I've been reading about the RIAA over the last couple of days, and it ain't pretty. Basically it is a merging of the legal arm of 4 record companies, whose only purpose is to throw threats and lawsuits around like confetti, in the hope of vacuuming up money. They are a bunch of thugs. Being in America, the government will support any actions they may take even if illegal. Many people just pay up so they don't have to go to court. From what I've read, there are many ways to avoid paying at all. Musicians sue Universal Music for lost royalties Intellectual rights are treated as "Real Property" and should therefore be taxed, I think the record companies would suddenly find business to be much more expensive! How RIAA litigation works is a lengthy read, with lots of lawyer-speak. But, to summarise, if you get a letter, firstly determine if you are in the same state as your ISP. If not, ignore letter, and ignore order to attend court. Second, remove all hard drives and other devices that may contain material of interest to the RIAA, rent a safety deposit box and store your stuff there until the heat is off. Do not admit anything to anyone. Get a lawyer. If you elect to go to court, demand a jury. Make the RIAA produce proof that it was YOU who downloaded stuff on YOUR computer. They won't be able to. They also litigate against many people in one go, which has already been disallowed by judges. Yet they keep doing it. Make sure they get charged with contempt of court. Once you have won, try suing them. They will quickly move to have the suit dismissed. Or they will settle out of court (if you're lucky), so that the details will not be on public record. Remember, at the first instance, their demand for money is blackmail. Don't forget it. Also don't forget, they have sued disabled people, people without computers, children, and dead people. When they discover that the person is dead, they will then try suing the grieving relatives.