Copyright Law

Has RIAA fired MediaSentry?

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

According to a tantalizing 'unconfirmed' report in p2pnet.net, it appears that the RIAA has jettisoned MediaSentry (now known as SafeNet) as its 'investigator'.

MediaSentry has, of course, come under heat in a number of different states for the fact that it was 'investigating' without an investigator's license and invading people's privacy.

Earlier this year it was found to have made diametrically conflicting written statements to 2 different tribunals within 30 days of each other, in 1 denying that it was an 'expert witness', in another claiming that it was an 'exert witness'.

If the report is accurate, the termination comes at an interesting time, since MediaSentry's investigator is the plaintiffs' only fact witness to prove copyright infringement in Capitol Records v. Thomas, which is now headed for a retrial on March 9th. If he does take the stand, the reasons for his company's termination will be fair game for cross examination.

One also has to wonder if it's in any way connected to the puzzling enigma of the New York Attorney General's alleged involvement in the RIAA's recent Wall Street Journal announcement that it would be reducing its p2p file sharing cases to a trickle."

Commentary & discussion:

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Keywords: lawyer digital copyright law online internet law legal download upload peer to peer p2p file sharing filesharing music movies indie independent label freeculture creative commons pop/rock artists riaa independent mp3 cd favorite songs intellectual property portable music player

Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on January 02, 2009 (boomark / email).