Music piracy suits hitting home

By Patrick Danner
The Miami Herald.com
11-9-04

When he bought his 10-year-old a computer, Antonio Morrell was just trying to help the boy get ahead in school. Now the Miami construction worker is being sued by the music industry, which has brought its battle against Internet piracy to South Florida for the first time.

More than a dozen record companies have sued 30 South Florida residents, accusing them of illegally downloading music and making it available for others to copy.

Some of those named in the lawsuits told The Herald the record companies have offered to settle for about $4,000 each.

Morrell said he never downloaded any songs. Yet he's named in a lawsuit, he said, because his son, Alessandro -- who was 10 when his father bought him a computer two years ago -- downloaded about 1,000 songs and opened the door for others to copy them.

''I don't see how I could be paying somebody $4,000 for something I didn't do,'' Morrell said. ``I bought the computer for schoolwork. I'm sure he didn't know he was doing anything illegal.''

Morrell said he separated from his wife over a year ago and wasn't around to monitor his son's computer activity.

`TOTALLY SHOCKED'

Emorine Ebanks of Pembroke Pines was similarly surprised. She said her 15-year-old son, Chad, downloaded more than 600 songs. Now her husband, Howard, is facing a lawsuit filed by Virgin Records America, Warner Bros. Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and three other recording companies.

''We were totally shocked,'' Emorine Ebanks said. ``We didn't know downloading music was illegal.''

Morrell and Howard Ebanks are among 6,200 people across the country who have been accused of illegally downloading and sharing music since September 2003, according to Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group based in Washington.

When computer users download a copyrighted song, file-sharing software automatically makes it available for other Internet users to download, too.

About 1,260 of the individuals have settled, Lamy added. Published reports have put the average settlement at about $3,000.

The local copyright-infringement lawsuits were filed last month in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. They don't seek specific dollar amounts in damages.

The South Florida suits were filed by Karen Stetson of Miami's Broad and Cassel law firm. She referred a call to Lamy.

The parents facing suits have an obligation to know what goes on at home, particularly if they are arranging for Internet access, said Roy Oppenheim, a Weston lawyer specializing in intellectual property. But he considers the suits heavy-handed because they were slow to introduce services allowing music to be legally downloaded.

''I never appreciate Goliath beating up David,'' Oppenheim said. ``The fact that they were sleeping at the switch wasn't the public's fault.''

AN OPEN DIGITAL DOOR

Record companies obtained the names of alleged offenders by filing lawsuits against ''John Does,'' then filing subpoenas against Internet service providers to obtain names.

The record companies sent those people settlement offers. The lawsuits were filed after recipients failed to respond to the letters or refused to settle.

That's what happened in Ebanks' case. She said her family ignored the letter, figuring it was a scam.

The family has removed the music files from their computer, she said.
 

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About Oppenheim Pilelsky:

Oppenheim is a partner in the firm, along with his wife Ellen Pilelsky. Oppenheim Pilelsky, the oldest law firm in Weston, is a general practice concentrating in real estate, litigation and consumer related matters. The law firm of Oppenheim & Pilelsky is located at: 1290 Weston Road, Suite 300, Weston, FL 33326 (954) 384-6114 or 1-888-384-6114. Oppenheim Pilelsky can also be found at www.oppenheimlaw.com

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