Intellectual property is one of those issues that doesn’t really split along the left/right divide. I’m less familiar with the liberal politics of IP, but as for conservatives, there is some difference of opinion on whether (to simplify greatly) IP laws should be robust in order to protect property rights, or scaled back because they have become another form of corporate welfare (for a thoughtful walk through the issues involved, check out James Boyle’s speech to the annual meeting of the Federalist Society in 2000).

I tend to lean toward the latter argument, even though I shed few tears for the demise of Napster and pay for all my downloads through iTunes. But no matter what side of the issue you come down on, it should be pretty easy to agree that the Recording Industry of America’s policy of suing thousands of families for downloading music is just wrong. That’s why I think this is great news:

The Recording Industry Association of America has drawn plenty of fire from the thousands of consumers it has sued for illegally downloading music. But on Thursday, a record label threw its hat in the ring, speaking out strongly against the RIAA’s actions and offering to pay the legal fees and fines for one family that has been sued.
Nettwerk Music Group, the Canadian record label and artist-management company that is home to Avril Lavigne, Sarah McLachlan, Barenaked Ladies and Sum 41, is taking on the RIAA on behalf of Elisa Greubel, a 15-year-old Texan whose father was sued by the recording industry trade group in August 2005 for owning a computer that allegedly shared more than 600 music files.
Among the nine songs the RIAA is focusing on in the suit, according to Nettwerk, is management client Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi.” The RIAA is demanding Greubel’s family pay $9,000 to settle the suit, or half that amount if the family signs off on the conditions built into a standard settlement agreement. […]
McBride said he decided to weigh in because the action involves his artists. “Litigation is not ‘artist development,’ ” he said in the statement. “Litigation is a deterrent to creativity and passion and it is hurting the business I love. The current actions of the RIAA are not in my artists’ best interests.” Nettwerk has offered to pay all legal fees and any fines for the family in the event that they lose the suit and Mudd said he has reduced his fees in the case.

Full disclosure: Elisa Greubel’s older brothers Adam and B.J. are good friends of mine — and not to throw water on the David-and-Goliath aspect of a huge industry association suing a 15-year-old girl, but I have a strong suspicion that it was B.J. who downloaded “Sk8er Boi.”