An interesting case will soon be decided that will have implications for
all the RIAA suits launched so far.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070820-foundation-on-which-riaa-builds-cases-in-danger-of-being-undermined.htmlAt the base of every one of the over 25,000 lawsuits filed by the RIAA against suspected file-sharing is a single argument: making a song available over a P2P network like KaZaA infringes on the copyrights of the record labels. That assertion will be tested by Warner v. Cassin next month, as her attorney, Ray Beckerman, will argue the matter in a federal court in White Plains, NY.
Although the RIAA's claim that making a song available over a P2P network infringes on a record label's copyrights may seem sound at first glance, the issue is as not cut and dried as the music industry would lead us to believe. First, the RIAA has not established that any infringement has actually taken place. The RIAA's claims of copyright infringement come after its investigator, MediaSentry, discovers music in a P2P user's shared folder. MediaSentry then takes screenshots, notes the IP address, and the litigation process is set into motion. That's the sole basis for the RIAA's complaints.
A number of defendants have pointed out the weakness of the RIAA's argument. First, the RIAA's complaints do not allege any actual acts of infringement, which the Copyright Act says must take place in order for a case for infringement to be made. The only downloading that the RIAA can actually prove occurred was done by its authorized agent, MediaSentry.
Lets hope the wording of the law will be upheld in ensuring as there is no proof of anyone actually downloading the file there cannot possibly be any proof of copyright infringement, anyone claiming otherwise is likely operating a fraudulent extortion scheme, racketeering seems to be the real name for this type of pseudo legal activity and it stinks of corruption.
