Judge shuts down RIAA in music piracy case

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has suffered another legal setback after a judge denied a ruling in a music piracy case this week. The judge ruled that "the sole act of making a music file available in a "shared folder" does not violate copyright laws."

In the case Atlantic v. Howell, the RIAA asserted that a "sound recording" that is legally ripped to a PC and then stored in any type of shared folder is unauthorized and illegal. The assertion was not really clear however, as a shared folder is a very broad category.

The RIAA saw some backlash for its assertion when the rumor was spread around the Internet that the RIAA believed that ripping CD music was illegal. The group cleared up the situation by saying that it doesn't consider ripping illegal but that adding music recordings to a shared folder that can be accessed by others in a P2P file sharing program is illegal and should be stopped.

The ruling this week has shut those theories down however. U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake tossed out all the RIAA's motions including the "making available" and "offer to distribute" theories that pertained to "shared folders."

The judgment could have long lasting effects in all of the RIAA's music piracy cases as it is now harder for the group to prove that "a copyrighted file actually changed hands given the anonymous nature of file-sharing programs and the lack of cooperation from Internet service providers with these lawsuits."

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 Apr 2008 18:49

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48 comments

slickwill

Awesome, the law is one our side!

30.4.2008 18:55 #1

domie

The Law is on our side ? Jesus ! The 60's were good to you !!!

30.4.2008 18:59 #2

A_Klingon

This is an awesome blow against the RIAA - and a most welcome, drearily-long-overdue boost for fair-use rights & consumers everywhere.

Maybe the US legal system is now getting just a little weary of the RIAA and it's Dictatorial, brutal attitude towards consumers and getting fed-up with it's constant whining, bitching and clogging up the judicial system.

A VERY GOOD DAY INDEED! :-)

30.4.2008 19:08 #3

tripplite

@klingon yes this time we got away!!!

what a moral boost!

btw how ya been old mikey,,,,,,,

30.4.2008 19:29 #4

engage16

its about time that the government stands up against the real pirates... the illegal downloaders aren't stealing from the artist's, the record labels are, its a shame that the labels find it nessacery to screw over bands so much that they need to tour 7-8 months out of the year to make a decent penny for themselves... not that i'm complaining, i love going to see live bands, just wished they'd see more of the money that THEY earned. people pay to go to shows to see the bands play and make their money that they've earned, not to pay to go see a band and see some record exec get rich...

30.4.2008 19:45 #5

grkblood

ok, i dont understand. they always have rulings going both ways so how is this bad and what effects does it have? what is stopping a judge a week from know ruling in the favor of the RIAA?

30.4.2008 19:47 #6

ZippyDSM

a mixed zippy quote
Quote:Because of the cluster fck that happens to the individual, individual CP crime should be minimized to nothing unless a profit motive can be substantiated; heavy fines need to be placed on the corporations and business that steal others works, I am talking 100K+ to millions, they won�t play fair unless the government says this is the fine you pay for breaking the rules and contracts.

A individual, even if in the thousands cannot do financial damage to a corporation, thus unless they can show profit was made corporation cannot go after individuals.

Also it would be nice if CP/IP lasted only for about 5 years before private individuals can store and trade that data in personal nonprofit setups, let the corporations fight over monetary and profit based distribution rights they will always have the majority of the populace to sell crap too, those of who know better want wiggle room to not be forced to drink piss flavored kool aid the rest of the herd are given� should be given a break.

30.4.2008 19:48 #7

varnull

Stomped.... quality stampings from a judge who has obvilosly better things to do that protecting profits for millionaires.. does he have kids, or is he a music "thief" who likes listening to mp3's when crackhead muggers are pleading their innocence... hahahahaha..

Rock on dude. You can have my support any day.

Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work....

30.4.2008 20:02 #8

navi1199

i have a feeling that the RIAA won't just sit down and watch, they are definitely going to come back with a counter attack

30.4.2008 20:35 #9

TBandit

Find anything they "think" is distributing music and they thought ripping a cd is illegal? What a joke.

30.4.2008 20:35 #10

Krmnnghia

Amazing that they want to control where you can place files on your own personal computer. What is this Iran?

30.4.2008 22:27 #11

B33rdrnkr

to the people

to the greedy

30.4.2008 22:29 #12

aldan

Originally posted by engage16: its about time that the government stands up against the real pirates... the illegal downloaders aren't stealing from the artist's, the record labels are, its a shame that the labels find it nessacery to screw over bands so much that they need to tour 7-8 months out of the year to make a decent penny for themselves... not that i'm complaining, i love going to see live bands, just wished they'd see more of the money that THEY earned. people pay to go to shows to see the bands play and make their money that they've earned, not to pay to go see a band and see some record exec get rich...
funny i work 12 months a year to make a buck.i for one would love to make what some of these artists make and sit on my ass 6 months a year.

