RIAA stalls in Foster case
p2pnet.net news:- The Big 4 Organized Music cartel’s RIAA is stalling on the payment of a debt it owes former sue ‘em all victim Debbie Foster.
The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), “acted in bad faith in bringing the lawsuit against Debbie Foster,” said her lawyer, Marilyn D. Barringer-Thomson.
Eighteen months later, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) abandoned its case, but Foster refused to drop her counter-claim against the Big 4 enforcement organization and was ultimately named the “prevailing party” under the Copyright Act, meaning she was entitled to attorneys’ fees.
Now, “the RIAA has indicated it intends to file a motion for ‘reconsideration’, and that – if the motion is denied – it wants 60 days in which to complete discovery on the reasonableness of the attorneys fees,” says Recording Industry vs The People.
“We respectfully believe that the Court got it wrong,” an RIAA spokesperson recently told Ars Technica, going on, “The RIAA spokesperson also accused the defendant of working hard ‘to avoid disclosing that her daughter was the underlying direct infringer’ and that, ‘Such a pattern of behavior on the defendant’s part should not give rise to an award of fees’.”
Says Ars Technica:
The ruling also opens the door wider for a “prove it was me using the computer” defense. The RIAA’s strategy of relying heavily on IP addresses to identify infringers is likely to draw even closer scrutiny as a result of this ruling. This is the first ruling that we know of where a direct relationship between an IP address and an accused party was demonstrated, but deemed insufficient to prove infringement.
The court’s finding that the owner of an Internet account cannot be held liable for copyright infringement that occurs without his or her knowledge is more significant. Although the judge in Elektra v. Santangelo declined to dismiss the labels’ infringement claims against Patti Santangelo, he doubted that “an Internet-illiterate parent who does not know Kazaa from a kazoo” could be found liable for file sharing done in her house without her knowledge or consent. In short, it means that merely owning an account used for infringement doesn’t rise to the level of liability under the Copyright Act.
Also See:
paying a debt – Victory for RIAA victim, February 7, 2006
Recording Industry vs The People – RIAA Says It Will Seek “Reconsideration” of Capitol v. Foster Order, February 14, 2007
Ars Technica – Victim of RIAA “driftnet” awarded attorneys’ fees, February 7, 2007
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