San Francisco - In the first known case of its kind, the recording industry has been ordered by a court to pay $70,000 in legal fees to a woman it unsuccessfully sued for copyright infringement on file-sharing networks, CNET News.com reported.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sued Oklahoma resident Deborah Foster in 2004 (Capitol v. Foster), but Foster claimed she had no knowledge of any file-sharing on her Internet account.

The RIAA then successfully sued Foster's daughter for copyright infringement.

However, a judge dismissed the case against Deborah Foster last July, and found her eligible for attorneys' fees; the RIAA challenged the award, but on Monday the judge ruled against the recording industry.

"We respectfully believe that this ruling is in error and is an isolated occurrence," an RIAA spokesperson told News.com.

"In the handful of cases where the person engaging in the illegal activity in the household is not the person responsible for the ISP account, we look to gather the facts quickly and do our best to identify the appropriate defendant."

Related Links:
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9745831-7.html

http://tinyurl.com/2d8z3e (Recording Industry vs. The People)

http://www.riaa.com