USPTO & RIAA what a beautiful mess!!!

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) report "Filesharing Programs and Technological Features to Induce Users to Share" attacks P2P software for causing consumers to inadvertently share unintended files. Incredibly the report then takes another huge leap and claims that P2P then is also a factor in terrorism, child pornography, and identity theft.

The EFF provides a comprehensive analysis on this farce that I recommend. I've personally presented to both the U.S. FTC and Senate and so want to focus on two aspects.

First, the P2P industry has been responsive to government concerns. Commercial P2P software has been improved through a combination of voluntary company initiatives, P2P association standards, and government recommendations. These improvements have included a clear warning on P2P usage risks on software home pages, information web pages on how consumers can protect themselves, and child exploitation warnings and reporting.

Second, the report is three years late. The commercial companies that the report purports to study are out of business or substantially different due to RIAA lawsuits supported by favorable U.S. Congress legislation and Supreme Court rulings. The result is that the commercial companies that could work with the USPTO have been superseded by open source and international developers that are beyond the influence of the U.S. government.

Via: http://www.p2p-weblog.com

RIAA Drops Another Case In Chicago Against Misidentified Defendant

Once again, this time in BMG v. Thao, the RIAA has dropped a case it brought against a misidentified defendant.

Lee Thao was sued in the Eastern District of Wisconsin by BMG Music and other record labels for allegedly sharing files over the Kazaa network. The RIAA based its case on information that the cable modem used to partake in file sharing was registered to Mr. Thao. However, both the ISP and the RIAA failed to recognize that Mr. Thao was not a subscriber to the ISP at the time of the alleged file-sharing, and therefore did not have possession of the suspect cable modem at that time. Daliah Saper of Saper Law Offices represented Mr. Thao and got the case dismissed after pointing out to the RIAA's attorneys that they had made another blunder in their investigations.

A similar Chicago case, Elektra v. Wilke, was previously dismissed. Mr. Wilke, too, had been represented by Ms. Saper.

Notice of Dismissal*
Fax*
Letter*

Recordingindustryvspeople

NEW SITE ON THE BLOCK!!!

Please visit this great site created by our new friend Julian Asano from Brooklyn Law School class of 08.

http://riaalawsuitdefense.wetpaint.com/

Julian has created an RIAA defense network Wiki contribution site dedicated to informing practicing attorneys about defending themselves from consumer targeted RIAA litigation.

Mr. Asano is hoping that the site will serve as a tool for practitioners to get together and share their knowledge about the subject. It seems only right considering that the record companies are mainly represented by the same firm.

In any event show the site some love.

Answer, Counterclaims, and Discovery Notices Served in Elektra v. Torres

The defendant's answer, counterclaim, and discovery notices have been served in a new contested case in Brooklyn, Elektra v. Torres.

Answer and Counterclaims*
Answer and Counterclaims, Exhibit A (Amicus Brief filed by ACLU, Public Citizen, EFF, AALL, and ACLU Foundation of Oklahoma in Capitol v. Foster)*
Defendant's Initial Disclosures*
Defendant's First Set of Interrogatories to Plaintiffs*
Defendant's First Request for Production of Documents and Things*
Defendant's Notice to Take Deposition of Elektra Entertainment*

* Document published online at Internet Law & Regulation