Digital file-swappers know, when the Recording Industry Association of America starts calling them "John Doe," it's time to hire a lawyer.
Since 2004, the RIAA has filed an estimated 25,000 anonymous "John Doe" lawsuits against Web users suspected of sharing files illegally.
But, according to a letter sent by the RIAA to Internet service providers that surfaced online Tuesday, people wearing the "John Doe" name tag to court could reduce any settlement price tag and avoid court proceedings altogether by stepping forward and identifying themselves before litigation begins.
Critics of the plan argue that it really is a ploy to boost the number of lawsuits against individuals who skirt music copyright laws.
"Their setting up a Web site makes me real nervous," said New York attorney Ray Beckerman, a critic of the RIAA lawsuits. "How can people know that by visiting the RIAA's Web site they won't be giving the RIAA evidence to use against them?"
Reached by phone this week, an RIAA representative declined detailed comment on the group's program.
In the letter, RIAA general counsel Steven Marks outlines a new "pre-John Doe" settlement option. The ISPs would send form letters to targeted subscribers informing them the RIAA is about to begin legal proceedings against them.
Recipients wouldn't be required to reply, but, if they wanted to come clean and settle up, they could do so by logging onto a soon-to-be-launched Web site, www.p2plawsuits.com.
The site isn't running yet but was registered by the RIAA on Jan. 23.
As an incentive, the RIAA would knock $1,000 or more off of the settlement price. The standard file-sharing settlement costs defendants several thousand dollars, but the maximum penalty runs as high as $150,000 per song.
While the proposal would help the RIAA avoid filing the anonymous suits and -- with the ISPs' cooperation -- prevent embarrassing misidentifications, some see the plan as a way for the recording industry to increase the rate at which it sues people accused of illegal file-swapping.
ISPs aren't obligated to share personal information -- including names and addresses -- of their subscribers with the RIAA until subpoenaed. In the past, the RIAA has gotten around this by filing its suits against the anonymous "John Doe," identified only by his or her computer's IP address.
Then, during the litigation discovery phase, the ISP would be required to turn over the user's name.
With its "pre-John Doe" proposals, the RIAA is seeking to smooth its working relationship with ISPs and establish new rules that would make customers' information and activity more accessible to the RIAA.
Kevin Kohn, president and CEO of local Chicago ISP Interlync, said his company had yet to receive the RIAA's proposal.
"We've heard changes were coming, but I haven't seen this letter yet," he said.
Beckerman, who works with the consumer digital-rights advocacy organization Electronic Frontier Foundation, expressed concern that the RIAA would use the new site to locate and target innocent users.
"I would advise people to stay far away from the RIAA's Web site, because the RIAA thugs have proven themselves time and again to have no sense of decency," he said.
