RIAA "Making Available" Theory Rejected

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In a 25-page decision (PDF) which has been awaited for two years in Elektra v. Barker, Judge Kenneth M. Karas has rejected the RIAA's 'making available' theory and its 'authorization' theory, but sustained the sufficiency of the complaint's allegations of 'distribution' and 'downloading,' and also gave the RIAA 30 days to cure the defects in its complaint by filing a new complaint. The judge left it open for the RIAA to allege that defendant made an 'offer to distribute,' and that the offer was for "'the purpose of further distribution,' which, the judge held, would be actionable."

Comments

Re:Haha this is pretty much a win

[Atlantis-Rising]

I find it perhaps ironic that this is what you're saying, when I was arguing very similarly in another thread- unsecured WAPs, where I argued that the software's authorization was not necessarily the person's authorization.

It seems like Slashdot (if it could be described as one homogeneous entity, of course) believes that to be sufficient authorization to immunize one from liability but this to not be sufficient authorization to incur it, despite the scenarios being very similar.

  Any ideas why?