AUGUSTA (AP) – A recording industry trade group has filed a federal lawsuit against an Augusta man accusing him of illegally pirating and sharing copyrighted music on the Internet.
The Recording Industry Association of America filed the complaint against Scott Hinds, 23, in U.S. District Court.
The complaint alleges that Hinds used an “online media distribution system” to load songs and then distribute them to others. The complaint specifies five pirated songs by Tracy Chapman, Nora Jones, the Dave Matthews Band, N.W.A. and Live.
RIAA spokeswoman Amanda Hunter said 18,000 similar complaints have been filed since September 2003, but only six of those have been in Maine.
Hinds said he doesn’t know why he is being targeted, and that he no longer listens to music online. He faces a minimum civil penalty of $750 per song.
“Why choose me?” he asked. “Every single person has done this.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.