RIAA argues that making ‘available’ is equal to stealing
The RIAA’s (Recording Industry Association of America) argument that merely ‘making files available‘ is in and of itself a copyright infringement, argued in January in Elektra v. Barker (awaiting decision), is raging again, this time in a White Plains, New York, court in Warner v. Cassin. Ms.
Cassin moved to dismiss the complaint; the RIAA countered by arguing that ‘making available’ on a p2p file sharing network is a violation of the distribution right in 17 USC 106(3). Ms. Cassin responded, pointing out the clear language of the statute, questioning the validity of the RIAA’s authorities, and arguing that the Court’s acceptance of the RIAA’s theory would seriously impact the Internet. The case is scheduled for a conference on September 14th, at 10 AM (PDF), at the federal courthouse, 300 Quarropas Street, White Plains, New York, in the courtroom of Judge Stephen C. Robinson. The conference is open to the public.”
Another case built on this arguement was found in favor of the record company, see here which may go towards setting a precedent for future cases.
We should note that this action by RIAA is directed at end users of file sharing websites and services, not the operators of those websites and services.
Article from Slashdot here