Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Patry praises Atlantic v. Howell but criticizes portion of decision which says MediaSentry was not authorized

William Patry, author of the treatise Patry on Copyright, has weighed in with a blog post in which he praises Judge Wake's recent decision in Atlantic v. Howell, but criticizes the portion of the decision which holds that MediaSentry was not authorized to download the 12 copies, and that MediaSentry's own downloads could constitute a "distribution" even though there was no sale or other transfer of ownership, there was no license, lease, or lending, and there was no dissemination to the public, all of which are requirements for a distribution under the Copyright Act.

Commentary & discussion:

ZDNet
LA Times





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

RIAA sues Project Playlist for copyright infringement in Manhattan; copy of complaint available online

The RIAA's copyright lawsuit against Project Playlist, Atlantic v. Project Playlist, was filed in Manhattan on April 28th. A copy of the complaint is now available online.

Complaint*

* Document published online at Internet Law & Regulation

Commentary & discussion:

p2pnet.net





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

RIAA terms Judge Wake's decision "strange" and "outside of mainstream"

According to a report in Ars Technica, the RIAA had this comment on Judge Wake's decision in Atlantic v. Howell:

"This is a strange decision that is outside of the mainstream and inconsistent with countless court rulings on these issues," RIAA spokesperson Cara Duckworth told Ars. "We are currently considering all options going forward."
[Ed. note. The RIAA's vehemently dishonest reaction demonstrates how important this eminently clear, quite "mainstream", not at all "strange", decision was. It was in fact the clearest and most mainstream decision of all on the subject, because it completely harmonized (a) the clear wording of the statute, (b) decades of caselaw applying the clear wording of the statute, and (c) unanimous agreement of all of the leading copyright law treatises. One wonders which "countless rulings" Ms. Duckworth is referring to: Motown v. DePietro, a case against a pro se litigant who never briefed the issue, or Atlantic v. Abner Anderson, another case in which the defendant never briefed the issue. And I guess Ms. Duckworth is forgetting about Atlantic v. Brennan, London-Sire v. Doe, and Elektra v. Barker, all of which thoroughly thrashed the RIAA's "making available" theory. - R.B.]



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

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

RIAA summary judgment motion denied in Atlantic v. Howell; RIAA 'making available' theory & Judge Karas 'offer to distribute' theory rejected

In Atlantic v. Howell, the Phoenix, Arizona, case in which the defendant has been representing himself, the Court has denied the RIAA's summary judgment motion.

The 17-page decision:

-rejected the RIAA's "making available" theory (in agreement with Atlantic v. Brennan, Elektra v. Brennan, and London-Sire v. Doe 1), noting that "Unless a copy of the work changes hands in one of the designated ways, a "distribution" under [sec.] 106(3) has not taken place";

-rejected the "offer to distribute" theory suggested to the RIAA by Judge Karas in Elektra v. Barker;

-rejected the RIAA's theory, accepted by Judge Karas, that "distribution" and "publication" are simply synonyms under the Copyright Act (in agreement with London-Sire v. Doe 1 and disagreement with Elektra v. Barker);

-held the RIAA's evidence inconclusive as to whether the defendant was the person who actually put the files in a 'shared files folder'; and

-held the RIAA's evidence inconclusive as to whether the defendant could be held liable under a "secondary liability" theory.

This is the Arizona case in which (a) the Court initially ruled in the RIAA's favor, (b) after receiving a "reconsideration" motion from the self-represented defendant, the Court recalled and vacated its earlier decision, (c) the Court asked for supplemental briefs, responding to -- among other things -- the question of whether Mr. Howell's mp3 files, copied from his cd's, were "unlawful", and the RIAA responded "yes", (d) the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed an amicus curiae brief on Mr. Howell's behalf, and (e) Fred Von Lohmann of the EFF participated in the oral argument.

April 29, 2008, Decision, Denying RIAA Motion for Summary Judgment* (2008 ILRWeb (P&F) 1665)

* Document published online at Internet Law & Regulation

Commentary & discussion:

p2pnet.net
Slashdot
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Ars Technica
TechDirt
p2pnet.net (4/30/08)
C/Net News
The Register
Heise Online (German)
ZDNet
Online Media Daily
PC World
Patry Copyright Blog
Tech News World
mog
ZDNet (4/30/08)
NEWSFACTOR.com
TipAdept Dot Com
The Inquirer
Wired (Eliot Van Buskirk)
Wired (David Kravets)
The Consumerist
p2pnet.net (5/1/08)
ZeroPaid
cdfreaks.com
ZeroPaid (5/1/08)
eCommerce Times
La Shawn Barber's Corner
Top Tech News
LA Times
Daily Tech
Copyfight
Inside Music Media
Interiuris (Spanish)



Digg!



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

Students move for reconsideration and stay in Ohio State University case, Arista v. Does 1-9

In Arista v. Does 1-9, the Columbus, Ohio, case targeting Ohio State University students, the students have made a motion for reconsideration of the Court's initial decision denying their motion to quash, and for a stay.

Motion for reconsideration*
Motion for stay*

* 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

In Elektra v. Licata defendant opposes dismissal without prejudice, says dismissal should be with prejudice and with attorneys fees

In the Cincinnati case, Elektra v. Licata, where the RIAA -- after forcing the defendant's attorney to put in 140 hours of work on the case -- is now seeking to dismiss "without prejudice", the defendant is asking the Court to provide that (a) the dismissal will be "with prejudice" and (b) defendant will be reimbursed for his attorneys fees.

Defendant'a opposition to RIAA's motion to dismiss "without prejudice"*

* 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

Monday, April 28, 2008

In Atlantic v. Howell court schedules final pretrial conference for August 25th, grants uncontested motion for hard drive & cd inspection

In Atlantic v. Howell, Mr. Howell did not oppose the RIAA's request for an examination of Mr. Howell's hard drive and cd's. The Court granted the unopposed motion, and scheduled a final pretrial conference for August 25th.

We are not aware of any ruling on the plaintiffs' summary judgment motion.

Defendant's response to motion for examination of hard drive and cd's*
April 22, 2008, Order granting unopposed motion for examination of hard drive and cd's*
April 28, 2008, order scheduling final pretrial conference*

* 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

Amended complaint filed in Atlantic v. Brennan

The RIAA has now filed its complete amended complaint (the previous version omitted page 3) in Atlantic v. Brennan, the case in which District Judge Janet Bond Arterton had ruled the initial complaint to be insufficient.

[Ed. note. After reviewing the amended complaint, we were unable to determine the difference between the amended complaint and the original complaint. If any of our readers spot it, please let me know. Thanks. -R.B.]

Amended complaint*

* 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

Motion to quash denied in George Washington University case Arista v. Does 1-19

In Arista v. Does 1-19, the case targeting George Washington University students, the judge has denied the defendants' motion to quash the subpoena and vacate the Court's ex parte discovery order.

April 28, 2008, order and opinion denying motion to vacate ex parte discovery order* (-- F. Supp. 2d --, 2008 WL 1851772)

* 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

Who runs RIAA settlement web site

Interesting article on Slashdot raises the question: "Who runs the RIAA's settlement web site?"


Commentary & discussion:

p2pnet.net





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

Friday, April 25, 2008

Defendants reply in support of motion to strike Linares declarations in Arista v. Does 1-21

In Arista v. Does 1-21, targeting Boston University students, the students have filed a reply memorandum in further support of their motion to strike all of the Carlos Linares declarations.

Reply in support of motion to strike Linares declarations*

* 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