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What started off as every P2P users nightmare has turned into a profitable enterprise for 12 year old Brianna LaHara. Like 60 million other American citizens, Brianna’s downloading day started off like many others; launch your Kazaa client and trade away.
Unfortunately for Brianna, she had approximately 1,000 copyrighted songs in her shared directory. Compounding her situation was the type of shared music; mostly top 40, such as Christina Aguilera. This unfortunate combination is exactly what the RIAA automatons are looking for.
Like many other victims of the RIAA's persecution of the American people, Brianna had no idea that she was targeted until reporters started contacting the household. The RIAA quickly brushed off the issue, accepting a minimal payment of $2,000.
While the marginal penalty may seem like a fortune to this low-income New York family, the immediate sympathy and outpouring was undeniable. Almost immediately, P2P United, a trade organization that promote the file-sharing world, sent the family $2,000 to cover the costs.
However, the support didn't stop there.
In addition to the 2 grand from P2P United, Brianna has literally been flooded with donations. The donations range anywhere from $3 dollars to nearly $1,000. Not only has Brianna been able to pay her fine; she's making a profit from her ordeal with the RIAA.
In addition, "Rochester, New York radio disc jockey Brother Wease also offered to pay Torres’ legal bill, and online music retailer MusicRebellion.com said it would allow Torres’ daughter, Brianna Lahara, to download $2,000 worth of free music from its industry-sanctioned site."
What started off as a financial nightmare for the LaHara family has turned into a dream come true. With the $2,000 dollar offer from Music Rebellion, and “floods” of donations where some have totaled near $1,000, we can only speculate that Brianna has managed to make over $4,000 for the LaHara household - and that's a very conservative estimate. Not bad for being sued for copyright infringement.
