INTERNET LAW IN THE COURTS

摘要

Several record companies, including Atlantic Records, sued Pamela and Jeffrey Howell after the record companies learned, through their private investigator, that the Howells had used KaZaA to share files. After discovery in the matter closed, the record companies moved for summary judgment, asserting that the Howells had infringed the copyright in the sound recordings merely by making them available for the public to copy. The court found in favor of the Howells and denied the motion. [Atlantic Records v. Howell, No. 06-2076 (D. Az. Apr. 29, 2008).] The Copyright Act provides that an owner of a copyright enjoys certain exclusive rights in connection with the work, including, among other things, the exclusive right to distribute copies of the work. The record companies' case was a bit problematic on this point, as the only evidence of record was that the allegedly infringed files were in KaZaA's shared folder. There was no indication that actual copies of the files had been transferred.