These articles always seem to imply that the RIAA should investigate the personal circumstances of everyone they intend to sue. I'm not condoning their sue-to-scare strategy, but legally speaking it matters zero that this girl makes $8.25 an hour and is waiting for a islet cell transplant, whatever that is.
It'd be like saying to an officer who pulls you over, "But sir, I can't afford to pay this. Next time please verify my income beforehand so you don't make this mistake again. Now please go away." Not gonna happen.
It has nothing to do with officers, law, right, wrong or any of the other things people always claim its about. Its PR. The suits are PR. Its bad PR to sue dead people, grandmothers, and transplant patients.
So yes, the RIAA should investigate the personal circumstances of everyone they intend to sue. They are embarrassing themselves .
It seems the RIAA doesn't need help destroying any reputation they might still have; they're doing a great job by themselves. Suing for $8,000 over 10 shared songs is pretty awesome, too.
This is something I've never understood. To sue for that amount of money, wouldn't they need to somehow prove that those 10 songs caused 2.5 million in damages or lost earnings or... something?
It'd be like saying to an officer who pulls you over, "But sir, I can't afford to pay this. Next time please verify my income beforehand so you don't make this mistake again. Now please go away." Not gonna happen.