What is the status of the RIAA lawsuits against file-sharers?
As of October 1, 2003, 52 of the 261 individuals sued by the RIAA have reached settlements. In addition, 12 individuals whose identities were subpoena’d by the RIAA also settled although lawsuits had not yet been filed against them. Since the terms of these settlement agreements are confidential, the amounts of money paid by these file-sharers to settle the claims against them have not been disclosed. In addition to any settlement payments, the file-sharers must also destroy all illegally acquired files and CDs they’ve made containing infringing files. One of the lawsuits has been voluntarily dismissed by the RIAA since the elderly woman sued claimed she had never downloaded music files (although it may be possible that someone else using her Internet connection might have done so).
