Consumerist
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worst company in america
Interview With RIAA Lawsuit Target Tanya Andersen
You might remember Tanya. She was falsely accused by the RIAA of sharing over 1,000 songs. Rather than admit they had the wrong person, the RIAA lawyers just wouldn't quit. More » -
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MediaDefender's Emails Hit The Internet: Entrapment? The New York Attorney General's Office?
MediaDefender, a company that "disrupts" p2p on behalf of record labels and movie studios, suffered an embarrassing leak this weekend when 700MB of internal company emails were distributed on the internet. Oops! More » -
worst company in america
Class Action Status Requested For Malicious Prosecution Suit Against RIAA
Remember Tanya Anderson? After the RIAA's case against the 42 year-old single mother for downloading gangsta rap was dismissed with prejudice, Tanya turned around and sued the RIAA for fraud, racketeering, and malicious prosecution. Now, her lawyers have filed papers in federal court asking to grant her suit class action status. From Ars Technica: More » -
Universal drops DRM out of fear of an Appleopoly. Say that three times fast. [BoingBoing]
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worst company in america
Warner Music Group Loses A Whole Lot Of Money
Warner Music Group is losing a lot of money, according to Reuters. The company said in a statement:"This (revenue) decline was driven by a challenging recorded music industry environment as the shift in consumption patterns from physical sales to new forms of digital music continues," the company said in a statement. "Declines in our physical ... revenue were only partially offset by increases in music publishing and digital recorded music revenue."
So, shoppers, why is that? Crappy music? DRM? Is music too expensive? Do you not enjoy music anymore? Are you broke? Are you buying games for the Wii instead of a CD? Are you a bunch of pirates? Avast. More » -
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U-Haul Gets Mad If You Follow Their Directions, Park In A Ghetto
Willie wasn't sure why U-Haul told him to park his rental truck in a poorly lit, fenced-off gas station lot that was clearly under construction, but he figured he had the right place when he saw several other U-Haul trucks in a closed pen nearby; Willie parked next to the pen, locked his rental, and got the hell out of there; when Willie told U-Haul he returned their truck as per their instructions, "they try to tell us it is our fault and we would be charged for this....for what? For doing exactly what they said. Exactly." Now U-Haul wants $1,700: More » -
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Judge Awards $68,685.23 in Attorneys Fees Against RIAA
In the case of Capitol v. Foster, the judge has awarded $68,685.23 in attorneys fees to the defendant, Debbie Foster. According to Recording Industry vs The People, this is the first time attorneys fees have been awarded to an RIAA defendant. More » -
credit reports
Consumer Sues Choicepoint For Saying She Was In An Accident She Wasn't In
Angie Duckworth is suing Choicepoint and State Farm for $75,000+ for reporting her as being in an accident she wasn't in, and messing up her credit report.
According to the suit, Angie Duckworth's father let an acquaintance, Angie Jones, borrow a car in 2002. Ms. Duckworth reported the accident to State Farm, who erroneously reported her as being the driver. (Apparently they can't understand how two women could have the same first name but different last names). More »
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Internet Radio Saved?
Wired's Listening Post Blog claims that internet radio has been "saved" (for now, anyway) and that SoundExchange executive director Jon Simson "promised — in front of Congress — that SoundExchange will not enforce the new royalty rates. Webcasters will stay online, as new rates are hammered out." More » -
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How The Recording Industry Killed Itself
Rolling Stone has published the first in a two part series that details the method the recording industry used to kill itself. More » -
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Former RIAA Defendant Accuses the RIAA of Fraud and Racketeering
Tanya Andersen is biting back. Constant readers will remember Tanya from the story "The RIAA Wants To Interrogate Your 10 Year-Old". Tanya is the 42 year-old mother who the RIAA accused of downloading "gangster rap" on kazaa. The case was dismissed, but now Tanya is fighting back with her own lawsuit. She's suing the RIAA for direct and punitive damages.In addition to suing the RIAA, Andersen is targeting Atlantic Recording, Priority Records, Capital Records, UMG Recordings and BMG Music. She is also naming Media Sentry and RIAA's Settlement Support Center as defendants. Andersen's lawyers are hitting the defendants with the full power of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and federal and state RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Act), something that is often used against mafia and street gang members.
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Today Is The Day Of Internet Radio Silence
Just a reminder to those of you who are following the great internet radio crisis, today is the day of Internet Radio Silence. Tim Westergren, founder of Pandora.com, writes: More » -
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Judge To RIAA: Students Must Be Allowed To Respond To John Doe Lawsuits
The RIAA's tactic of filing John Doe lawsuits against alleged copyright infringers was dealt a blow by a New Mexican judge, according to Ars Technica: More » -
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NBC Lawyer: Copyright Infringement Is A More Important Law Enforcement Priority Than Fraud, Burglary And Bank-Robbing
Meet NBC/Universal general counsel Rick Cotton. He told a press conference that,"Our law enforcement resources are seriously misaligned. If you add up all the various kinds of property crimes in this country, everything from theft, to fraud, to burglary, bank-robbing, all of it, it costs the country $16 billion a year. But intellectual property crime runs to hundreds of billions [of dollars] a year."
Cotton is the Chairman of something called the Coalition Against Counterfieting and Piracy and is "spearheading" a new effort by the MPAA and and the RIAA called, "Campaign to Protect America." More » -
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Congressman Who Took Money From RIAA/MPAA Says Congress Should Cut Funding To Colleges
The RIAA's campaign contributions are hard at work this week as members of Congress threaten to cut off federal funding to educational institutions if they don't stop file sharing on their networks. More » -
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RIAA Accused Of Extortion and Conspiracy
According to Recording Industry vs The People, a new RIAA case in Tampa, Florida has some interesting counterclaims by the consumer, including extortion, conspiracy, and deceptive trade practices.In the case of UMG v. Del Cid, the defendant has filed the following five (5) counterclaims against the RIAA, under Florida, federal, and California law:
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Contact Information For 50 Politicians Who Take Campaign Money From The RIAA
When you voted the RIAA the worst company in America you gave us an assignment. But how can we improve the customer service of a recording industry trade group? It's not an easy task. Couldn't you have voted for Home Depot? U-Haul? Anyway... More » -
riaa
RIAA VP Laughs At Consumerist's "Worst Company In America" Contest
David Hughes, a former Vice President of Technology Strategies and Digital Policy for Sony BMG who now serves as the Senior Vice President of Technology for the RIAA, held a question and answer session at Arizona State University this morning. The audience held several Consumerist readers, one of whom asked David about winning the "Worst Company In America" contest. Reader Anthony describes the event: More »
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New York, 6:40 PM
Mon Nov 23
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