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: Recording Industry vs The People

Judge orders RIAA to disclose "methods employed" by expert & "instruction or guidance" given by lawyers

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

Commentary:

One of the key elements in yesterday's protective order in SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, was Judge Gertner's direction that

the Examining Expert shall be required to disclose both the methods employed to inspect the hard drive and any instruction or guidance received from the Plaintiffs.

To date, in the hundreds of consolidated RIAA cases assigned to her, Judge Gertner has rendered thousands of rulings based upon so-called evidence procured by MediaSentry, without ever asking for that same type of disclosure.

In fact, the RIAA and MediaSentry have steadfastly maintained that their methods are secret and "proprietary". While they are permitted to have whatever "proprietary" "secrets" they want, it is contrary to Federal law to maintain a federal litigation based upon such material.

Although it is routine in federal litigation to mandate such disclosure for any scientific or computer-based evidence, it is novel in RIAA litigation, since the courts have generally bent the rules for the RIAA, in view of the weak or nonexistent legal representation of defendants.

Let us hope that that era is coming to an end, and that the RIAA will have to prove its cases just like any other plaintiff in a federal litigation has to prove its case.

And let us hope that Judge Gertner will apply the same standards to the "evidence" submitted to her from MediaSentry, Doug Jacobson, and any other RIAA "expert".

-R.B.

Commentary & discussion:

p2pnet.net

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Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on May 20, 2009 (boomark / email).