James Delahunty
11 Apr 2007 4:57
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a brief with a New York district court, urging a judge to allow Rolando Amurao, a target of an RIAA lawsuit, to fight back with counterclaims of his own. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sued Amurao for copyright infringement but has now moved to dismiss the claims made.
Amurao however, believes that the RIAA's case was meritless and that it was intended to harass him and has countersued for a declaration of non-infringement and a finding of RIAA copyright misuse. In its brief, the EFF has argued that giving the accused his day in court will increase the RIAA's accountability in the industry's broad lawsuit campaign against file-sharing.
"If Amurao's allegations are true, then he has the right to clear his name," said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. "It's simply unfair to shield copyright owners from the consequences of careless lawsuits. Counterclaims like Amurao's help make sure that the RIAA can't simply dismiss its case and walk away when an innocent target fights back." Since 2003, the RIAA has filed thousands of lawsuits against file sharers in the U.S. However, at times the RIAA's tactics have shown to be sloppy and careless, yet most accused decide to settle because it is the more affordable option.
Source:
EFF