RIAA Must Pay $68,685.23 After Losing to a Nice Mom

You couldn’t ask for better PR! Anti-pirates sued Debbie Foster for owning stolen music. She decided to fight back, hired a lawyer, and began legal proceedings. Instead of backing down, the RIAA then decided to sue her daughter. Three years and lots of money later, the RIAA lost the case and now must pay Debbie for her trouble.

The key phrase here is the judge’s ruling that there is no case “holding the mere owner of an Internet account contributorily or vicariously liable for the infringing activities of third persons.” The RIAA appealed, failed, and now has to pay legal fees to Debbie and her daughter and has just entered the dangerous waters of set precedent. Hey, if Mom can fight the RIAA, why can’t we? Get ready for a huge mess in the next few months.

Judge Awards $68,685.23 in Attorneys Fees Against RIAA in Capitol v. Foster [RecordingIndustryvsPeople via Ars]