one more example of the mean-spiritedness of the industry, whom they identify with the adult world that they disrespect and rebel from.

"The amnesty program is, in their minds, a farce," continues Rich, an assistant professor of society, human development and health at Harvard University School of Public Health.

Rich says he doesn't like the implications of the amnesty program either.

"The message of punishment, shame and paranoia communicated by the music industry's strategy has completely drowned out any efforts they may have made—which neither the kids nor I have seen—to educate the public about intellectual property theft," he says.

Oppenheim says, "How, after all these months, could someone not know that [using P2P file-sharing software to get unauthorized music files] is illegal? We've sent them instant message warnings; it's been in the newspapers, on TV, on talk radio. You'd have to be blind."