Dear Senator / Representative XXX:

I am writing you to ask for for your help this most urgent and desperate
matter. Without your assistance, the ten rich and powerful corporations that
make up the Motion Picture Association of America may take away all of my
money and belongings through a civil lawsuit.

I am an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell,
where I study Computer Science. While I've attended school for the past two
and a half years, I've been employed as a software engineer at a local
networking firm to help defray my tuition, textbook, and living expenses. As
a high school student, I realized that I was somewhat gifted in the area of
computers and computer programming and so I decided that I would use my
skills to help the public at large by making charitable donations of
software I've created myself to the general public. For the past few years,
I've been actively involved as a volunteer for a non-profit group called
Software in the Public Interest which produces, collects, and distributes
Free Software to those in need. I have developed and packaged a number of
freely distributable software products. In the past months, I have become
interested in a project called LiViD, which aims to be a freely
distributable DVD video playback software product for the freely
distributable GNU/Linux computer operating system. On my web site at
http://osiris.978.org/~brianr/css/, I have posted information and Free
Software about decoding and playing DVD videos.

On January 19, 2000, I recieved a demand letter from the lawfirm of Sargoy,
Stein, Rosen & Shapiro in New York, claiming to represent Columbia Pictures
Industries, Inc., Disney Enterprises, Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
Inc., Paramount Pictures Corporation, TriStar Pictures, Inc., Twentieth
Century Fox Film Corporation, United Artists Pictures, Inc., United Artists
Corporation, Universal City Studios, Inc., and Warner Bros., a Division of
Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. A.K.A. the Motion Picture
Association of America or MPAA. Their letter asked me to remove the
information and software from my web site, claiming that it infringed their
copyrights. Later, I heard that the MPAA filed suits in New York and
Conneticuit seeking injunctive relief and civil damages against others
involved in the project. I have been told that the MPAA plans to file a
lawsuit in Massachusetts in the very near future and I suspect I may be a
defendant in that lawsuit.

... more stuff here ...

I urge you or your staff to contact me so I may answer any questions you may
have and so we may dicuss my situation. You can reach me by electronic mail
at brian@ristuccia.com, by telephone at 978-667-0036, or by the postal
address at the top of this letter. If you or your staff would perfer to meet
with me to discuss these matters, I will make time to do so whenever you
prefer. Your help is urgently needed. Without it, I fear I may lose
everything I own in order to defend my principles.


Sincerely,

Brian Ristuccia