30.4.2008 23:10 #13

sgriesch

I think that makes Neil Wake hero of the day. All it took was a common sense ruling. Thank you Mr. Wake.

30.4.2008 23:17 #14

engage16

i never said that i wouldn't like to make a fraction of what they make (ever see mtv cribs?)... it just that alot of the bands out there don't get the money they deserve. of course i'm being biased here cause i see all these rappers with all thier bling and crap, what did they do other than talk in a rythem on stage? i mean real bands, who sit and write their lyrics, music, etc....

30.4.2008 23:22 #15

duckNrun

Originally posted by B33rdrnkr: to the people

ok... i know the movie this is from but can't recall the title.

any help please?

thx

30.4.2008 23:35 #16

Blackjax

My congratulations to Mr. Wake on his ruling. It's about time started using SOME common sense when it comes to law.

Quote:The ruling this week has shut those theories down however. U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake tossed out all the RIAA's motions including the "making available" and "offer to distribute" theories that pertained to "shared folders."

It's NOT a crime to leave your car unlocked with all your cd's in plain sight. It's a CRIME when someone takes your cd's without your permission. The riaa analogy of the situation is you are more of a criminal than the actual criminal for being ignorant/dumb. Why? Because you "shared" your music with someone you didn't know by NOT locking your doors of your car.

Oh and another thought....
There are so many laws on the books in the US that you are breaking at least one law every day. Don't believe me... ever hear or read a story about some prosecutor somewhere using a 100 year old law to prosecute someone?!

1.5.2008 00:21 #17

ZoSoIV

hummm lets see there is 200 million people on the internet what are they going to do locks us all up lol

1.5.2008 02:10 #18

nobrainer

Originally posted by B33rdrnkr: to the people

to the greedy
the problem is that ppl only hear RIAA or MPAA while the companies doing this hide behind the name that fronts their greedy side, name and shame them. see my signature!

BREAKING NEWS: sony are going to sue themselves for facilitating copywrite infringement by making available the tools to enable this: dvd,cd,blu-ray burners, dvd,cd blu-ray blank media, vcr, mp3, flash drives, mini discs.

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Originally posted by story: The RIAA saw some backlash for its assertion when the rumor was spread around the Internet that the RIAA believed that ripping CD music was illegal. The group cleared up the situation by saying that it doesn't consider ripping illegal but that adding music recordings to a shared folder that can be accessed by others in a P2P file sharing program is illegal and should be stopped. well what i can remember is that sony's top copywrite lawyer stated:

Sony BMG's chief anti-piracy lawyer: "Copying" music you own is "stealing"Originally posted by hyperlink: Gabriel asked if it was wrong for consumers to make copies of music which they have purchased, even just one copy. Pariser replied, "When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song." Making "a copy" of a purchased song is just "a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy'," she said.
BTW ripping is illegal in the uk because of the lack of "fair use" which americans have to protect their consumer rights that the MPAA/RIAA wish to destroy. In the UK the BPI (riaa) are not going to allow format shifting unless they get paid every time you move an item. what was that quote again?

"the rumor was spread around the Internet that the RIAA believed that ripping CD music was illegal."

and now the anti-consumer assault on format shifting is in the UK and because the industry still believes that you don't own their content they want to get paid for ever cd ripped.

iPod tax: UK music biz open to format shifting... for a feeOriginally posted by ars link: April 14, 2008
And then came hints that this apple might come with a serious worm. Early this year, the BPI again said all the right things about format shifting, but we noted that the Association of Independent Music was making noises; apparently, the group wanted to get paid whenever music was transferred from a CD to a portable device.

and now look what the MPAA/RIAA lobby/trade groups are doing, if the DMCA wasn't anti consumer enough, now SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP & EMI want your home for copywrite infringement offences.

Controversial Pro-IP Act sails through Judiciary CommitteeOriginally posted by ars hyper: The bill would create a new position for a federal copyright enforcement czar, establish a new copyright enforcement division within the Department of Justice, and would also permit law enforcement agents to seize property from perpetrators of copyright infringement.

is DRM to stop piracy, or to allow price fixing and stop format shifting to new media because if they can continue to sell you the same media over and over again �$�$�$�$?

The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above!
The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX.

1.5.2008 02:28 #19

llongtheD

@duckNrun

Taxi driver

About article...
Maybe the legal system, and judges in general, are getting tired of these blackmail tactics.

1.5.2008 13:39 #20

engage16

The one thing I don't get about all these lawsuits is how they come up with the monetary damages... I've seen cases where they've sought over $600,000 for sharing 2000 songs... At .99 cents a song thats less than $2000, and yet they're askng for 300 times that much???

1.5.2008 14:12 #21