RIAA claims Limewire owes them $72 *trillion* in damages

Link

Yes. $72 trillion. With a "T". Also known as more money than the total earnings of the recording industry since the invention of the phonograph. AKA about $12 trillion more than the combined wealth of the entire world. That is how much money the RIAA wants from a company best known these days for being the thing that comes after Kazaa in nostalgia trips back to ye olden days of P2P downloading.

Pictured: RIAA VP of litigation and legal affairs Jennifer Pariser

The judge presiding over the case has already called these demands absurd. I for one can not understand how an organization as reasonable as the recording industry has fallen on such hard times.

Pictured: RIAA VP of litigation and legal affairs Jennifer PariserSlow_Show

Lol.

I want to take the same **** they're smoking.

God the RIAA is so damn stupid...

RIAA are a bunch of **** every single one of them. Even if you work as a janitor in the RIAA office you are an **** too, because you make the RIAA office bearable for the people that work there.

Sounds more like the RIAA needs to be shut down.

All they have been for the past few years is a gargantuan PR nightmare for the recording industry.

That's almost the entire world's 2011 gross product. Makes a lot of sense when you put in that perspective. "How much should Limewire pay the RIAA?" "Why, the whole range of products and services that the entire freaking world produced, bough, sold, paid and provided during 2011."

I don't see how anyone could oppose this.

Good luck in trying to collect....they're gonna need it.

That's a lot of trillion dollar bills.

That's only 6 or 7 Trillion dollars more than the world's GDP. No big deal.

this story is a year old.

That's a lot of trillion dollar bills.

-Sun_Tzu-

That's a lot of trillion dollar bills.

-Sun_Tzu-

I'll never understand why Truman is on the trillion dollar bill but all the presidents having a party is only on the $10,000 dollar bill.

Basically, this is utterly silly, but it's also common negotiating procedure.nocoolnamejim

Dude, no. Yes, starting from a relatively silly first offer/demand and then settling for an amount that's somewhere in between both sides' offers/demands is basically how negotiation works, but you do not ask for the entire world's gross product. Limewire's lawyers could have asked for the RIAA and its lawyers to be hanged for being too stupid to live and more than one court would have agreed to those terms.

Dude, no. Yes, starting from a relatively silly first offer/demand and then settling for an amount that's somewhere in between both sides' offers/demands is basically how negotiation works, but you do not ask for the entire world's gross product. Limewire's lawyers could have asked for the RIAA and its lawyers to be hanged for being too stupid to live and more than one court would have agreed to those terms.

LordQuorthon

To be fair, the number is actually just the RIAA asking for maximum damages per infringement, so there is a method to their batsh*t madness (even though you'd like to think lawmakers would see this and realize "gee, maybe the maximum penalty per infringement is a touch high").

Does the entire planet Earth itself have $72 trillion in total combined circulated currency?

[QUOTE="nocoolnamejim"]Basically, this is utterly silly, but it's also common negotiating procedure.LordQuorthon

Dude, no. Yes, starting from a relatively silly first offer/demand and then settling for an amount that's somewhere in between both sides' offers/demands is basically how negotiation works, but you do not ask for the entire world's gross product. Limewire's lawyers could have asked for the RIAA and its lawyers to be hanged for being too stupid to live and more than one court would have agreed to those terms.

Standard procedure is to charge much more in penalties for stealing something than what it would it would have cost to buy it outright to act as a deterrent. Which is why you could be charged hundreds of dollars for shoplifting a DVD worth only five.

My guess is they are just combining the amount of fines it would cost for every piece of media stolen and that is where they got that unusually high amount. Obviously when it's all said and done it will be settled for a much lower amount.

Obviously most young people are going to be mad at this not because of the stupid amount but because a lot of young people are broke and without torrent sites they can't get their free music, movies, and games anymore.

Standard procedure is to charge much more in penalties for stealing something than what it would it would have cost to buy it outright to act as a deterrent. .

ad1x2

why have trillions when you can have....millions

good.

good.

kingkong0124

[QUOTE="kingkong0124"]

good.

Brohammed_PBUH

[QUOTE="ad1x2"]

Standard procedure is to charge much more in penalties for stealing something than what it would it would have cost to buy it outright to act as a deterrent. .

Brohammed_PBUH

Did you read my entire post? They probably combined what the costs of EVERY SINGLE ILLEGALLY DOWNLOADED PIECE OF MEDIA would have got in penalties and posted that number. It doesn't mean they actually expect to get that much.

Ever heard of someone being fined thousands of dollars for downloading one or two $12 albums? Think about what the costs would be if you combine fines for everything illegally downloaded in the history of Limewire.

From what I understand a file illegally downloaded does not take money away from the company. It isn't a lost sale. Usually people who torrent or illegally download files are not going to purchase the file in the first place. This is why I cannot understand the outrages fines that these people place on different companies. They probably lose some sales yes, but no where near in the range of $72 trillion. Hell they might have a hard time finding $72 million dollars in lost sales. ferrari2001

It's because the applicable copyright law was written with large-scale commercial bootlegging/counterfeiting in mind, not personal file sharing. So the plantiff can ask for $750-150,000 in statutory damages per infringement, and because it's impossible to prove how many times a file was downloaded they naturally go after the full amount. Judges can (and do) slash the damages even if the jury decides on $150,000/infringement, but that just allows the RIAA to request a new trial.

[QUOTE="Brohammed_PBUH"][QUOTE="ad1x2"]

Standard procedure is to charge much more in penalties for stealing something than what it would it would have cost to buy it outright to act as a deterrent. .

ad1x2

Did you read my entire post? They probably combined what the costs of EVERY SINGLE ILLEGALLY DOWNLOADED PIECE OF MEDIA would have got in penalties and posted that number. It doesn't mean they actually expect to get that much.

Ever heard of someone being fined thousands of dollars for downloading one or two $12 albums? Think about what the costs would be if you combine fines for everything illegally downloaded in the history of Limewire.

Brohammed_PBUH

[QUOTE="Brohammed_PBUH"][QUOTE="ad1x2"]

Standard procedure is to charge much more in penalties for stealing something than what it would it would have cost to buy it outright to act as a deterrent. .

ad1x2

Did you read my entire post? They probably combined what the costs of EVERY SINGLE ILLEGALLY DOWNLOADED PIECE OF MEDIA would have got in penalties and posted that number. It doesn't mean they actually expect to get that much.

Ever heard of someone being fined thousands of dollars for downloading one or two $12 albums? Think about what the costs would be if you combine fines for everything illegally downloaded in the history of Limewire.

Yep. I know if Limewire didn't give it away for free I would have purchased each song for $1.29. Nothing else standing in my way.

hahaha....They can keep dreaming, I'm curious to how in the hell they think that's the legit case.

Wow. So he wants (For his pain and suffering) about 5 times the countries deficit.

Why oh why didn't I think of that! Geniuses are made every day on this planet!

either way, i'm glad i don't use Limewire anymore

either way, i'm glad i don't use Limewire anymore

Legenkiller59

[QUOTE="-Sun_Tzu-"]

That's a lot of trillion dollar bills.

chaoscougar1

Nah his fortune fits in his left pocket. It's just coins.

Just want to say that the OP made me laugh. Good job.

lol They will never see that money in this lifetime or the next.

sounds about right