RIAA Not Giving up in Court

Parents, take note: As I mentioned in this post on the recording industry taking sharper aim at P2P networks and music file sharing on college campuses, the industry also has filed lawsuits against individual computer owners, contending they are responsible for file sharing on their personal computer.

So far, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) hasn't been successful, however. The courts have found in favor of the individual when the copyright infraction is traced to someone else who had access to the ISP address. But in the case decided in favor of Debbie Foster, who also was awarded $50,000 in legal fees for having to fight the case, the RIAA has filed a motion for the court to reconsider. It's not giving up.

As Wired News reports, the RIAA wants the judge to "rule that the owner of an ISP account is responsible for all activity on that account, which could have a chilling effect on public wireless access and open hotspots.  (The appeal also made the point that Foster should be held liable if she was aware of the infringement occuring via her account; in the case of someone with an open Wi-Fi network, that could constitute something as simple as experiencing traffic slowdowns.)"

This is a case to watch, and I will, because the implications for parents who are not aware if their kids are using peer-to-peer networks to download music files could be big.

For a refresher on this whole issue, check out the links below. And if you've got a strong feeling about whether ISP account holders should be responsible for everything that passes through it, sound off.

P2P Primer for Parents
Steve Jobs Finally Stands up Against DRM. Sort of