Accused MP3 Pirate Bites Back At Record Industry
In a interesting twist, a New York boy accused by the Record Industry for being a 'pirate' is fighting back. Claiming he was downloading songs that he already owned on CD and that his accusers have no real way of proving he illegally downloaded, the now man and his attorney are demanding a trial by jury intended to seek among other things compensation for damage to his reputation, distracting him from school, and his family's legal fees.
A New York teen, dubbed a pirate by the Record Industry, is counter suing them for defamation, violating anti-trust laws, conspiring to defraud the courts and making extortionate threats. In papers responding to a lawsuit filed by five record companies, Robert Santangelo, who was 11 when he is supposed to have downloaded music, has come out fighting. He denies sharing music using P2P technology and says it's impossible for the record companies to prove that he did.
Theres no debate that piracy is a big problem but it seems our New York 'pirate' may be sticking it back to the man. Maybe this will be a wake up call to the Record Industry that a witch hunt for P2P theft may not be the best method of stopping piracy. Read more...
