Marketplace reminds us the storm of RIAA lawsuits began in September 2003. In that time they’ve sued a thousands of people, and most lawyers apparently advise those caught in the madness to simply roll over and take it. But Tanya Andersen, a 41 year old disabled single mother didn’t.

After years of litigation (and mounting legal bills), it finally came out the RIAA’s lawyers had misidentified her and dropped the case, casually saying “Sometimes when you go fishing with a driftnet, you catch a few dolphins.” Anderson, no docile dolphin, is seeking class status for her countersuit. New York lawyer Ray Beckerman thinks it’s about time:

I have a client with multiple sclerosis, gets around with an electric wheelchair, has no real understanding of what this is about, had nothing to do with any file-sharing, knows nothing about it. And [the RIAA] will not drop the case against her.

Extra: did I tell you the one about the dead defendant?

riaa, copyfight, dmca, lawsuits, Tanya Andersen, madness, p2p, peer 2 peer, file sharing

In early 2002 the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP) set royalty rates for webcasters that were twice as high as for regular radio broadcasts. The Library of Congress reset those rates in late summer (yes, the LoC oversees those things).

Now it’s 2007, and the RIAA is at it again. Techdirt reports the Copyright Royalty Board is adopting royalty rates the RIAA has been asking for, “and making them effective retroactively to the beginning of 2006 — meaning that many small independent webcasters are now facing a tremendous royalty bill they’re unlikely to be able to afford.” Here, listen to the story on PRI’s Marketplace.

Save the Streams is following the issue, and Kurt Hanson tells us Congress is paying attention.

CARP, CRB, Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel, RIAA, copyright royalty board, royalties, save the streams, webcast, webcasters