Am I being charged with a crime if I receive a letter from the record companies?
Most likely, no. In most cases the lawsuits are civil lawsuits, seeking only monetary damages. So, you're probably not going to jail.
This is crap. What if I decide to fight it?
You can contact the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or visit Subpoena Defense. Both have a number of resources that can be helpful--most importantly, information about your rights and what you can do to fight back.
I haven’t received a letter, but I used to, um.... borrow music online in college. I haven't done it in a long time. Am I in danger here?
The civil statute of limitations is three years, so if it's been longer than that you should be in good shape. If you are concerned, we encourage you to contact a lawyer.
If I use P2P sites, is there a way I can maintain my privacy?
There is software that you can use to protect yourself from being spied on. The most well-known is PeerGuardian, which prevents incoming and outgoing connections based on a list of blocked IP addresses.
In case we haven't mentioned this--we're not lawyers. If you receive a letter from your ISP or the record companies, you should really get some advice from one before you do anything. Making the wrong move could put you in a worse position. Refer to one of the legal sites above, or maybe you can ask your brother's friend's lawyer wife to help you pro-bono. And, if she is Pro-Bono, you can buy her a U2 CD as a thank-you. Notice we said buy.
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