The Art of the Overreach…
May 20, 2012
Back in May of 2010, the popular file-sharing service Limewire was found guilty of copyright infringement in a federal court; Limewire closed last October. Still, the plaintiff, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), is seeking damages– $75 Trillion in damages.
Perhaps noting that $75 Trillion is roughly five times the GDP of the U.S. (and more than the world’s combined GDP), and materially more than the entire music recording industry has made since Edison’s invention of the phonograph in 1877, Judge Kimba Wood has ruled the request “absurd.”
But while this is good news for the forces of common sense, it’s a limited victory. Under current IP laws, the defunct company could still owe more than $1 Billion.
[Read more at PCWorld.com]
Meantime, back at the ranch, RIAA members are presiding over the implosion of their business…
larger image at source: “Online vs. Offline in the U.S.: Are the Media Shrinking?“
… and it ain’t piracy that’s doing the damage.
