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March 2007
In this issue:
'New York teenager alleges that record companies have a cartel'
Represented by Recording Industry Association of America, some of the country’s biggest record companies have sued 16 year old Robert Santangelo and his sister Michelle for copyright infringement centering on online downloads, and he has counterclaimed alleging the companies are in “cartel” and are in violation of antitrust laws and conspiring to defraud U. S. Courts. Without passing judgment on the merits of either claim or counterclaim, we are pleased to reprint this very interesting article with permission of Portfolio Media, Inc. See: www.Portfoliomedia.com
and www.law360.com
Teen's Counterclaims: Record Companies In "Cartel"
By Ben James, ben.james@portfoliomedia.com
Portfolio Media, New York
(January 31, 2007)
A teenager who found himself the target of a federal piracy lawsuit brought by some of the country’s biggest record companies is fighting back, filing court papers asserting his innocence, and accusing the plaintiffs of running afoul of antitrust laws and conspiring to defraud U.S. courts.
Robert Santangelo Jr., 16, filed an Answer and Counterclaims Monday in federal court in New York’s Westchester County, less than three months after he and his sister Michelle were hit with a civil complaint for copyright infringement centering on online downloads by Elektra Entertainment Group Inc., Virgin Records America Inc., UMG Recordings Inc., BMG Music and Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
Santangelo’s response to the complaint, which follows an earlier suit against his mother Patricia, doesn’t mince words, accusing the companies behind the suit of being part of a widespread conspiracy to defraud the courts.
The plaintiffs use a company called Settlement Support Center LLC to make “extortionate threats” to take criminal action and defame defendants in order to squeeze out settlements, Santangelo’s answer says.
*All Content Copyright 2007, Portfolio Media, Inc.
**Reprinted with Permission
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The plaintiffs in the Santangelo suit, along with the Recording Industry Association of America, have brought about 19,000 suits in U.S. District Courts in the past five years, most of which have culminated in default judgments or “extortionate settlements” that go well beyond the plaintiff’s actual damages, the Answer claims.
The RIAA acts as counsel to record companies in these cases, a spokesperson for the RIAA said Wednesday.
“Plaintiffs, ostensibly competitors in the recording industry, are a cartel acting collusively in violation of antitrust laws and public policy, by litigating and settling all cases similar to this one together, and by entering into an unlawful agreement among themselves to prosecute and dispose of all cases in an identical manner and through common lawyers,” according to the defendant’s latest filing.
Because the plaintiffs have misused their copyrights, their claims are vitiated, the defendant argues.
On Wednesday, the RIAA issued a statement affirming its commitment to protecting intellectual property and dismissing the collusion allegations as rehashed.
"The record industry has suffered enormously due to piracy. That includes thousands of layoffs. We must protect our rights. Nothing in a filing full of recycled charges that have gone no where in the past changes that fact," according to the RIAA.
Santangelo asserts 32 affirmative defenses, in addition to two counterclaims for Breach of Duty to Warn and Misuse of Copyright. The breach of duty claim alleges that the plaintiffs had an obligation to warn individuals about the type of copyright infringement alleged in this case, and says that large corporations, academic institutions and the federal government were notified about the potential for infringement by the RIAA.
Individuals like the defendant, however, received no such notice, only enticements for free music, the defendant contends.
Santangelo asks the court to dismiss the plaintiffs causes of action, and award the defendant unspecified damages as well as attorney’s fees and costs.
Michelle Santangelo was hit with a default judgment in January 2007 for not responding to the suit. She was ordered to shell out more than 31,000 for damages and plaintiffs’ costs of suit.
The case against Robert and Michelle Santangelo arises out of a similar suit filed against their mother, Patricia Santangelo. After a year of hard-fought and expensive discovery in the case against Patricia, the plaintiffs came to the conclusion that it was Robert and Michelle who were behind the “massive infringement” alleged.
According to the November 2006 complaint against Robert and Michelle Santangelo, used an online file-sharing program to download the songs at issue, and make them available to others.
The plaintiffs are represented in their suit against Robert Santangelo Jr. by Robinson & Cole LLP and Holme Roberts & Owen LLP.
Robert Santangelo Jr. is represented in this matter by Jordan D. Glass.
The case is Elektra Entertainment Group Inc. et al v. Santangelo, case number 06-11520 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in White Plains
*All Content Copyright 2007, Portfolio Media, Inc.
**Reprinted with Permission