Although we aren’t really behind the RIAA and the war it has been waging against students accused of filesharing illegally, we would strongly advise any student who is caught out for filesharing to pay the out-of-court settlement fee rather than let the case go to court.

It’s not a matter of principle, but rather common sense. The law is the law and if you find yourself with a hefty fine, you have to pay it. One student at the University of Maryland University College, who goes by the name of Jessica, refused to pay the out-of-court settlement after being caught sharing nearly 300 songs with the filesharing program Limewire.

We commend Jessica for standing up against the RIAA, but is it really worth ruining your education over? There are other ways to make a stand. As Jessica says, the $3,000 settle is ridiculous, but this is the risk we all run by using filesharing programs to get free music downloads.

In their defense, the RIAA did offer Jessica a six-month payment plan, but that wasn’t enough and the case will now go to court where, in all likelihood, Jessica will be slapped with a hefty fine.

Dark days.

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