The Machine Takes It on the Chin This Time

For years, I've ranted against the Machine--the big recorded music industry, that is--for its heavy-handed tactics during copyright infringement lawsuits. From time to time, I'll chime in whenever either side has some sort of victory of note, and this time, it appears that we can chalk up one for the good guys: A single mother in Oregon, whom the RIAA attempted to sue for hundreds of thousands of dollars, all on the basis of false information, is suing back:

Tanya Andersen, the plaintiff here, is the single mother in Oregon that the RIAA prosecuted for the last couple of years and then "on the eve of summary judgment" dropped the lawsuit with prejudice. Her counterclaims remain and are restated here and supplemented. It will soon be joined into a single case. So, what started as Atlantic v. Andersen has now turned around, and it is now Andersen v. Atlantic and the defendants are the music companies making up the RIAA -- Atlantic, Priority Records, Capitol Records, UMG and BMG -- the RIAA itself, the Settlement Support Center, and SafeNet, formerly known as MediaSentry. She is asserting claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the RICO Act, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act.

Read the whole thing. And here are some other stories on the general subject:

• A lawyer suggests to the RIAA that they should sue President Bush's twin daughters because of a report that they made him a mixtape for Father's Day.


• The RIAA is accused of extortion and conspiracy in counterclaims filed by the subject of another of its lawsuits.


• And here's a list of Congresspersons who accept political donations from the RIAA (I'm glad to see that mine don't).

UPDATE: Here's more on the RIAA as a defendant.

This cat only has eight lives left: Firefighters in West Virginia used 250 gallons of water to rescue a kitten from a storm drain.

These cats used up one of their lives as well: Meanwhile, Idaho firefighters successfully rescued four cats and an albino rat from a fire-damaged apartment in Pocatello.