Get your 20$ from the RIAA

[The Edge]

Ok, this is a bit out there but might interest some of ye.
Due a recent settlement between the US goverment and the record labels a lot of money is available to consumers. Because the record labels were found guilty of price fixing they have agreed to a settlement in which they had to pay 67.4 million in cash to compensate consumers who overpaid for CDs between 1995 and 2000. But altough this looks like a good opportunity, only a few have used this service, while it's easy. You don't need a coupon or anything else and you will get your money by cheque. I thought yeah, and pigs will fly, but this really looks the real deal.
****United States only****
Read more here. (http://www.musiccdsettlement.com)

Edge

[killingspree]

why is it always us only?
like the cds in europe are not overprized?
or like there's no prize fixing happening over here?!

kind of desperate
steVe

[mpucoder]

It's a matter of jurisdiction, you wouldn't really want U.S. courts to make rulings in Europe, would you?

[The Edge]

I'm quite happy with european laws. :)
Here another example. European and Canadian copyright protections for sound recordings last 50 years, compared with 95 years in the United States. This would mean that older songs fall into the public domain in Europe and people are free to offer them on services such as Kazaa or Gnutella. So it seems that we Europeans are free to trade music by artists like Miles Davis and Elvis Presley The RIAA is already pressing policy makers in Europe and elsewhere to bring their copyright laws in line with those of the United States but have met with little success so far. Read the complete article here. (http://news.com.com/2100-1023-979532.html?tag=cd_mh)

Edge

[wmansir]

I wonder why this story is making headlines now, I filled this form out weeks ago. In the last couple of days it's been posted on Slashdot, the Inquirer, Hardopc and here (doom9 put it on the front page). I could have sworn it was one of these sites that first wrote about the story.

The funny thing is everyone keeps reporting a $143 million settlement, but over half of that will be in the form of CDs given to the States to distribute to charities, nonprofs, and goverment programs. I wonder how much of the actual $67 million cash is going to "the payment of attorneys' fees, litigation and Settlement administration costs" I'm guessing a big chunk. And if the amount of each refund drops below $5 the cash itself goes to the States. This settlement is such a joke. A multi-billion dollar per year industry is found to have pricefixed over a 7 year period and the settlement is $67 million cash and some CDs.

These class action suits are just a way for lawyers to make millions and the goverment to make some quick cash too. It doesn't punish the behavior, it doesn't re-emburse the victims. It remindes me of the recent Wall Street settlement which cost the crooks pennies on the stolen dollar.