RIAA beats YouTube rippers in court but seeks just $82M in damages

The RIAA has scored a major victory in its piracy lawsuit against Russian-based YouTube rippers FLVTO.biz and 2conv.com.

A Virginia federal court has issued a default judgment in favor of the RIAA and major labels.

The RIAA has requested $82 million in damages, which seems low given the nature and duration of the illegal activity which major label bosses and the RIAA have repeatedly called the biggest piracy threat on the Internet.

The defendants recently failed to meet court deadlines which cleared the way for the ruling.

“There is a clear need to deter Defendant’s behavior in this case. Despite being ordered to fully produce documents and web server data, Defendant failed to comply with this Court’s orders,” Judge Buchanan on papers explaining the judgment.

“A less drastic sanction is unlikely to salvage this case,” he continued. “Plaintiffs are unable to fairly move forward with this case without discovery. It is unclear what other sanction could make Defendant comply with this Court’s orders..”

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.