Music Industry Sues 83-Year-Old Dead Woman

[Kool]

I just thought this was kinda funny. /emoticons/lol.gif


CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gertrude Walton was recently targeted by the recording industry in a lawsuit that accused her of illegally trading music over the Internet. But Walton died in December after a long illness, and according to her daughter, the 83-year-old hated computers.



More than a month after Walton was buried in Beckley, a group of record companies named her as the sole defendant in a federal lawsuit, claiming she made more than 700 pop, rock and rap songs available for free on the Internet under the screen name 'smittenedkitten.'

Walton's daughter, Robin Chianumba, lived with her mother for the last 17 years and said her mother objected to having a computer in the house.

'My mother was computer illiterate. She hated a computer,' Chianumba said. 'My mother wouldn't know how to turn on a computer.'

Chianumba said she faxed a copy of her mother's death certificate to record company officials several days before the lawsuit was filed, in response to a letter from the company regarding the upcoming legal filing.

'I believe that if music companies are going to set examples they need to do it to appropriate people and not dead people,' Chianumba said. 'I am pretty sure she is not going to leave Greenwood Memorial Park (where she is buried) to attend the hearing.'

A Recording Industry Association of America (news - web sites) spokesman said Thursday that Walton was likely not the smittenedkitten it is searching for.

'Our evidence gathering and our subsequent legal actions all were initiated weeks and even months ago,' said RIAA (news - web sites) spokesman Jonathan Lamy. 'We will now, of course, obviously dismiss this case.'

Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket?

[D-Zine]

what a buncha fuktards!!

LMAO!

Power to the Oldschoolers

[morea]

typical!

if you can't say something nice, shut the hell up.

Memoirs of the Driven Insane (http://morealyera.blogspot.com/)

[PrintDriver]

But it does show, even if they are sometimes idiots, that they are coming after YOU.

PD is a grande format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[morea]

just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that they really AREN'T out to get you! /emoticons/lol.gif

if you can't say something nice, shut the hell up.

Memoirs of the Driven Insane (http://morealyera.blogspot.com/)

[Ulysses]

This dis-accossiation of 'act of crime' and 'evidence of convictee' is so common today. How often is a person found guilty of an act of crime today, with 'actual' evidence? Hardly ever in my opinion. Most criminal cases are resolved using very distant and off-the-scene evidence (such as this) where paperwork implicates the criminal, and not actual evidence. And as we all know ... if the paperwork (trail) isn't found to be wrong, then it is very possible that an innocent person can be implicated, and punished by the law.

Anyways ... this always reminds me of an elderly woman in Germany (as I recall), that was living in a 'to-be-demolished' block of flats. Simply because she had paid her bills for 2 years in advance, the paperwork suggested she was living there, thus nobody realised that she'd in fact been dead for over a year, until someone tried to chase up the electric or gas bill (don't recall exactly).

Very sad that nobody checked up on how she was doing, until money was involved.

[Magnus]

Man...doesn't matter if you're dead now, they still want you.

Ulysses...what's scary is that you're right. If someone wants to 'get' you, it's not hard these days.

Know this: Spammers, Flammers and Trolls will be shown no mercy and given no quarter. They will be pursued to the ends of the earth and executed Mod-style.

- Magnus

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v39/TlantMagnus/Trollkills.jpg

[Ulysses]

I never understood what people meant by 'f.u.c.k. the system', until I recently heard that someone was given wrong medication for diabetes, and had a fit as a result. I thought it'd be a case of compensation claim, but apparently (I didn't realise this) lawyers can just make you pay their fees until they feel they should do anything. Greedy buggers can take £100 a week for 2 years, before settling a sure-win case. Not worth it if they drag it out that long. Now I understand why people hate them so much ... the law really is buggered if it relies on such people to defend you.

[Magnus]

I remember there is a quote, no idea who originated it, and I'm sure I'm butchering it, but it goes something like 'When the law can no longer be written or understood by the common man, it's no longer law for the common man.'

I kind of like that one...

Know this: Spammers, Flammers and Trolls will be shown no mercy and given no quarter. They will be pursued to the ends of the earth and executed Mod-style.

- Magnus

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v39/TlantMagnus/Trollkills.jpg

[Ulysses]

I second that quote (well, the sentiment).

[Debz]

i wanna see someone fight the RIAA. Like when I would DL Music.. I always did remixes and crap like that, that you CANT get at a store or on iTunes.

I think Kazaa, Napster and all that was a GREAT way to get music out there. So find a new way to make money off of it all.. Like newspapers, or radio. DL illegal music has opened me up to so many more artists whom i DIDNT know of. And if i find that their stuff is WORTH buying, i will purchase the CD.

What i was doing (not worth the drama now) was the same as taping the top 20 off the radio when i was 13 years old.. and i still have all those tapes!

pancake U RIAA!

plz.. no more sales.. :( plz!!!

krylliah.blogspot.com (http://krylliah.blogspot.com)

[Ulysses]

Debz said...
pancake U RIAA!

Throw those pancakes, Debz ... that (might) scare 'em. Just noticed something funny when I reply to your quote too ... the censored words appear, lol

[Debz]

lol ;) *throws pancakes*

plz.. no more sales.. :( plz!!!

krylliah.blogspot.com (http://krylliah.blogspot.com)

[Ulysses]

[mouth wide open] and [running in front of those pancakes]

[Debz]

lmao!

plz.. no more sales.. :( plz!!!

krylliah.blogspot.com (http://krylliah.blogspot.com)

[Magnus]

In Canada the supreme court issued a verdict for copyright issues in regards to DL'ing music over the net that to me, for once made total sense. They said that if you can walk into a library, make photocopies of copyrighted books for personal use, why not be able to do it for music? The situation is exactly the same, especially if you have access to a free photocopier.

Know this: Spammers, Flammers and Trolls will be shown no mercy and given no quarter. They will be pursued to the ends of the earth and executed Mod-style.

- Magnus

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v39/TlantMagnus/Trollkills.jpg

[Ulysses]

Magnus said...
In Canada the supreme court issued a verdict for copyright issues in regards to DL'ing music over the net that to me, for once made total sense. They said that if you can walk into a library, make photocopies of copyrighted books for personal use, why not be able to do it for music? The situation is exactly the same, especially if you have access to a free photocopier.

Interesting. The last I heard, the UK allows 14% of a publication to be photocopied. Canada ... they really know what's what ... I love it.

[Skyblue100]

Geeeeeeeiiiiiiiz! What will they do next........

[morea]

think there's room in Canada for me guys?

if you can't say something nice, shut the hell up.

Memoirs of the Driven Insane (http://morealyera.blogspot.com/)