Class-action lawsuits are common, especially when it comes to tech products. iPods, CDs, DVD rentals... you name the product and chances are someone has filed a class-action suit.

There's no denying it: class-action lawsuits feel good. After all, individual consumers have little power over manufacturers, and it's all too easy to see these companies as firms who value only the almighty dollar. Ganging up on, say, the record labels feels pretty good because it gives power to a group of people who otherwise would wield little of it. It balances the asymmetrical power relationship between corporations and consumers.

Ars looks at the phenomenon to determine why they're so common and who ultimately benefits.