RIAA throws in the towel

Copyright violations may not contain any actual copyright violation.

The RIAA gave up on one of its oppressive copyright infringement lawsuits the other day by requesting dismissal of Atlantic Recording v Brennan in a Connecticut federal court.

The defendant never even had to appear in court, because the judge denied the RIAA's two motions for default judgment on the grounds that merely "making [the copyrighted works] available for distribution" - without proof of actual distribution - does not establish that any copyright infringement was committed.

Although this does not set precedent, nonetheless it is a landmark case that likely sets the high-water mark for RIAA lawsuits against individuals for alleged copyright infringement.