Wednesday, July 11, 2007

RIAA Moves to Dismiss Counterclaims in Georgia case, Priority v. Beer

The RIAA has moved to dismiss counterclaims which have been interposed in a Columbus, Georgia, case, Priority v. Beer.

The plaintiff record companies against whom the counterclaims are asserted are Priority Records, BMG, SONY BMG, and Interscope.

The counterclaims are for

-Trespass (Georgia law)
-Invasion of Privacy (Georgia law)
-Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (Georgia law)
-Attorneys Fees (Federal Copyright Act)

Answer and Counterclaims*
RIAA Motion to Dismiss Counterclaims*

The attorney for the defendant is Michael Caldwell of the Atlanta, Georgia, firm, DeLong, Caldwell & Bridgers.

* Document published online at Internet Law & Regulation

Commentary & discussion:

WTVM.com




Keywords: digital copyright online law legal download upload peer to peer p2p file sharing filesharing music movies indie independent label freeculture creative commons pop/rock artists riaa independent mp3 cd favorite songs

5 comments:

Megan said...

Okay, I don't know much about this case. However, I need to be on record as being very amused by the short caption.

One almost hopes there's some significant decision that comes from this so people will be citing "Priority v. Beer" for years to come.

AMD FanBoi said...

On page 4, the RIAA claims that :

"In gathering evidence of infringement, MediaSentry uses the same functionalities that are built into P2P programs that any user of the software can utilize on the network.2 Therefore, MediaSentry does not do anything that any other user of a P2P network cannot do; it does not obtain any information that is not available to anyone who logs onto a P2P network."

While I have never used KaZaA, I'd be surprised to learn that it reports and logs IP address and times for every transfer it makes. Also, how accurate is the clock of the Media Sentry computer and user logging this information, as well as how accurate is the clock of the ISP computer logging users of IP addresses? I've known computer clocks to be from minutes, to months, off in their times, yet the time involved is CRITICAL to these cases.

I also note that further down the RIAA attempts to turn the tables by saying that computer trespass counterclaims must be dismissed if Plaintiff's computer was not the one they invaded. The RIAA should be told that whatever computer they invaded in this manner was WRONG, and that evidence is tainted and unusable because of that fact.

Regarding the attempt to dismiss the claim of Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, I would think, from the stories told, that anyone who has to deal with the Settle Support Center, and their threats and their lies, has a completely valid claim in this area. And being sued on insufficient, erroneous, or completely non-existent evidence by a mega-rich corporation with no scruples as part of a terror campaign against ordinary citizens for amounts FAR IN EXCESS of any reasonable damages qualifies, to me at least, as Intense Emotional Distress. This is intolerable!

Unknown said...

@ amd fanboi
I read this blog alot, but I don't comment very often. However, I would just like to thank amd fanboi for his seemingly endless supply of outrage. I'm glad that you can continue to rant against the machine. Such things bring a smile to my face. Eventually, we should get a series of rulings that will make rants like yours and mine without necessity. Here's hoping for reasonable judges. Until then, keep up the good fight.

Ray, thanks for keeping the rest of us lucky enough to avoid this stupid witchhunt informed.

Reluctant Raconteur said...

I would think the trespassing claim puts them in a no win position. If it is the proper computer, they trespassed, if it isn't then it is false prosecution, or at the very least a precedent that their identifying of computers/users is faulty.

AMD FanBoi said...

Matthew,

Thanks for the nice words, they do mean a lot! But it's Ray who has shown the passion to fight the real fight here -- and maintain a blog on the side keeping the rest of us informed, as well as entertained!!