Judge OKs Challenge To RIAA's $750-Per-Song Claim

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In UMG v. Lindor, in Brooklyn federal court, the presiding judge has held that Marie Lindor can try to prove that the RIAA's claim of $750-per-song statutory damages is a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Constitution, since she has evidence that the actual wholesale price of the downloads is only 70 cents. This decision activates an earlier ruling by the Magistrate in the case that the record labels must now turn over 'all relevant documents' regarding the prices at which they sell legal downloads to online retailers, and produce a witness to give a deposition by telephone on the subject. Judge Trager rejected the RIAA's claim that the defense was frivolous, pointing out that the RIAA had cited no authorities contradicting the defense, but Ms. Lindor's attorneys had cited cases and law review articles indicating that it was a valid defense. See the Decision at pp. 6-7."

Comments

Thank You to Ty Rogers & Ray Beckerman

[eldavojohn]

I know this is slightly off-topic but I would like to point out NewYorkCountryLawyer's donations of legal stories and advice to Slashdot.

Recently, the user NewYorkCountryLawyer has provided us with many stories (bottom of the user page) that revolve around the RIAA & music suits. On top of that, oftentimes whenever a legal issue is being discussed, they reply with often insightful/interesting/informative posts (300 since July of this year) from someone who actually spends their entire day dealing with the RIAA & law.

All this despite the shameless way we treated him when they answered questions we had about RIAA suits.

On behalf of Slashdot, I would like to thank NewYorkCountryLawyer for bringing to light some of the cases that might not make it in mainstream news & providing us with a realistic view of how things work in the legal world. All too often it is an alien landscape to me that I cannot comprehend.

Re:Thank You to Ty Rogers & Ray Beckerman

[cerberusss]

I agree, but don't forget everybody, slashdot has a system to make them Friends, so you get comments from them automatically at +5.

Befriend NewYorkCountryLawyer

Re:Thank You to Ty Rogers & Ray Beckerman

[NewYorkCountryLawyer]

eldavojohn wrote: "I know this is slightly off-topic but I would like to point out NewYorkCountryLawyer's donations of legal stories and advice to Slashdot. Recently, the user NewYorkCountryLawyer has provided us with many stories (bottom of the user page) that revolve around the RIAA & music suits. On top of that, oftentimes whenever a legal issue is being discussed, they reply with often insightful/interesting/informative posts (300 since July of this year) from someone who actually spends their entire day dealing with the RIAA & law. All this despite the shameless way we treated him when they answered questions we had about RIAA suits. On behalf of Slashdot, I would like to thank NewYorkCountryLawyer for bringing to light some of the cases that might not make it in mainstream news & providing us with a realistic view of how things work in the legal world. All too often it is an alien landscape to me that I cannot comprehend."

Dear eldavojohn:

Thank you for your very kind words.

Truth is I love Slashdot, and I even loved doing the interview.

I come from a family where a good argument was the best thing. No doubt it's one of the reasons I gravitated to litigation.

If all the world's forums were as free and open and robust as Slashdot, the world would a lot better place than it is right now.

So it is I who thank you and my fellow Slashdotters.