Warner Bros. Records v. Cassin, the Westchester case challenging the "making available" theory, has been settled. A notice of dismissal without prejudice of the 2nd phase of that case, the case against the "John Does", was filed today.
Notice of dismissal without prejudice
Commentary & discussion:
p2pnet.net
Keywords: lawyer 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 portable music player
5 comments:
The moment this man sees dismissal without prejudice, each party to bear its own fees and costs, he knows that the RIAA has won another round. While the RIAA didn't manage to get the hapless defendant to pay the RIAA's own fees as well, they hammered him (or her) into the ground using the legal system as said hammer to the tune of far more money and time lost, and stress induced, than if said defendant had payed the extortion up front. That's certainly a win in the RIAA's books - and a loss to the rest of us.
{The Common Man Speaking}
I agree with the above post.
The bast... people working at the RIAA have extremely deep pockets and have flocks of vulture lawyers at their beck and call unlike the (mostly falsely) accused who dont have even 1% of the resources of these big fat record companies and their hound dogs.
The thought of someone going up against these giants must be as bad as a local show owner thinking of going up against "the mob" when they come and offer him "membership" into their protection racket.
It really is sad and makes me sick to my stomach watching these people make a mockery of the legal system in "the land of the free" where justice is supposed to be on a level playing field.
Wake up America, you are such a grand and beautiful country and have come SOOOO far, from your history of having slaves to present day having your first black president (WOW!), now its time to go even further by flushing the parasites down the loo, then repair your legal and patent system so the likes of the RIAA cannot continue to abuse it, or ruin innocent 'average Joe' lives in the excuse of protecting an outdated business model. A business model that worked well in the 90's but fails miserably when trying to handle present day technology and will continue to do so while facing future technology.
Trying to stop piracy by finding a few hapless scapegoats to sue is not the answer, thats like employing an army of people with tea cups to try to stop the tide from coming in.
Ryan
www.eZee.se
Oops, sorry to comment again Ray, but one question (you can delete this if you want/need to).
Q: What happens to the RIAA's "making a file available over a P2P network constitutes distribution" assertion?
Is that question left open to be dealt with some other time or...?
Thanks!
R
"The moment this man sees dismissal without prejudice, each party to bear its own fees and costs, he knows that the RIAA has won another round."
Exactly. The guy probably spent 10x+ as much defending himself than the settlement they initially offered. The RIAA exacted all the punishment it wanted and then some.
Dismissal without prejudice?
Doesn't that give plaintiff nearly carte blanche to refile the suit at a later time, for any reason, or no reason, notwithstanding whatever settlement was exacted?
Why would anyone sane ever settle for dismissal without prejudice? "I'll pay you money to make the suit go away today, but you can sue me again for the same act tomorrow?"
Post a Comment