RIAA File-Sharing Lawsuit Victim Exhibits No Signs of Stockholm Syndrome, Turns to Free Culture Activism

When I first read this story about Brown University student Zack McCune, I was surprised to find that college and university students are still being randomly selected by the RIAA to receive hefty lawsuits. Nonetheless, McCune was one of those unlucky students, but rather than delving back into obscurity after the RIAA contacted him, he went on to do the unthinkable: he made good of the situation!

Instead of throwing a tantrum or quietly paying the fine, McCune questioned the relevance of today's copyright laws in part of a This American Life-esque series of podcasts documenting his ordeal, which can be found here. The short films were produced during his internship at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, part of the Harvard Law School that encourages debate on copyright reform and the ways in which laws can be changed to accommodate the digital age. McCune is now the leader of a Free Culture chapter at Brown.

Indeed, McCune came up against an obstacle that threatened the way he lives his day-to-day life, but rather than rejecting the RIAA as an institution, he began to work towards a creative, yet practical solution to the problem. He did not, in fact, continue to throw himself against a brick wall and refuse to change, getting arrested and fined even more in the process. Does this sound familiar? Adapting to a changing or adverse environment with new strategies? Record industry, meet the internet (again), and all of the fine people behind it. If you can't beat 'em...

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