Recording Industry vs. The People

Friday, March 21, 2008

In UMG v. Lindor RIAA now tries to take depositions of additional relatives in Illinois and Connecticut

In UMG v. Lindor, the RIAA has served new subpoenas and deposition notices calling for depositions of additional relatives of the defendant, one residing in Illinois, one in Connecticut.

Ms. Lindor has moved to quash, terming the new subpoenas a "fishing expedition".

March 21, 2008, letter motion of Ray Beckerman to quash subpoenas for Illinois and Connecticut depositions*
Exhibit A - Deposition notices and subpoenas*
Exhibit B - Email exchange between Richard L. Gabriel and Ray Beckerman*

* Document published online at Internet Law & Regulation

Keywords: digital copyright law online internet 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 intellectual property

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posted by Ray Beckerman @ 3/21/2008 05:39:00 PM

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Comment was deleted for violation of comment policy #7.

Link to this comment posted by

Ray Beckerman : March 21, 2008 6:19:00 PM EDT

I can well imagine why it was necessary to delete the earlier comment. Thanks, Ray for this most illuminating exchange of emails.

Richard G explains...

'the evidence that we have now developed
shows that both Ms. Raymond and Mr. Lindor used the computer, and particularly the Internet, which, I note, is potentially inconsistent with prior testimony in this case.'

'Developed' eh? - is this akin to 'fabricated'?

'used the computer' - which could lead to the new crime of computer abuse

'potentially inconsistent' - as opposed to the wilfully inconsistent Plaintiff's testimony

Do I hold RG up for contempt and ridicule? You betcha.

Dave

Link to this comment posted by

Jadeic : March 21, 2008 8:07:00 PM EDT

The contention that Richard Gabriel has identified other "individuals" that used the computer and the Internet is as phony as MediaSentry claiming that they're "identified an individual". I could have sat down at the Defendant's computer and been any of them. It's not like they've lifted DNA off of the keyboard.

Furthermore, if the Plaintiffs believe these other people are the infringers, why are they able to pursue and depose them under the case of the person they would now have to believe isn't the infringer?

And if they don't believe these people are the infringers, why are they able to pursue and depose them at all?

The Plaintiffs are being bloody arses in their ongoing attempts to harass anyone the Defendant may have ever known in order to punish her for fighting back. I hope that the court will realize this and slap Richard Gabriel down hard. There is simply no way any average home user could have ever damaged these so-called record companies to the degree that they're causing all this trouble in return.

-DM

Link to this comment posted by

Anonymous : March 21, 2008 9:03:00 PM EDT

In light of this request, I'd move to strike whatever version of Lineres Declaration UMG used to initiate the complaint. Clearly there is no way they "identified an individual" if they don't know which individual it was. From there, I'd also move to strike the any documentation about Lindor's internet account, as "unclean hands" and "fruit of the poisoned tree"

I'd also subpoena documents/emails from Richard G/MS/HRO/SafeNet in which they discuss the fact that Marie Lindor was not the "infringer." Especially "given the discovery cutoff of April 30."

Q

Link to this comment posted by

Anonymous : March 25, 2008 10:31:00 AM EDT

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"In National Car Rental System, Inc. v. Computer Associates Int’l, Inc., the Eighth Circuit stated that “‘[i]nfringement of [the distribution right] requires an actual dissemination of either copies or phonorecords.’ 2 Nimmer on Copyright § 8.11[A], at 8‐124.1.” 991 F.2d 426, 434 (8th Cir. 1993). This statement appears to require that actual dissemination occur in order to infringe the distribution right under the Copyright Act. Neither party presented this Eighth Circuit case to the Court."
-Hon. Michael J. Davis
District Judge
District of Minnesota
May 15, 2008
Capitol v. Thomas

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RECENT POSTS:

In UMG v. Lindor RIAA now tries to take depositions of additional relatives in Illinois and Connecticut

"Merely making a copy available does not constitute distribution....The statute provides copyright holders with the exclusive right to distribute "copies" of their works to the public "by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending." 17 U.S.C. ...106(3). Unless a copy of the work changes hands in one of the designated ways, a "distribution" under ...106(3) has not taken place."
-Hon. Neil V. Wake
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"If the owner of the shared folder simply provides a member of the public with access to the work and the means to make an unauthorized copy, the owner is not liable as a primary infringer of the distribution right, but rather is potentially liable as a secondary infringer of the reproduction right....Furthermore, if contributory liability applies, the recording companies must still prove that a third-party actually obtained an unauthorized copy of the work to impose liability on [defendant]."
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"The concern of this Court is that in these lawsuits, potentially meritorious legal and factual defenses are not being litigated, and instead, the federal judiciary is being used as a hammer by a small group of plaintiffs to pound settlements out of unrepresented defendants."
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"“[W]ithout actual distribution of copies.... there is no violation [of] the distribution right.” 4 William F. Patry, Patry on Copyright § 13:9 (2007); see also id. N. 10 (collecting cases); Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 508 F.3d 1146, 1162 (9th Cir. 2007)(affirming the district court’s finding “that distribution requires an ‘actual dissemination’ of a copy”)".
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"If this were to become a more typical course in prosecuting the type of allegations faced by defendant, it is reasonably foreseeable that members of the public would be more hesitant to use the Internet to share creative works in general, regardless of whether their specific conduct violated copyright law or occupied an area yet to be addressed by copyright law. Copyright holders generally, and these plaintiffs specifically, should be deterred from prosecuting infringement claims as plaintiffs did in this case. "
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"Plaintiffs are ordered to file any future cases of this nature against one defendant at a time, and may not join defendants for their convenience."
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"[A]n overwhelming majority of cases brought by recording companies against individuals are resolved without so much as an appearance by the defendant, usually through default judgment or stipulated dismissal.....The Defendant Does cannot question the propriety of joinder if they do not set foot in the courthouse."
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*Printable list of above quotations

"Recording Industry vs. The People"
By Ray Beckerman

Morlan Ty Rogers -We are lawyers in New York City, practicing at Vandenberg & Feliu, LLP. We established this site to collect and share information about the wave of sham "copyright infringement" lawsuits brought by four large record companies to abuse the American judicial system, distort copyright law, and frighten ordinary working people and their children.
-Ray Beckerman
-Morlan Ty Rogers
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