Does this seem familiar?

Dumb auto-search programs.

Yup, I saw it earlier today at Slashdot. Somebody there already mentioned the IDSA and World of Spectrum there.

Actually, it reminds me more of the IDSA/OpenOffice - affair. It's sad that software producers representatives seem to get away with this easier than the record industry. Another piece of proof how there is still a long way to go to get computers/software accepted like other media

It continues: http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-1001319.html?tag=fd_lede2_hed

And here's the problem:

1. RIAA can assume that you have a copyright-infringing material.
2. You ignore the letter, fully knowing that you don't have anything infringing.
3. They issue a subpoena and your ISP will have to give them your information and shut you down.
4. You can (and will) suffer damages from a lawsuit, and from the downtime. The RIAA will not be liable for any of that.

Unless they knew what they assumed is wrong - which is kind of unlikely and also very hard ( = impossible) to prove.... or

I was just reading the article about 20,000 Canadians declaring their affiliation to the Jedi religion on their census forms. This was a form of protest against a law, which punishes anybody who knowingly includes wrong information on the census form. People who did so would claim that nobody but them can tell their beliefs, and so nobody can ever prove they did so knowingly, and that the information is incorrect.

The same applies to this case. The whole process of deciding who to accuse is being done on "good faith", where it cannot be proven whether they did it on purpose or not. As such, the RIAA will never get caught doing this on purpose. (That is not to say they will not do it on purpose.)

Well, you should all know me well enough to know I trust huge companies and that I'll always have faith in their goodness