Afterdawn.com
09-28-07
RIAA gets a chance to prove their case before a jury
Next week will mark the first time a copyright infringement case brought by the
RIAA for alleged copyright violations via P2P network actually makes it to a jury
trial. The RIAA's evidence in the case of Virgin v. Thomas seems to hinge on the
testimony of an expert witness whose expertise has already been called into
question in another case.
In a deposition earlier this year, Iowa State University associate professor
Douglas Jacobson testified about his forensic examination of a defendant's
computer hard drive. The examination was done on behalf of the RIAA legal
team, based on information provided by MediaSentry, a company that works with
the entertainment industry to identify copyrighted works shared illegally on P2P
networks.
His testimony states an assumption on his part that MediaSentry had
conclusively proven an IP address registered to the defendant was used for
sharing files . His conclusion, resulting directly from that premise, stated that
despite a lack of either MP3 files that could have been shared or KaZaA software
RIAA attorneys claim was used to share the files doesn't exxonerate the
defendant, but rather shows that she has another computer.
Despite his complete lack of physical evididence, a report he submitted to RIAA
lawyers indicates that he can "demonstrate how defendant's internet account and
computer were used." However, when pressed by the defense he admitted that
what he meant by a demonstration was quoting MediaSentry's results.
Upon futher questioning, he admitted that not only did he not have any evidence
of files being shared from the defendant's hard drive, but also that he didn't
bother to document his forensic examination aside from the conclusions he
reached, despite the capability of EnCase, the forensic examination software he
uses, to create detailed reports. His said "I examined the hard drive, found no
evidence of file sharing software or audio files, and so there was nothing to
document."
Finally, he testified that his methods have "not been vetted through the scientific
community."
Although that testimony relates to a different case, it clearly shows a blueprint for
deconstructing Jacobson's testimony, and unless he can back it up with more
evidence against Jammie Thomas, the RIAA's case looks to be in big trouble.
Of course, RIAA lawyers haven't done their case any favors by attempting to
game the legal process to prove facts by judicial fiat. Earlier this month their
request for summary judgement was rejected by a judge on multiple grounds,
including defense objections that the RIAA wouldn't even provide a list of songs
the defendant is accused of sharing. Additionally, the plaintiff's motion wasn't
filed before a deadline set by the court.
Jacobson's entire deposition, as well as supporting court exhibits is available
online.