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Judge Says RIAA "Disingenuous," Decision Stands
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "Judge Lee R. West in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has rejected the arguments made by the RIAA in support of its 'reconsideration' motion in Capitol v. Foster as 'disingenuous' and 'not true,' and accused the RIAA of 'questionable motives.' The decision (PDF) reaffirmed Judge West's earlier decision that defendant Debbie Foster is entitled to be reimbursed for her attorneys fees." Read more for NewYorkCountryLawyer's summary of the smackdown.
The Court, among other things, emphasized the Supreme Court's holding in Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc. that "because copyright law ultimately serves the purpose of enriching the general public through access to creative works, it is peculiarly important that the boundaries of copyright law be demarcated as clearly as possible. Thus, a defendant seeking to advance meritorious copyright defenses should be encouraged to litigate them to the same extent that plaintiffs are encouraged to litigate meritorious infringement claims." Judge West also noted that he had found the RIAA's claims against the defendant to be "untested and marginal" and its "motives to be questionable in light of the facts of the case"; that the RIAA's primary argument for its motion — that the earlier decision had failed to list the "Fogerty factors" — was belied by unpublished opinions in which the RIAA had itself been involved; that the RIAA's argument that it could have proved a case against Ms. Foster had it not dropped the case was "disingenuous"; and that the RIAA's factual statements about the settlement history of the case were "not true." This is the same case in which an amicus brief had been filed by the ACLU, Public Citizen, EFF, AALL, and ACLU-Oklahoma in support of the attorneys fees motion, the RIAA questioned the reasonableness of Ms. Foster's lawyer's fees and was then ordered to turn over its own attorneys billing records, which ruling it complied with only reluctantly.
The Court, among other things, emphasized the Supreme Court's holding in Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc. that "because copyright law ultimately serves the purpose of enriching the general public through access to creative works, it is peculiarly important that the boundaries of copyright law be demarcated as clearly as possible. Thus, a defendant seeking to advance meritorious copyright defenses should be encouraged to litigate them to the same extent that plaintiffs are encouraged to litigate meritorious infringement claims." Judge West also noted that he had found the RIAA's claims against the defendant to be "untested and marginal" and its "motives to be questionable in light of the facts of the case"; that the RIAA's primary argument for its motion — that the earlier decision had failed to list the "Fogerty factors" — was belied by unpublished opinions in which the RIAA had itself been involved; that the RIAA's argument that it could have proved a case against Ms. Foster had it not dropped the case was "disingenuous"; and that the RIAA's factual statements about the settlement history of the case were "not true." This is the same case in which an amicus brief had been filed by the ACLU, Public Citizen, EFF, AALL, and ACLU-Oklahoma in support of the attorneys fees motion, the RIAA questioned the reasonableness of Ms. Foster's lawyer's fees and was then ordered to turn over its own attorneys billing records, which ruling it complied with only reluctantly.
Another bit of a gut check for the Rectum Insertion Academy of America.
"Lying Bitches"
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
You don't just count the people being sued, you have to also consider the great many Slashdotters who believe that any expectation that you pay anything at all for any media that can be digitized equates to misery.
That they be denied the ability to obtain, free of charge, the latest pop music in a format that not only plays on any conceivable device but was also developed by people who share their particular political and philosophical leanings with regard to software....that is truly misery for them.
Bands make money from touring. DRM is evil. You can make unlimited copies of a song for no marginal cost. I only listen to independent bands anyway. Live music is better. The president of the RIAA has a monocle and stokes a cat all day. Ogg Vorbis is a good name for a file format. Micropayments are the future. Outmoded business model.
"Sacrifice for the good of The State" - The State
New York Country Lawyer? Is that some sort of pre-hyperchicken?
"He's lost in a 'floyd hole"
Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc
Is that the one where John Fogerty had to prove he didn't sound like himself?...
"All great things are simple & expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." --Churchill
The president of the RIAA has a monocle and stokes a cat all day.
If cat-stoking is as illegal in the US as it is in Europe, this might just start a case worth watching.
...like a thousand record company executives suddenly sending each other whiney e-mails.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
It is also abhorrent how all of these close minded slashdotters seem to follow the flawed Americanized idea
of "innocent until proven guilty"
I for one want no part ina group that follows such an evil trend.
When coroporations sue, we should automatically side with the selfless corporations as they are most likly right.
They make their money by making people buy one cd for the car, one for the computer, one for the portable cd player...
And this is after you'd already bought the same album on vinyl and cassette 20 years ago.
Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
I tried to stoke a cat once, but I couldn't figure out which end the coal was supposed to go in.
Visual IRC: Fast. Powerful. Free.
You spelled "Ticketbastard" wrong.
There are only 10 kinds of people in this world... those who understand binary and those who don't
"Guilds" also evokes images of brave warriors, armed with magic swords and shields, courageously exploring dangerous dungeons full of orcs, trolls, and other denizens.
If I join an engineer's guild, do I get to carry a sword around and wear chain mail armor made of mithril?
I'd rather see him say "Put up or put out."
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
Not to mention one vinyl for the home, one for the computer, one for the car, and one for the portable record player.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
No, but you do get to carry a gold pen and you get to wear armor for your pocket.
"Flee at once, all is discovered."