Jammie Thomas Briefs Round-Up

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Things are warming up nicely in the only contested case the RIAA ever won, yes folks this is their only "scare" case and its not looking secure at all.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080622-eff-attacks-foundation-of-riaa-lawsuit-campaign.html

The Electronic Frontier Foundation weighed in this week on the Jammie Thomas file-swapping case, where the judge has asked for public comment on whether just making a file available for download on a P2P network should count as copyright infringement. In its filing (PDF), the EFF goes for the jugular, seeking to show that the RIAA's entire approach to file-swapping cases is flawed.

Not only does the Copyright Act not grant a "making available" right, the EFF said, but trade groups also shouldn't be allowed to claim that an actual distribution took place based solely on downloads from their own investigators. Together, this two-part theory would effectively eviscerate the RIAA's current legal campaign by making it nearly impossible for copyright holders to show that infringing distributions to the public have taken place over P2P networks.

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On the other foot ...

http://www.pff.org/news/news/2008/062308sydnoramicusbrief.html

The motion for a new trial in the case of Capitol Records, Inc v. Jammie Thomas should be dismissed, states Progress & Freedom Foundation Senior Fellow Thomas Sydnor in an amicus curiae brief filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Jurists in the case of Capitol Records, Inc v. Jammie Thomas were advised correctly, Syndor claims, when instructed that U.S. law does grant copyright owners the exclusive right to "make-available" work for distribution.

Sydnor, PFF Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for the Study of Digital Property, argues "the Court correctly instructed the jury that U.S. law does grant copyright owners the 'making-available right' expressly required by nine binding international agreements--two treaties and seven bilateral or multilateral Free Trade Agreements."

I think the guns are lined up nicely, the real story here is all in the detail, either this guy is correct and the copyright act does not say distribution must occur or the EFF are right and it must, lets see what this judge decides, although in all honesty he should have just handed this over to one of his colleagues to demonstrate open and fair justice.