Atlantic v. Howell

File-Swapper Ordered to Pay Record Labels $40,850

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 12:58pm.
Los Angeles - The defendant in a file-sharing copyright infringement case who was found guilty after it was shown that he deliberately destroyed evidence on his computer was ordered to pay the record labels $40,850 in damages, Ars Technica reported.

Judge Finds File-Swapper Destroyed Evidence, Sides With RIAA

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 27, 2008 - 9:06am.

Los Angeles - Due to an accused file-swapper's actions to uninstall file-sharing software and reformat his hard drive, a federal judge has found he willfully destroyed evidence and is now subject to relevant sanctions, Ars Technica reported. Defendant Jeffrey Howell previously won a major victory in the case (Atlantic v. Howell), when Judge Neil V. Wake rejected the label's argument that his simply "making available" of songs in a shared folder on the Kazaa application constituted copyright infringement.

Judge Rejects "Making Available" Theory in File-Sharing Case

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 30, 2008 - 9:30am.

Los Angeles - A federal judge has rejected a pillar of the recording industry's argument in the copyright infringement lawsuits it has filed against file-swappers, ruling that simply "making available" songs in a shared folder on their computers does not equate to infringement. In Atlantic v. Howell, Judge Neil V. Wake has dismissed the label's motion for summary judgment against Pamela and Jeffrey Howell, saying in his ruling that "merely making an unauthorized copy of a copyrighted work available to the public does not violate a copyright holder's exclusive right of distribution."