RIAA Legal Information



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Who is the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)?

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry. Its mission is to foster a business and legal climate that supports and promotes our members' creative and financial vitality. Its members are the record companies that comprise the most vibrant national music industry in the world. RIAA members create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recordings produced and sold in the United States.

For more information please see the RIAA website.

How the RIAA Affects You as a UCSB Student

As you may already be aware, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), on behalf of its member labels, recently initiated a new process for “lawsuits against computer users who engage in illegal file-trafficking of copyrighted content on peer-to-peer (P2P) systems.”

This increased level of action by the RIAA signals the need for all UCSB Housing Residents to better understand the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and the potential legal consequences from illegal file-trafficking.

The RIAA President issued a letter on February 28th, 2007 outlining the new measures, which will include two notifications. Based upon consultation with UC Office of the President, the University DMCA Agent is obligated to forward these notifications to those alleged to have engaged in illegal file-trafficking of copyrighted content. The first is a “Preservation Notice” email from an RIAA Attorney, which will request that all records related to the alleged activity be preserved pending a subpoena. The second is an “Early Settlement Letter” from the RIAA Attorney, which will provide a 20 day “opportunity” for you to settle the case before the copyright holder files a copyright infringement lawsuit against you in federal court.

The RIAA has established a Web site describing its early settlement process at (http://www.p2plawsuits.com) and a hotline you may call for information (913-234-8181).

Please note that by forwarding the RIAA letter or the subsequent attorney letter to you, the University has not made a determination that you have engaged in copyright infringement or that you should enter into an early settlement with the copyright holder. The University is forwarding this information to you solely to inform you of the procedure. If you receive an early settlement letter from an attorney, it is solely your personal decision whether to avail yourself of the early settlement procedure. You may want to seek advice from a private attorney.

Finally, this “pre-lawsuit settlement process” is separate from the existing DMCA process, and each process may occur independent of the other. Subjects of DMCA complaints should be aware that they are still considered potential targets of lawsuits.