The so-called Clean Slate Program from the Recording Industry Association of America fails to provide file-traders any real amnesty from lawsuits, according to a new lawsuit filed in California. The RIAA does not represent all copyright holders, songwriters and music publishers. People who choose amnesty could still be sued, a lawyer said.

“When you read between the headlines, the legal documents do not provide any real amnesty from lawsuits and do not provide any real clean slate,” said Ira Rothken, an attorney who is representing Eric Parke, a private citizen who filed the claim. “The legal document does not even provide for a release of claims against suits brought by RIAA members.”

The Clean Slate program is designed to “grant amnesty to P2P users who voluntarily identify themselves and pledge to stop illegally sharing music on the Internet. The RIAA will guarantee not to sue file sharers who have not yet been identified in any RIAA investigations and who provide a signed and notarized affidavit in which they promise to respect recording-company copyrights,” according to a news release on the RIAA’s web site.

Electronic Frontier Foundation, a consumer advocacy group, says the RIAA’s amnesty offer is a sham, claiming the RIAA cannot actually protect anyone from all civil suits, and individuals who sign these affidavits may open themselves up to criminal prosecution

“If you look at who is actually filing the 261 lawsuits, it’s the record label themselves individually, not the RIAA,” said Jason Schultz, an attorney with the EFF. “Therefore, amnesty from the RIAA doesn’t really help you.”

The consumer group says that the labels can still file lawsuits against individual file traders.

“They could subpoena the RIAA for all of the Clean Slate affidavits, and then the RIAA would have to turn those over and the bands or songwriters could use your own words against you,” Schultz said.

Shultz also addressed potential holes in the amnesty program.

“If you send the RIAA your signed affidavit admitting you illegally downloaded music and it turns out, unbeknownst to you, that you were under investigation, you’ve just handed them the exact admission that can be used against you,” Shultz said.

“A true amnesty would end the threat of lawsuits and make file sharing legal in the minds of the recording industry.

(via Wired News)