Last Monday, Marketplace described Tonya Andersen's battle with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Andersen was accused of downloading music files. Despite her repeated denials and the lack of credible evidence of infringement, the RIAA continued to press its claims. Ultimately, the RIAA agreed to dismiss its lawsuit, but only after Andersen had incurred substantial attorney's fees.

Last Friday, in response to Andersen's motion for attorney's fees, a magistrate judge in the US District Court for the District of Oregon ruled in Andersen's favor:

Copyright holders generally, and these plaintiffs [RIAA] specifically, should be deterred from prosecuting infringement claims as plaintiffs did in this case. Plaintiffs exerted a significant amount of control over the course of discovery, repeatedly and successfully seeking the court's assistance through an unusually extended and contentious period of discovery disputes. Nonetheless, after ample opportunity to develop their claims, they dismissed them at the point they were required to produce evidence for the court's consideration of the merits. Despite the protracted nature of this action, at this point, as noted by plaintiffs, there is no explanation for the inconclusive nature of the evidence relevant to their claims. Plaintiffs assert that the unresolved, or unresolvable, status of the merits provides no basis for deterrence. Plaintiffs are incorrect, because this case provides too little assurance that a prosecuting party won't deem an infringement claim unsupportable until after the prevailing defendant has been forced to mount a considerable defense, and undergo all that entails, including the incurring of substantial attorney fees.

This is deja vu for the RIAA.

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