Judge May Open Door To Discovery In Countersuit Against RIAA

Posted by Eriq Gardner

The Listening Post, one of Wired's blogs, passes along word that a single mother who says she was mistakenly sued by the RIAA is "close to forcing the RIAA into the discovery phase of her countersuit."

Previous defendants, such as Marie Lindor, have tried to open up the RIAA's investigative and litigation strategy for review, but so far, the recording industry has been successful in guarding this sensitive information.

The Listening Post outlines many of the questions that RIAA antagonists would love to know:

- How much the RIAA's lawyers make

- Why the average file-sharing settlement fee is $4-5K

- How it decides which file sharers to sue, and which ones not to sue

- Where the settlement money goes (i.e. whether any of it makes it to the artists)

If it turns out that the RIAA is paying its investigators (such as MediaSentry) a percentage of the settlements that result from their investigations, it is in even more trouble.  That's illegal in many states, according to Ratoza, including New York.