Up and Down Week for RIAA

Earlier this week, the RIAA seemed to strike a blow against online music piracy when Kazaa was ordered to 'stop facilitating the pirating of copyrighted material and ... to cough up more than $115m to account for past transgressions' in addition to an unspecified amount to the MPAA. The event marked the fall of the last 'big three' standing; Napster, Grokster, and Kazaa have all now bowed to the RIAA in one way or another.

Just a few days later, however, the California courts struck a blow in the other direction. The ruling stated that Virgin Records had no case against Mrs. Marson, who is the owner of a computer and internet subscription through which illegal file sharing was taking place. Given the inability of the legal system to hold file sharers responsible for their actions when others share the same Internet connection, some now suggest unrestricted wireless networks as a loophole to avoid piracy litigation, forcing the RIAA to work through more unconventional means.

Star This to Save in Your Profile