The RIAA is pretty accustomed to winning file-sharing court cases by now, taking down everyone from single mothers to homeless men. But yesterday, the winning streak was broken with a ruling in Arizona that spared Kazaa users Pamela and Jeffrey Howell the wrath of the RIAA.
A federal District Court judge ruled that files found in a shared Kazaa folder could not be considered unlawful distribution of a copyrighted work, and that the owner of the files must give proof of "actual dissemination of copies or phonorecords" to slap the Howells with a punishment. Adding insult to injury, only 12 of the 42 files in question were proved to be infringed at all, since the RIAA can't prove its investigator downloaded any more than that. Finally, the RIAA would have had to prove that the Howells were responsible for the allegedly stolen music on their computer... just in case some naughty neighborhood kids snuck in and downloaded some Miley Cyrus, I guess. Gotta cover all the bases.
Bummer status, though: this case will only set a precedent in the state of Arizona, since its verdict was a District Court decision. In an official statement, the RIAA referred to the case ruling as "strange" and said that it is "currently considering all options going forward." I guess that's a departure from its usual post-case ritual of uncorking a bottle of champagne and proclaiming, "YES! MORE MONEY TO MAKE UP FOR OUR EVER-SINKING PROFITS!"
