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Lon Seidman
Why You Should Opt Out Of the $16 Comcast Settlement
As the title of this week's show indicates, it's important to read the fine print, specifically the bolded sections below from the settlement's FAQ:
You will be considered part of the Settlement Class unless you exclude yourself. By staying in the Settlement Class, all Court orders apply to you, and you give Comcast and all of its affiliated companies and their predecessors and successors (the “Released Parties”), a “release” for claims arising out of or relating to Comcast’s management of P2P or Lotus Notes on its High-Speed Internet network or Comcast’s disclosures related to those practices up until the date of final approval of the Settlement Agreement, including but not limited to all claims that were brought or could have been brought in this Action or the Related Actions. A release means you cannot sue or be part of any other lawsuit against the Released Parties about the claims or issues in this lawsuit ever again. The full release is available in the Settlement Agreement.
This means that even if you opt not to collect your $16, you're still considered part of the settlement class. And by being a member of the Settlement Class you will give up any right to sue Comcast or their successors in the future if the company throttles your content ever again.
Thankfully there is a way out. Simply send a letter (and I suggest getting delivery confirmation) expressing your wish to be excluded from the settlement class to the claims administrator here, postmarked no later than May 13, 2010:
P2P Congestion Settlement Claims Administrator
c/o Rust Consulting
P.O. Box 9454
Minneapolis, MN 55440-9454
Anyone in the content creation business needs to do this immediately. Is it really worth the $16 to throw your rights away?
-Lon
Posted
by Lon Seidman
