Excellent news folks, justice has once again triumphed over lies and extortion
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/03/industry_drops_filesharing_case/A group of US record labels agreed to drop a music piracy case in the US after the alleged file-sharer argued that it could not be proved that she downloaded any illegal music. The case may set a precedent that undermines scores of other music piracy cases.
Tammie Marson of Palm Desert, California refused to pay the initial $3,500 demanded by a group of record labels and opted to fight the case in court. Marson and her lawyer Seyamack Kouretchian of Coast Law Group argued that the fact that Marson's computer contained illegal music files downloaded over her internet connection was not proof that she had committed a crime.
The record companies – Virgin, Sony BMG, Arista, Universal and Warner Brothers – agreed to dismiss the case and pay their own legal costs.
"They don't take these cases to trial, they either settle or dismiss," Kouretchian told OUT-LAW. "It was our position that they could not ever prove that Tammie Marson downloaded this music or that Tammie Marson made it available. It was just an absolute impossibility. The best they could ever prove was somebody had used Tammie Marson's internet account to download the music or make it available. That's the best they could ever do."
Marson argued that as a cheerleader teacher she had had hundreds of girls through her house, any one of whom could have used her computer. She also used a wireless internet network, meaning that people outside of her house could have used her internet connection.
Ah the joys of allowing folks to join your wireless network, this could have turned nasty for her but the point is a simple legal one, the person being sued must be proved to have commited what the record companies claimed ( copyright infringment), its not a proved case if you just find the name of the account holder and sue, they must have commited the act that is claimed, in this case there was ample proof that it was not possible to prove their claim.
I suggest the lady now countersues for damage to her reputation, she has after all been dragged through the mud by the extortionists.
