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Arizona Judge Shoots Down RIAA Theories

Posted by kdawson on from the schmaking-available dept.

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In Atlantic v. Howell, the judge has totally eviscerated the RIAA's theories of 'making available' and 'offering to distribute.' In a 17-page opinion (PDF), District Judge Neil V. Wake carefully analyzed the statute and case law, and based on a 'plain reading of the statute' concluded 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.' The judge also questioned the sufficiency of the RIAA's evidence pointing towards defendant, as opposed to other members of his household. This is the Phoenix, Arizona, case in which the defendant is representing himself, but received some timely help from his friends. And it's the same case in which the RIAA suggested that Mr. Howell's MP3s, copied from his CDs, were unlawful. One commentator calls today's decision 'Another bad day for the RIAA.'"

3 of 204 comments (clear)

  1. Unfortunately this probably won't end here by NonSequor · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This decision only means that the law currently on the books can't be interpreted in the way the RIAA wants.

    However, looking at the history of the RIAA's lobbying efforts, it's extremely likely that we'll soon be seeing a law that criminalizes making copyrighted files available.

    --
    My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.
    1. Re:Unfortunately this probably won't end here by 91degrees · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, but there are anti-RIAA forces that are a lot more organised than they were in pre-DMCA days. I don't think many people on Slashdot really cared about copyright laws until the MPAA sued over DeCSS. These days, the EFF has quite substantial support, politicians realise that there are actually quite a lot of people who think current levels of copyright are too strong, and we're actually pretty organised (albeit in an ad-hoc chaotic way).

  2. Not evisceration, but a major blow by Todd+Knarr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't think it eviscerates the RIAA's claims, but it's certainly a major blow to their theories. As I read it, the judge is saying that merely making them available isn't automatically infringement. This makes sense if you think of an analogy. If I put a book down on the table on my front porch while I go inside to get a drink, and someone comes along and takes it, I surely made it available but nobody in their right mind would claim I intended to distribute it to the thief. Compare that to the case where I put a whole bunch of books on a table out by the sidewalk with a sign "Free books, take as many as you want.". I suspect the judge here is ruling along similar lines: it's not sufficient for the RIAA to claim that the files were merely available, they have to claim the files were (reasonably) knowingly made available for the purposes of infringing distribution. OTOH, if the files were available to the public, but were put where they were for a non-infringing purpose and the defendant wouldn't reasonably (given their knowledge) expect the files to be open for the taking by anyone else, then the RIAA's claim fails. Which to me sounds reasonable, so seems more reasonable than either of the extreme positions take by the RIAA or the P2P advocates.