[LINK] AT: 'RIAA drops file sharing case'

[Roger Clarke]

"Since the RIAA began filing lawsuits against suspected file sharers 
in 2003, not a single one has gone all the way to trial. In most 
cases, the defendants agree to write a four-figure check to the 
record labels to avoid a drawn-out court case. However, some of the 
accused are fighting back, and in some cases, it appears that the 
RIAA is dropping cases to avoid the possibility of losing."


RIAA drops file sharing case
10/15/2006 5:37:46 PM, by Eric Bangeman
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061015-7990.html

The RIAA has dropped its case against Chicagoan Paul Wilke, with the 
two parties moving to dismiss the case with prejudice in federal 
court late last week. Elektra v. Wilke was noteworthy in that the 
defendant vigorously contested all of the RIAA's allegations, moving 
for summary judgment against the record label last month.

Wilke had been accused of the usual malfeasance by the RIAA: sharing 
music over a P2P network. Instead of settling the suit as many others 
have done, Wilke denied any wrongdoing. He claimed that he was not 
the "Paule Wilke" named in the complaint, had never used any 
filesharing applications, and that he did not own any of the songs 
reportedly flagged by Media Sentry.

Wilke's argument that the RIAA did not have enough evidence for its 
lawsuit to go forward and subsequent motion for summary judgment 
apparently caught Elektra by surprise. The label responded with a 
motion for expedited discovery, indicating that it did not have 
enough evidence with which to fight the motion for summary judgment, 
and requested authorization for a search of Wilke's computer in an 
attempt to find "evidence of copyright infringement on the 
defendant's hard drive."

Attorney Ray Beckerman, who runs the Recording Industry vs. The 
People blog, told Ars that the RIAA's evidence of a name, an IP 
address, and a list of songs in Elektra v. Wilke isn't enough to 
constitute "competent evidence sufficient to create a material issue 
of fact that can be used at trial."

When asked if there had been a financial settlement, Wilke's 
attorneys told Beckerman that "plaintiffs, the RIAA, and SBC [Wilke's 
ISP] worked cooperatively and amicably to resolve this dispute."

This appears to have been another in a long string of cases of 
mistaken identity by the RIAA. Instead of merely saying that the RIAA 
had the wrong guy, as other defendants have, Wilke and his attorneys 
decided instead to attack the record label's case, saying that the 
usual data the RIAA uses as the basis for its lawsuits is not 
sufficient to build a case on, let alone prove infringement.

Since the RIAA began filing lawsuits against suspected file sharers 
in 2003, not a single one has gone all the way to trial. In most 
cases, the defendants agree to write a four-figure check to the 
record labels to avoid a drawn-out court case. However, some of the 
accused are fighting back, and in some cases, it appears that the 
RIAA is dropping cases to avoid the possibility of losing. One case 
that bears watching is UMG v. Lindor, where the defendant accused the 
RIAA of using P2P networks and is expected to file a motion for 
summary judgment once the discovery period concludes at the end of 
the year. If that motion is denied, UMG v. Lindor may be headed for 
trial in 2007.

-- 
Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW