RIAA Gives Up Ground in Lost Consumer Lawsuit
A judge dismissed the case of Capitol Records v. Foster in Oklahoma.
RIAA had only been able prove that the defendant paid for the Internet service associated with the alleged copyright infringement. The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice. In a legal version of "you can't fire me, I quit," the defendant moved for summary judgement to dismiss the case and award attorney's fees, and RIAA responded by withdrawing the case. The Court let RIAA drop the case … but also held that Ms. Foster was "prevailing party" and so still eligible for award of attorneys fees.
The lawsuit is similar to many others filed by RIAA and so sets precedent in the ruling for summary judgement due to lack of evidence and awarding attorney fees.
New York entertainment attorney and former Sony in-house counsel Steve Gordon said
"This case demonstrates weakness in RIAA's cases in general. If they cannot back up their claims of infringement with legally required evidence, this could affect all their cases and encourage more defendants to fight back — especially if, as in this case, the court awards attorneys fees for the defendant."
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