Back in the good ol' days, college students would receive "pre-litigation letters" from the RIAA demanding $3,000 as an out-of-court settlement. Students would then either pay the fine or challenge the accusation in court. It was a wonderful scenario, as everyone tended to come out on top: the RIAA got its money on behalf of (but not for) its artists, and the pirates, most of them hilariously in debt from student loans, got their due comeuppance and achieved higher moral superiority through the consequences of their naughty, naughty pirating. How dare thee download Coldplay's new single!
Well, the good ol' days are gone apparently. According to Ars Technica, the RIAA is now tacking on an extra $1,000 if forced to "go to court to get the name" of an unresponsive student, and it's even raising the penalty as high as $8,000 if a student chooses to challenge the subpoena, more than doubling the original fine. In short: THE RIAA DOESN'T BELIEVE IN THE JUDICIAL PROCESS! SPREAD THE WORD!
With the illegality of the RIAA's claims still dubious at best, it's pretty obvious why it is trying to avoid the courtroom. Hell, is it so much to ask that the RIAA keep suing us at $3,000?