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.

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.