You are viewing a read-only archive of the Blogs.Harvard network. Learn more.
Skip to content

Confusing RIAA Pre Litigation Contract

The letter begins by stating, “You further acknowledge that such conduct by you is illegal and wrongful.”

Yet in the recitals it specifically says that you don’t admit wrong doing.

EDIT 5/13: It was pointed out that the letter specifically states that nothing in this agreement denies wrongdoing. I had misinterpreted that as a denial of wrongdoing which was incorrect. So this statement does match up with the earlier admission of guilt.

“4. You acknowledge that we have advised you that you may consult with counsel of your choosing prior to entering into this Agreement and that you have entered into this Agreement of your own free will, without any promise or inducement not stated in this Agreement. You further acknowledge that nothing contained in this Agreement constitutes a denial of wrongdoing by you. The Record Companies each reserve all rights not expressly waived herein.”

Then goes on to say that you may not speak about the agreement in public if it is inconsistent however; the agreement is inconsistent with itself. So what can really be said after one is forced to sign this?
“5. You agree not to make any public statement that is inconsistent with any term of this Agreement.”

Judge for yourself and read the full contract

edit: the MIT article this came from also noted the following:
not all students who receive DMCA notices necessarily violated copyright law.
it is becoming “quite difficult” to ensure IP addresses were actually used for infringement.

It would be great to see more schools step up protection of their own students instead of sacrificing them to RIAA and their enforcement arms. Professor Nesson had some great ideas along these lines.

Post a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.