AlbertPacino
Explorer
"I don't have anything with Usher or anything like that," Bink said. "And I've never downloaded music in my life. I thought it was a joke."
It's not.
Two years ago, Bink's teenage daughter downloaded more than 600 songs on their home computer through Kazaa, Internet software that allows users to swap music for free.
Since 2003, the recording industry has been searching the Internet for people who use Kazaa and similar software to share and download copyrighted songs. It has sued 11,000 users for copyright infringement, including 104 in Wisconsin.
Because the home computer was registered in his name, Bink is among the targets. He faces this choice: Pay $3,750 to settle or go to court, where he may be ordered to pay at least $750 per song.
Clicks cause problems
Bink's daughter, Samantha, said she never imagined that her computer clicks could set such a process in motion.
She began using Kazaa two years ago when she was 13. Her friends said she could use the software to download music for free.
"I just thought it was really cool," said Samantha, who takes piano lessons and plays the trumpet in her school band. "You could listen to music and you didn't have to pay for it."
Until last week, Kazaa advertised itself as "100 percent legal." That she might have been breaking the law never crossed her mind.
She stopped eight months later under the instructions of her mother. A family member read an article about people who were being sued for downloading music. Sandy Bink didn't know if her daughter was doing something illegal, but she wanted to play it safe.
The software was removed from their computer, and Samantha deleted the downloaded songs.
They never told Bink about Samantha's downloading, so he was especially confused when a process server slapped him with a summons last month. He learned what had happened from a recording industry "counselor" in Seattle whom he was directed to call.
Outraged, Bink has decided to fight the lawsuit in court - even though it could cost him more than $450,000, more than 10 times the settlement offered.
He argues that he shouldn't be sued for something his daughter did. As he sees it, Samantha was duped by Kazaa's advertising.
"I'm going to take it to court, even though I can't afford a lawyer," Bink said. "I'll probably get chewed up and spit out. But I just don't think it's fair."
His odds aren't good.
Of the 11,000 lawsuits filed nationwide, 2,300 have been settled, Engebretsen said. None has gone to trial.
Earlier this year, a Chicago woman tried to fight a lawsuit filed against her. The woman didn't think she had committed copyright infringement when she downloaded music. But before the case went to trial, the recording industry filed a motion for summary judgment. The judge ordered the woman to pay $22,500 for the downloading of 30 songs.
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