# Spamigation

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Spamigation
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Spamigation.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spamigation
> Source revision: 1318364199
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Mass litigation conducted to intimidate large numbers of people}}
'''Spamigation''' is mass [litigation](/source/litigation) conducted to intimidate large numbers of people.<ref name="Spamigation and How to Fight It">Dana Blankenhorn. [http://www.danablankenhorn.com/2006/08/spamigation.html "Spamigation and How to Fight It"]. Accessed August 25, 2006.</ref> The term was coined in 2006 by [Brad Templeton](/source/Brad_Templeton) of the [Electronic Frontier Foundation](/source/Electronic_Frontier_Foundation) to explain the tactics of the [Recording Industry Association of America](/source/Recording_Industry_Association_of_America) (RIAA), which files large numbers of lawsuits against individuals for [file sharing](/source/RIAA), and [DirecTV](/source/DirecTV), which once filed large numbers of lawsuits against users of [smart cards](/source/DirecTV).<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/will-directv-sue-you-next/ "Will DirecTV Sue You Next?"] ''CBS News'', October 10, 2003, accessed August 25, 2006.</ref>

Because of the costs of mounting a legal defense, almost all defendants in these cases tend to settle.<ref name="courier-journal.com">Amy H. Trang (July 31, 2006). [http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060731/NEWS01/607310374 "Illegal downloads create unlikely defendants: Music industry seeks to protect copyrights"]. ''The Courier-Journal''. Accessed August 25, 2006.</ref> The RIAA then used the money from these settlements to "file more suits".<ref name="courier-journal.com"/>

Spamigation is similar to a [strategic lawsuit against public participation](/source/strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participation) ("SLAPP"), which is filed by a large organization, or in some cases an individual plaintiff, to intimidate and silence a less powerful critic by so severely burdening them with the cost of a legal defense that they abandon their criticism. Spamigation differs in that it aims at stopping an economic activity, in the case of the RIAA's lawsuits the copying of copyrighted material.<ref name="Spamigation and How to Fight It"/>

==See also==
* [Abuse of process](/source/Abuse_of_process)
* [Chilling effect](/source/Chilling_effect_(term))
* [Frivolous litigation](/source/Frivolous_litigation)
* [Lawfare](/source/Lawfare)
* [Paper terrorism](/source/Paper_terrorism)
*[Pseudolaw](/source/Pseudolaw)
* [Strategic lawsuit against public participation](/source/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participation)
* [Vexatious litigation](/source/Vexatious_litigation)

==References==
{{reflist}} <!--READ ME!! PLEASE DO NOT JUST ADD NEW NOTES AT THE BOTTOM. Use <ref></ref> in the text. -->

Category:Legal terminology

{{Law-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Spamigation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spamigation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spamigation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.