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April 07, 2008, 12:38 PM ET
Potential Setbacks for the RIAA in File-Sharing Suits
Three recent court decisions show increased scrutiny of one of the Recording Industry Association of America’s main legal arguments in prosecuting alleged music pirates on campuses around the country.
In those file-sharing suits, judges have probed whether the RIAA must prove that music was actually copied and downloaded, not just that defendants had made the music files on their computers “available” to others. This “making available” argument was also called into question last year in the first successful suit against an alleged file sharer, Jammie Thomas.
The three recent court opinions all came to slightly different conclusions about whether making a file available constitutes infringement, so the issue remains unsettled. Find links to the rulings here: Atlantic Recording Corp., et al. v. Christopher David Brennan in Connecticut; Elektra Entertainment Group, Inc., et al. v. Denise Barker in New York; and London-Sire Records, Inc., et al. v. Does in Massachusetts.—Catherine Rampell
Categories: Campus-Piracy, Legal-Troubles
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