RIAA wants to fine lawyer who defends file-sharers for blogging about it
The Recording Industry Association of America is declaring attorney-blogger Ray Beckerman a "vexatious" litigator and is seeking unspecified monetary sanctions to punish him in his defense of a New York woman accused of making copyrighted music available on the Kazaa file sharing system.Congrats, Ray! First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. Victory is around the corner.The RIAA said Beckerman, one of the nation's few attorneys who defends accused file sharers, "has maintained an anti-recording industry blog during the course of this case and has consistently posted virtually every one of his baseless motions on his blog seeking to bolster his public relations campaign and embarrass plaintiffs," the RIAA wrote (.pdf) in court briefs. "Such vexatious conduct demeans the integrity of these judicial proceedings and warrants this imposition of sanctions."
Lory Lybeck, a Washington state defense attorney leading a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing the RIAA of allegedly engaging in "sham" litigation tactics, said the RIAA's motion comes from the same organization that has sued about 30,000 people over the last five years for file sharing, some of them falsely. It's the same organization, he said, that has sued dead people, the elderly and even children -- all while using unlicensed investigators.
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Yay! He's always one of my favorite posters over on SlashDot. Here's to hoping he can turn this around and make some money off of it. Does Ray hang around these parts?
ah, the old "tie your enemy up in court and empty his pockets defending himself" trick...
Let me get this straight, the organization that has fought a never ending war of press releases loaded with quotes from their legal counsel as well as media hype using brainwashed celebrities to tout their "cause" is now branching out into a new way of saying that they own "Freedom of Speech". We can laugh at them, but we better watch carefully because the original Napster once seemed as permanent a part of the net as the blogosphere does today.
Vexatious! What an absolutely gorgeous word – although, I think that it’s being dragged through the dirt here. (And I adore it for obvious reasons.)
NewYorkCountryLawyer (Ray Beckerman) is on my friends list on /. because I love his posts. He has a tone that I enjoy, and enough knowledge about copyright and the copyfight for me to feel like I’m getting a little more insight every time I see him interacting.
He’s almost a folk hero. And he’s directly accessible to me and more than enough of a geek to bloody post somewhere like Slashdot.
I hope he gives ‘em hell.
Vexatious... Hah!
Hang in there, Ray!
(Also one of MY favorites over at SlashDot.)
I certainly hope Ray is able to shove this down their throats and make 'em choke.
(RIAA calling someone ELSE "vexatious" ???)
Defending someone who has been accused can never be considered vexatious, and neither can communicating or "blogging" about a case.
From wikepedia: "Vexatious litigation is legal action which is brought, regardless of its merits, solely to harass or subdue an adversary."
Fight the good fight sir
Isn't it ironic?
(It's like rain on your wedding day. ;-) )
The RIAA is practically a textbook case of vexatious litigation and/or malicious prosecution.
Has anyone actually read the RIAA's memo? I just wasted my time reading it, and it sounds like Ray and his clients are aren't quite the innocents they are being made out to be.
Hey, it's fine to hate the RIAA, but don't be blinded by that hate. It doesn't justify the evidence hiding, deceit, and other legal scumbaggery unless two wrongs now make a right.
Ray is one of the people on Slashdot I consistently enjoy reading, best of luck to him in this.
I love "...demeans the integrity of these judicial proceedings..." I think the RIAA has that one locked down.
I don't know this "Ray" character, but thank god some one has the testicular fortitude to stand up to ridiculous corporate paper tigers. Bravo!
Walstib@8: Needs citation! What, specifically, are you referring to when you say, "Ray and his clients are aren't quite the innocents they are being made out to be?" Easy to smear peoples' character when you don't bother to specifically note what you object to -- and given that you created this account just to discredit these people, it would be nice to know more about what makes you believe that they aren't credible.
Pot, meet kettle.
But I think the RIAA is doing the ol' "best defense = good offense" thing. How did the RIAA gain corporate personhood sufficient to ground its standing in a Court of Law? Let me guess...sweetheart legislation? Why are not the Corps in this "Association" suing in their own names? And where do artificial persons get off associating anyway? Is not "association" a right of natural individuals only? And IIRC it took forever for "associations" of workers (unions) to gain legal recognition, so as to be heard in a Court of Law.
Must be sweetheart legislation, I think, which allows a group of Corps. to sue as a group...
Hard to imagine but the RIAA must be even bigger fools than we thought, people like Ray (and Bob Lefsetz) are just chomping at the bit to get sued.
Ray will relish his day(s) in court, and will challenge the RIAA on the very legitimacy of their filings.
It sounds like the RIAA is sore because Ray is the only one publishing news counter to their marketing dept's press releases claiming "victory" every time their cases are tossed out of court.
Wired has a nice story of a 5 year retrospective of RIAA cases, where RIAA admits the lawsuits were part of a publicity campaign.
I have little doubt this is more publicity than substance too.
This type of thing could have a chilling effect on any opinion or news that runs counter to RIAA's dream world.
Pot, Kettle.....
This makes the RIAA seem even more like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum
As much as I like what's he's doing to fight the RIAA, did NYCL blog details of current litigation?
Most lawyers know better than to say too much in public forums like Slashdot. Even if what they say is true, it can be taken out of context or appear misleading when circumstances change.
Lawyers really aren't supposed to do that, because it ultimately does influence juries, and if he did, the sanctions are quite possibly justified. Sanctions for this kind of thing often occur in media-circus cases.
As long as he isn't advising his defendants to lie in court (like Jammie Thomas did)... if he can afford to keep on doing it, even better!
Yesterday I learned the word 'baratry' here.
Now I have a reason to use it.
"barratry", rather.
(slow learner)
Lawsuits as a part of a "publicity campaign"?
Do your courts look kindly upon being used for such purposes? Is this not the prostitution of Justice?
IMO the blindfold on Justice is not there to facilitate rapine.
Cease yer barratry & rapine, lest I slit yer gullet! Aaaahhrrrr!
At this rate, I expect to see "RIAA Kicks Puppy" as a headline by the end of the year.
Seems like you may mean that as a dig against this blog post rather than the RIAA, but, yes, given the RIAA's rising trend of imperious mendacity one would just about expect that to take them on a route that will eventually encompass the kicking of puppies, seeing as how they have already mastered the art harassing children and suing dead people, IMO.
I see why the RIAA are trying to take down the Rayster as he's a constant thorn in their side. He has lately been rather vociferous in his support of artists allowing their music to be downloaded for free
I think the RIAA have bitten off more than they can chew this time. Slay the dragon Ray!