P2P file sharing
RIAA case hinged on whether a mother was liable for her daughter's actions

Teenager foils RIAA P2P lawsuit

Red faces after judge dismisses case against 13 year-old

Iain Thomson

The campaign by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to sue music downloaders has suffered a setback after the trade body withdrew from a case in the US.

Candy Chan, a mother from Michigan, had been facing a heavy fine after she was sued for file sharing by Priority Records, along with Sony Music and Warner Brothers among others.

Advertisement

But the court has dismissed the case against Chan 'without prejudice', meaning that she cannot be prosecuted again.

The case began when a user name identified to Chan was found on a P2P network. But after the suit was filed Chan pointed out that it belonged to her 13 year-old daughter. An RIAA spokeswoman told vnunet.com that it will now be taking action against Chan's daughter.

Judge Lawrence P Zatkoff said in the court report: "Chan opposed the motion and asserted that the plaintiffs used a 'shotgun' approach to pursue this action, threatening to sue all of Chan's children and engaging in abusive behaviour to attempt to utilise the court as a collection agency." 

The case hinged on whether Chan was liable for her daughter's actions. The music industry argued that, since she had given the child a computer, Chan shared the liability.

The RIAA has been suing people who download music illegally for more than two years and cases have been brought against children, students and even a corpse.

Some consumers have fought back, however. One even filed racketeering charges against the music industry under l aws designed to combat organised crime and a pending anti-trust case.

The British Phonographic Industry has also begun suing UK file sharers.

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Share

Tags:

Do you agree?

Further reading

RIAA targets 761 alleged file sharers

RIAA launches P2P file sharing legal blitz

Hundreds of alleged downloaders hit with lawsuits

File sharing services

P2P site closes as legal pressure mounts

WinMX file sharing service shut down

Digital pirates prefer CD burners to P2P

Illegally downloaded music lags way behind ripped shop-bought CDs

Related whitepapers

Related jobs

Most watched

V3.co.uk weekly debrief, 13 Nov 09

This week we discuss the inaugural V3.co.uk Summit

Summit: Salesforce.com on SaaS and information overload

How web services contribute to data headaches

Analysis and Reports

Remote access - Three steps to getting connected

3.4 million UK professionals now work from home – is your company equipped?

Cost benefits of a global collaboration network

This white paper is a must read for organisations looking for evidence of the bottom-line benefits of high-definition video and voice communications

Poll

Impact of Information Overload poll

Impact of Information Overload poll

What is the biggest problem your firm faces as a result of the data explosion?

View poll results

Advertisement

White paper library

Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies; IThound.com brings you over 6,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Enter email address to edit your newsletter preferences

Job of the week

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Hiring now on ComputingCareers:

Related IT jobs

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Advertisement

Spotlight

V3.co.uk weekly debrief, 13 Nov 09

This week we discuss the inaugural V3.co.uk Summit

Fingers on keyboard

New Flash vulnerability discovered

Web sites could be vulnerable to Flash attacks

Chris Adams

Summit: Microsoft Office to the rescue

Chris Adams, Office Client product manager for Microsoft UK, explains...

Illegal downloader

Industry and human rights campaigners united in opposition to "three strikes" plan

Critics says government proposals to curb illegal downloading are unworkable...

Primary Navigation