$30,000? We’re broke, man.

Here’s the latest RIAA news from Edupage, a publication of Educause:

SETBACK FOR RIAA LAWSUITS
A federal judge has ruled that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) may not file single “John Doe” lawsuits that cover more than one defendant but must file all suits individually. A court ruling from last year prohibits the RIAA from obtaining the identities of alleged copyright infringers without filing a lawsuit, each of which costs about $150 to file. In response, the RIAA began filing single “John Doe” lawsuits against groups of users who are all customers of the same ISP. The new ruling means that the RIAA would be required to file separate lawsuits against each of the roughly 200 defendants named in the suit at issue, costing the group about $30,000 in filing fees. The RIAA said it would consider its options but did not say what it planned to do.
Wired News, 8 March 2004

Who else thinks this is an onerous burden for the RIAA? I mean, isn’t it their God-given inalienable right to sue every single man, woman, and child in the entire United States? Isn’t it? Heck, the government should be paying the RIAA to sue people.

Yeah, right.