Law Profs File Friend-of-Court Brief Against RIAA

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "A group of 10 copyright law professors has filed an amicus curiae ('friend of the court') brief on the side of the defendant in Capitol v. Thomas, agreeing with the judge's recent decision that the $222,000 verdict won by the RIAA appears to be tainted by a 'manifest error of law.' The clear and well-written 14-page brief (PDF) argues that the 'making available' jury instruction, which the RIAA had requested and the judge ultimately accepted, was in fact a 'manifest error of law,' making the point, among others, that an interpretation of a statute should begin with the words of the statute. My only criticism of the brief is that it overstates the authorities relied on by the RIAA, citing cases which never decided the 'making available' issue as cases which had decided it in the RIAA's favor." As it turns out, the MPAA, close ally to the RIAA, has come forth with a more controversial view. They suggest that proof of actual distribution shouldn't be required. From their brief (PDF): "Mandating that proof could thus have the pernicious effect of depriving copyright owners of a practical remedy against massive copyright infringement in many instances."

Comments

Leader of country shows the way: no proof needed

[lpq]

It's the country's leadership. Bush has set the example and millions are following his .... I hate to use this word....especially here on slashdot...but by the standards of Bush's supporters (pseudo Christians) the word is 'evil'. He has become and taken on the worst traits of the United State's enemies -- he has become the enemy -- and most certainly, he is the most dangerous enemy of the United States we have ever encountered.

• Bush has kidnapped people off the streets and held them for years without being allowed communication and without even being told why they are being held (so how can they deny it?). It has been shown multiple times that they have held, abused, and tortured people who were not guilty. A German citizen was abducted, then transferred to 'torture-friendly' countries (at least Kabul, Baghdad, and Macedonia) where he was tortured and drugged with PCP & LSD-like substances to break down his will -- all under Bush's "Rendition" program. Five months later he was released when they realized they had the wrong guy!
• A Canadian was returning home from vacationing in Tunisia. While on layover in JFK, he was abducted by US officials as an enemy combatant. At first he was held in a domestic military prison, but when Canadian officials started pressing to be able to see and talk to him, he was surreptitiously flown to Syria where held for over a year while Canadian officials were stonewalled. He was tortured and beaten multiple times with shredded electrical cable to unconsciousness. Syrian officials initially tried to keep his location hidden because they knew he was being tortured, but within a few weeks Canadians had located him and he was released. He was never charged, and Canada assigned an investigative commision. After 3 years of investigation [2006], they said categorically, he had not and was not associated with terrorists nor was a threat to the government in any way.
• Right now, over 700 'enemy combatants' are being held in Guantanamo, alone, where Bush has maintained the right to hold them "forever" -- without charges, proof, or being allowed to contact anyone while being tortured in many imaginative ways. Many have been held for 3, 4 even 5 years and were kidnapped out of homes, off of streets -- never charged and with no proof of any crime.

So why would companies or conservative leaning courts thing that 'evidence' of some 'violation' is needed to assign a Draconian sentence --- "to make an example", "to send a message" to all terrorists, wrong doers and file sharers that the US will hunt you down, guilty or not, and make you pay.

As for Bush -- he needs to be removed from office, so yesterday , with prejudice by official powers to try to give some reassurance to the world that our system isn't completely broken and to "send a message" and "make an example" to his followers, that his actions and his example are not acceptable in our society.