i dont know for sure if i am caught, but i heard that they can fine you up to $750,000!! i've downloaded like 1000 songs in the couple years i've had limewire, and i have no money for that. i can barely pay for college, if i could then i would have bought the cds in the first place! i hope RIAA goes to hell.
2007-03-07 19:16:04 · 7 answers · asked by HB 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Software
oh yes and apparently they can send you to jail as well.
2007-03-07 19:16:53 · update #1
They usually check up firms and large companies because that's were the profit is being made, usually. If you just use it at home with no intend of selling or making any profit the chances are very low...
2007-03-07 19:23:32 · answer #1 · answered by agent-X 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The RIAA goes after anyone they have even a passable amount of evidence about. It is not true that they only go after massive distributors... they are trying to scare everyone. They go after relatively small downloaders if they can get enough information.
The thing is, there are millions of people in the US alone to go after. Your chances of getting an RIAA letter are relatively small, but the chances do go up the more you download. Even if you do get an RIAA lawsuit letter, there is also a relatively small chance they will follow-up on your case. BUT, these chances are not lottery small. There is reasonable chane that you or someone you know could get a lawsuit letter if you've been a big downloader at any point in time. The thing with limewire is that being a big downloader = being a big distributor, since others on Limewire are downloading from your big collection at the same time you are downloading from theirs.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to uninstall Limewire and download no more. Don't just not use Limewire... uninstall it. People could still be pulling from your computer as long as it is installed.
By the way, your "if I had the money I would have bought the CDs" argument is pretty pathetic. What makes you think you have a right to the creative property of others? You don't. If someone was stealing from you on a daily basis you would want some lawyers to go after the thieves for you too. If you think that the record companies charge too much for their products, don't buy them. You can get all the music you want legally, for free, on the radio (real radio or internet radio) 24-7-365 anyway.
2007-03-07 19:36:25 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Stop downloading. If you are caught, and are still downloading, then they won't have any pity on you. If you have the files, you may want to delete them. And as far as hoping they "go to hell" think of it this way, if you owned a store, and I came in and stole from you, would you want me arrested, or would you say, never mind that I worked hard to get here, you can have if for free and go tell all of your friends? You may think the fines are excessive, but downloading COPY WRITTEN songs is ILLEGAL.
You might want to check out the clean slate program and see if it applies to you:
Clean slate program
Between September 2003 and April 2004, the RIAA operated a system called the Clean Slate Program. It claimed to give those accused of copyright infringement amnesty "on the condition that they refrain from future infringement,"[46] plus delete the infringing material. The RIAA states this was an educational initiative about illegal file sharing, and was stopped due to increased public awareness in the issues. The program may also have been stopped due to the low number of takers.[47] There is some doubt about whether the RIAA can offer this protection, as it cannot protect from lawsuits by record companies and music publishers.[48] In addition, some Attorneys claimed the offer of amnesty was misleading, and legal documents provided by the RIAA "provides ... no promise not to sue you."[49] It should, however, be noted that a lawsuit brought against someone on the program by a RIAA member label would have been highly counter-productive and severely damaged the group's public image.
2007-03-07 19:25:03 · answer #3 · answered by mandi3939 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you downloaded from your college, odds are they recorded your ip and turned you in..... If thats not the case, as long as you keep your music out of your shared documents folder no one can tell.....
Update: They will be able to see everything you have done online, including this bad attempt to avoid prosecution, which may be used as evidence against you in the court of law. Its things like this question that make it easy for them to come after you........
2007-03-07 19:21:52 · answer #4 · answered by Vincent 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They don't bust you unless you're running a mass distribution ring out of your garage or something. Just don't download massive amounts of files in a short amount of time, and be sure not to sell the stuff to school children if you do.
2007-03-07 19:21:21 · answer #5 · answered by tom h 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Found a good answer here!
2007-03-08 00:42:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
pay what ever it is that you owe.
2007-03-07 19:25:06 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