You can't make up stuff as sick as the record labels' latest PR stunt: suing the dead. As the Register notes: "Death is no obstacle to feeling the long arm of the Recording Industry Ass. of America. Lawyers representing several record companies have filed suit against an 83 year-old woman who died in December, claiming that she made more than 700 songs available on the internet."
Maybe these "mistakes" aren't mistakes at all. Maybe they're designed to get publicity, to make sure that we all get the message that the music companies are willing to be totally unscrupulous -- and not at all careful about aiming their lawsuits at actual infringers -- in their zeal to stop any unauthorized use of their material.
Could they be that sleazy? Hard to believe, but then suing dead people is pretty far-fetched in a normal universe.
Even if she hadn't died, I'd still find it hard to believe that an 83-year-old woman was some kind of evil music pirate.
Posted by: Neil T. | February 06, 2005 at 03:08 PM
I spent some of the best years of my life in the music bidness. Yes, they can be that evil. But only by accident, because being that evil actually requires some smarts, and that they have not got.
Posted by: Lex | February 06, 2005 at 07:10 PM
I lack Lex' experience, but nevertheless wonder: why is it hard to believe that the minions of RIAA could be that sleazy?
Posted by: Doug | February 07, 2005 at 05:20 AM
This kind of stuff will continue so long as our "protectors" in Washington give companies virtually open access to our data without any expectation of responsible use or regard for our individual rights. Is anybody surprised? Does anybody expect this to change in Washington? Perhaps if watchdog organizations had the same access to political campaign databases and fundraising lists the value of privacy and presumption of innocence might have more meaning to our esteemed legislators.
Posted by: Owen | February 07, 2005 at 10:51 AM
Um...how do they expect to get a writ of habeus corpus in this case? The 'corpus' is corpsed, finitum. Dead people, whales, and trees have no standing in court. This will be thrown out, instantum.
Regards,
D-
Posted by: Daniel Austin | February 09, 2005 at 01:18 PM