Congratulations to the RIAA for finally realizing that suing file sharers was: 1) a PR nightmare, 2) unprofitable, and 3) not diminishing the practice of file sharing in any meaningful way.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The group representing the U.S. recording industry said Friday it has abandoned its policy of suing people for sharing songs protected by copyright and will work with Internet service providers to cut abusers’ access if they ignore repeated warnings.
The move ends a controversial program that saw the Recording Industry Association of America sue about 35,000 people since 2003 for swapping songs online. Because of high legal costs for defenders, virtually all of those hit with lawsuits settled, on average for around $3,500. The association’s legal costs, in the meantime, exceeded the settlement money it brought in. [AP/Yahoo! News]
Wait, did you hear that? It was the sound of College dorms all over America breathing a collective of relief.