The Life of an RIAA Defendant

". . . For me, the experience of settling with the RIAA was almost painless except for the thousands I agreed to pay. Dragging my "shared" folder to the trash icon, promising not to download anymore, and acknowledging that illegal downloading is wrongful were easy enough. I happened to know an intellectual-property lawyer who agreed to handle the negotiations pro bono. He was the one who called the RIAA settlement center number and spoke not to a lawyer, but to a staffer empowered and trained to negotiate. 'It feels like they're doing a volume business,' my lawyer told me. . . ." -- Nick Mamatas writing on March 7th, 2005 in the Village Voice