Taking a Stand
Patricia Santangelo, the mother of five who’s being sued by the RIAA for downloading songs is going to be representing herself in court. She’s already shelled out $24,000 in legal expenses and her lawyers agree that it’s in her best interests to represent herself now. She claims that she has no knowledge of how the songs got on her computer, and while she could settle for a few grand, she doesn’t believe she did anything wrong. This is the first time anyone has stood up against these RIAA lawsuits, all the rest have been settled out of court.
She’s very brave, I’m not sure I’d have the backbone to spend this kind of money and time on principle. It will be very satisfying if the RIAA loses this one, and her lawyers think they don’t have a case, so fingers crossed. If anyone knows of a way to donate to her cause please let me know, I looked but couldn’t find anything.
Comments
Paul says
This whole thing is ludicrous. There is no evidence that she committed a crime, and the RIAA never attempted to warn her of what was going on. In fact, they entered her property (her computer) illegally. The demand by the RIAA's "settlement center" for $7500 should be considered an attempt to blackmail her.
I hope after she wins this she can afford to get a good lawyer and go after the RIAA for violation of her privacy, defamation and malicious prosecution.
Paul says
P.S. For those interested in contacting her about contributing to her defense: using Yahoo search I found a "P Santangelo" on Livingston Ave in White Plains, with a published phone number. This has got to be her. (Can't call her from my workplace though.)
The Almighty Charles says
I must say, that woman has some guts. I'm glad there's still people who take a stand on principle. Let's pray that she doesn't get stepped on.
Josh says
That really depends on a few things. I will have to read more about it, because, and I hate playing devil's advocate, but what if she had, I don't know, a relative who put stolen music on her computer. Or maybe, Gasp!, she actually did it. I say that because, who puts music on someone else's computer? Seems fruitless, because I know people who have roughly 10,000 stolen songs, and i can't convice them to delete them, and go out and buy the ones they like, and anyway, they aren't in trouble.
JoCo says
Yes, she could just be lying. But the songs they're citing don't really seem like they'd be up her alley. It's probably her kids, or friends of her kids. She claims not to recognize the email that the Kazaa account uses, but of course that doesn't mean much. Believe her or not, I just think it's really shitty for the RIAA to use litigation to push people around.
Michelle says
she sould be lying... downloading songs is a crime, but how it got there is a "mystery"