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From the Globe and Mail:
The Federal Court of Canada ruled Wednesday that Internet Service Providers can't be forced to turn over identities of suspected music swappers, throwing a roadblock in the path of the recording industry's efforts to crack down on the practice.Some are heralding it as a victory for file-sharers; others bemoaning it as a defeat of the copyright laws. I'm not sure it's either of those: the decision was on whether ISPs could be forced to turn over the names of people identified by a third party (not the police) in a civil action. It is the ISPs "victory" over a battle for the protection of their turf (read: they have control over the identity of their customers/subscribers). In that respect it is really a (perverted) victory for privacy.
"The mere fact of placing a copy on a shared directory in a computer where that copy can be accessed via a P2P service does not amount to distribution," Judge von Finckenstein said.Tie this to the information from the post below and you have an industry that is fighting a losing battle and really, in the spirit and wisdom of the greater Oriental martial arts, ought to align itself with and use the forces blowing around it to its advantage rather than fighting against them. Posted by Grayson at April 1, 2004 07:50 AM"Before it constitutes distribution, there must be a positive act by the owner of the shared directory, such as sending out the copies or advertising that they are available for copying."