What's the worst that could happen?

**nanite** · November 24th, 2004, 01:35 PM

OK let's say I get caught, and get sued by the RIAA/MPAA or whatever. I don't have a job, so I don't really have any income to speak of. So what can they do to me? I could also declare bankrputcy (my credit is already shot to hell, whats a little bit more?) The only worry I might have is that I live with my mother (yes I'm pathetic, I know...) and I think the phone service is in her name, and hence the internet. Could they go after her, even if I admit that I was the one who dled the stuff, and it was on my computer?

For that matter, however, she's retired, and on disability, so I don't think they could garnish any of her wages, and aside from that, she has no other income. So what could they do? Say "You bad, bad man!"? If so, to heck with them, I'm gonna go back to dling, and more importantly, sharing my stuff.

**Lord_of_the_Dense** · November 24th, 2004, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by nanite

...my computer?

Correction...their computer. And whatever other material assets you may have. No computer. No downloading. No sharing.

Moneo@ · November 24th, 2004, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by Lord_of_the_Dense

Correction...their computer. And whatever other material assets you may have. No computer. No downloading. No sharing.

Yep..thats the facts...RIAA would take a goddamn lollypop from a kid if they thought
they were downloading music and the lolly was thier only possesion

**Slycktom** · November 24th, 2004, 02:55 PM

They would go after the person whose name is on the account. If you are using your mother's account, they would sue her, not you since she is the one responsible. And they would garnish any kind of income she has...no matter how much or how little.

So if you care about your mother and have any sense of responsibility, you would change the account from her name into yours since you don’t seem to care if you get caught or not.

**nanite** · November 24th, 2004, 03:28 PM

Has the RIAA actually taken people's stuff? Because AFAIK, debtors can't do that. The only people that can do that (again AFAIK) is the IRS. Once you plead out, or whatever, that should just become a debt like any other, subject to bankruptcy, etc. and debtors can't take your stuff, unless its the stuff you owe money on. So I just want to be sure that this really is a special case. Same with garnishing wages, debtors CANNOT garnish retirement or disability benefits. I know cause my mom had her car voluntarily reposessed, so she still owed on it, and they can't touch her (I don't feel sorry for them because they were charging her an arm and a leg in interest, and they only got about 1/4 of the value of the car when they sold it).

**Lord_of_the_Dense** · November 24th, 2004, 07:02 PM

Doesn't this somewhat become more than just a debt issue? I mean with all the federal intervention as of late, you would think that it's more than just a simple debt collection. Based on your statement, does that mean that everyone in your situaton can just do as they please? I can't see this being allowable while people who are better off end up getting screwed into a level possibly lower than you (no offense) because they have the funds or the material possiessions to pay the debt.

**aqlo** · November 24th, 2004, 07:24 PM

Depends where you live. I also never pay bad debts and don't have any worries about it.

**mfgbypooter** · November 24th, 2004, 08:16 PM

From the NOLO Law Center web site:

A court may decide in your favor, but it won't collect the judgment for you. So, before you sue, always ask yourself: Can I collect if I win? If you can't, think twice before filing a lawsuit.

Collecting from solvent individuals or businesses isn't usually a problem, because most will routinely pay any judgments entered against them. Even if they don't, as long as you have a court judgment there are a number of legal ways to force them to pay. Unfortunately, however, in a small but nevertheless significant percentage of situations, people and businesses are broke (lawyers say "judgment proof"). Or, they're so good at hiding their assets that even if you sue and win, collecting your winnings is likely to prove impossible.

When an individual won't pay voluntarily, collecting your judgment can be difficult unless that person has:

a job
money in the bank, or
real property.

That's because debtor protection laws keep you from seizing and selling many types of property, including the food from the debtor's table, the clothing from the closet, and the TV from the living room. In many states it will even be impossible to seize and sell the debtor's car, because a debtor's motor vehicle is protected from being sold to satisfy a debt if the amount of equity in the vehicle is below a certain amount (often about $2,000, but sometimes much more, depending on the state). And if the debtor uses the vehicle for business purposes, it is often exempt from being grabbed and sold, no matter how much equity the debtor has.

When determining whether you'll be able to collect a judgment if you win, the first thing to investigate is whether the defendant has a job. If a person fails to pay a judgment voluntarily, the easiest way to collect in most states is to garnish up to 25% of his or her wages. (The wages of very low-income workers, however, are exempt from garnishment.) But you can't garnish a welfare, Social Security, unemployment, pension, or disability check. So if the person you want to sue gets all his or her income from one of those sources, red flags should definitely be flying unless you can locate other non-exempt income or assets. Other common collection sources are real estate (except for equity in a personal residence, which may be protected by your state's homestead law), bank accounts, and stocks and bonds.

Read more here.
http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/ency/a...CDFCB8A7E9A20B

**fiery94** · November 24th, 2004, 08:34 PM

jail, you can go to jail

**aqlo** · November 24th, 2004, 08:40 PM

nope, cant go to jail for bad debts in the usa except in the cases of
a) the irs
b) child support
c) bad checks or other forms of outright fraud

this doesnt qualify, no.

they are right about messing with your mom or whose ever name is on the account though.

**Mels_Smileys45** · November 24th, 2004, 09:06 PM

If you don't settle out of court as most have done, jail is possible. If the court orders you to pay an amount and you don't pay, jail is possible.

You would be took to court for illegal distribution of copyrighted material, not for bad debts. Don't know where that idea came from. Fines and jail are possible if you don't settle these kind of matters out of court.

**Muffin_Man** · November 24th, 2004, 09:49 PM

people dont go to jail as the result of a civil lawsuit.

**Mels_Smileys45** · November 24th, 2004, 10:01 PM

To bad its a Federal crime and they can charge you with a criminal suit. This is the worst that could happen.

A little dated info,

The Protecting Intellectual Rights Against Theft and Expropriation (Pirate) Act of 2004 passed in the Senate by unanimous consent last week. It would allow the DOJ to provide greater legal support to content owners who feel their copyrights have been infringed upon online. Under current laws, the DOJ can only pursue criminal suits against file swappers, which can result in jail time. If approved by the House, the new law would allow the DOJ to bring civil suits, which can result in financial penalties.

Criminal suit is always possible but they would rather have your money. In a criminal suit you would likely get jail time and have to pay Federal fines. Its best just to settle out of court and pay the copyright holders off.