Legal Costs For RIAA Copyright Infringement Campaign Emerge
Numbers have been batted about for years regarding the astronomical costs associated with Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) legal campaign against illegal file sharers. However, new figures have emerged that tell a pathetic tale of waste from the inane venture. In 2008, the RIAA spent more than $17,000,000 in order to recover $391,000 from music downloaders.
According to new documents, the RIAA paid Holmes Roberts & Owen $9,364,901, Jenner & Block more than $7,000,000, and Cravath Swain & Moore $1.25 million, to pursue its “copyright infringement” claims in 2008.
The numbers for 2007 are a lot worse. The RIAA reportedly spent more than $21 million was spent on legal fees, and $3.5 million on “investigative operations” (MediaSentry) to recover $515,929. 2006 was about the same with more than $19,000,000 spent in legal fees plus $3,600,000 in “investigative operations” costs to recover $455,000.
Once again, the only real winners in the music business are the lawyers.
