‘Convoluted’ RIAA tactics ‘laughable nonsense’
p2pnet news | RIAA News:- More ‘convoluted litigation tactics” on the part of Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG’s RIAA have caught the eye of Wired.
Its story, last week, “described a New York family accused of copyright infringement, a case the RIAA voluntarily dismissed last month as a judge was considering a motion to dismiss the case based on the ‘making available’ theory,” says David Kravets, going on >>>
The RIAA was initially zeroing in on the mother, Joan Cassin, as being the copyright infringer.
Two weeks later, the RIAA subsequently re-filed the identical allegations in a new lawsuit that was sent to another judge because the RIAA did not ‘relate’ the cases. The record companies immediately demanded discovery to find out whose Kazaa file share folder was open for the pilfering of music – a share folder on the same Verizon internet account used at the Cassin household.
The previous judge halted discovery, pending his ‘making available’ ruling.
The new lawsuit was filed as a Doe case, meaning it didn’t name a defendant.
The RIAA said Monday it dismissed the original claim against the mother on the word of her attorney, Ray Beckerman, an outspoken critic of the RIAA who runs the blog Recording Industry vs The People. Beckerman, who described the RIAA as ‘psychos’ and suggested the RIAA was shopping for a new judge in the case, had informed the RIAA that the mother was innocent of the allegations.”
How come the Big 4 enforcer didn’t bother to mention the first suit when it got into the second?
If it’d done so, Kravets figures correctly, “the new case likely would stay before the same judge who was expected to rule any day on perhaps the most important question in RIAA litigation defense: Can somebody be liable for copyright violations for having a peer-to-peer share folder open and hence ‘making available’ copyrighted music?”
Beckerman [right] says he explained the background to judge Charles L. Brieant, “asking him to mark the case as ‘related’ to Warner v Cassin, asking him to refer the matter back to Judge Robinson,” and arguing the RIAA had filed the new case to:
- Engage in forum shopping;
- Do an end-run around the impending decision of the dismissal motion; and
- Do an end-run around the stay of discovery.
“You just can’t make this stuff up,” said Beckerman.
“Guess what the new complaint says about ‘making available’? Answer: nothing.”
Meanwhile, “Plaintiffs dismissed the Cassin case based, in part, on her counsel’s statement that she was not responsible for the infringement at issue,” says the RIAA, observing, “Unless Ms. Cassin is now changing her story, she is not a Doe defendant in this case and has no basis to assert a res judicata defense.”
“I’ve reviewed the RIAA’s response,” Beckerman told p2pnet today.
.
.Stumble It!
Wired – RIAA Defends Refiling Contested Piracy Case With New Judge, June 17, 2008
explained the background – RIAA files new action against Cassin family after dismissing ‘making available’ action, Warner v. Does 1-4, June 12, 2008
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June 18th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Well, to give him a bit of credit:
Mr Kaos(*) argument is very logic on the point
If Joan didn’t do it, then from a pure logical thinking point she isn’t the target of the RIAA! (We all know those vultures are only after those that can’t give them a fight (dead people/near dead people, those cronical ill and of course the children!!)
While this thinking of Mr. Kao is extremely logical; would judges and the judiciary accept his thinking consequently (and not just for some points like the RIAA want it to have) then it would mean that this allegedly smart asian(?) guy is eroding their “sue them all; the Judge will know which ones belong in his courtroom”-sheme faster and more sustainable then that his him likely supervising Guy Mr. Moran(**) is allegedly able to realise!
So me votes for giving Mr. Kao more cases. He is ruining it very well from within for them with his pure logical thinking!
(*) http://www.rc.com/images/Bios/Photos/KAOphoto.jpg
(**) http://www.rc.com/images/Bios/Photos/MORANBphoto.jpg
P.S. Thanks to the person in charge for the vulture photos at R&C. Other then HRO your tiny mugshot like pics are much better usable and appropriate to set the tune for what is comming to them once the judges that are not already greased by MAFIAA have the guts to “Rule 11″ them!
June 18th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
“set the tune for what is comming to them once the judges that are not already greased by MAFIAA have the guts to âRule 11â³ them!”
Or we can kick the but of Kao all the way back to North Corea where he belong and send Moron to Guatanamo so that, we will know for sure that there is a least one real terrorist in the camp!
Obviously the music industry is operated by neocons and it is time to give them some of their medicine.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:51 am
Mr Beckerman refers to them as psychos. Classically funny, but how terribly appropriate. They use and abuse the system until they get their way, and if they don’t, they take it up with another judge or in another country, and when that doesn’t work they continue on with their illegal hacking, threats and harassment, at the same time threatening and bribing the authorities to push for change.
Please somebody clunk them on the head and put them out of their/our misery. Don’t fret all, it will happen.