James Delahunty
22 Mar 2007 12:27
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is now in a tough position after a judge made it clear that the trade group cannot walk away quietly from its case against New York resident Patricia Santangelo. The court said that Santangelo has the right to have her legal status resolved "one way or the other". This leaves the RIAA with a choice to either go to trial or dismiss the case with prejudice.
If the RIAA goes to trial, it is very likely that Santangelo's defense will prove she was not guilty of copyright infringement. That loss would be devastating to the RIAA's campaign against file sharing. If the trade group decides to dismiss the case with prejudice, it is still a resolution in Santangelo's favor and makes the RIAA responsible for court costs and is basically an admission of no case against Santangelo.
Either choice will also, no doubt, impact the RIAA's case against Patricia's children, Michelle and Robert, both of whom were targeted by the RIAA in November. "This case is two years old," Judge Colleen McMahon wrote. "There has been extensive fact discovery. After taking this discovery, either plaintiffs want to make their case that Mrs. Santangelo is guilty of contributory copyright or they do not."
She also dismissed that Santangelo may be lying to the court about her knowledge of computers. "I would be shocked if she had NOT become a bit more sophisticated and computer literate over the last 24 months," she wrote. The judgment seems to indicate that the Judge may be getting impatient with the case.
Source:
Betanews