Keeping up to date with the ongoing battle between P2P downloaders and the RIAA/CRIA is a dizzying practice. Last week there was the high of the the CRIA's announcement they were going to file lawsuits against those who share copyrighted files on the Internet.
Today comes word of a victory for downloaders in the U.S. courts. A federal appeals court rejected efforts by the recording industry to compel the nation's Internet providers to identify subscribers accused of illegally distributing music online.
The appeals ruling throws into question at least 382 civil lawsuits the recording industry filed since it announced its legal campaign nearly six months ago. An interesting article in the Financial Post discusses the current music industry conundrum. The Copyright Board of Canada gave Canadians the green light to download away but is it worth risking a lawsuit from the Canadian Recording Industry Association who have threatened to file suit against heavy uploaders? And, if today's decision from America is any indication, will the CRIA be able to acquire personal information about alleged uploader from the uploader's ISP? The laws are so vague it's almost impossible to decipher exactly what is legal and what is illegal in regards to P2P downloading. The next six months will be very telling. When significant developments occur, I'll write about them here.
