RIAA Drops "Clean Slate" File-Swapper Amnesty Program

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 20, 2004 - 4:24am.

Washington, D.C. -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has ended its amnesty program, which offered admitted online music swappers the chance to avoid being sued by record companies, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. The RIAA launched its "Clean Slate" program in September, and has since filed copyright infringement lawsuits against thousands of individual suspected file swappers. Under the amnesty program, the RIAA vowed not to sue individuals who admitted in writing that they had shared music filed online and pledged to delete the files from their computers. A Calif. man then filed suit against the RIAA for fraudulent business practices for promoting the program, arguing that the program did not constitute a legal promise not to sue participants. In recent court papers, the RIAA asked for the suit to be dismissed, as it had recently ended the Clean Slate program, deeming it "no longer necessary or appropriate." The RIAA said a total of 1,108 admitted file-swappers had signed up for the program, the terms of which will still be honored for those participants.
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