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Arizona Judge Shoots Down RIAA Theories
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.'"
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).