For a group that’s so concerned about the money it loses due to illegal music downloading, the RIAA sure spends a hell of a lot on lawyers. Money that could be better spent on innovation instead of protecting a broken, backward, expensive distribution system.

It’s nice to see the Oregon Attorney General stand up to the RIAA, calling into question the legality of some its data-mining tactics. Some points of contention include how much personal information the RIAA has already gathered on various defendants and, perhaps more importantly, what types of information — user names, passwords, credit card numbers, etc.

The University of Oregon, in particular, has some questions for the RIAA in light of recent subpoenas involving the school. It’s proposing that the RIAA provide specific economic damages including "the date the damaged occurred, the amount, the entity suffering the damage, and how the damage was caused," according to Ars Technica.

All of this extra work on the RIAA’s behalf is going to cost a pretty penny. It’s gotten to the point where rumors have started that "EMI was considering cutting its funding to the RIAA and IFPI" due to how expensive these legal proceedings have become.

The moral of the story is that you shouldn’t F with Oregon. They are a proud people that have overwhelmingly voted against a state sales tax time and time again. They don’t like being told what to do, especially by outsiders. I should know. I’ve been there 10-15 times. Don’t get them all riled up, trust me.

Oregon Attorney General criticizes RIAA’s conduct in P2P cases [Ars Technica]