The Federal Court here in Toronto has ruled the Canadian Recording Industry Association hadn't shown copyright infringement by 29 people who had allowed their music files to be uploaded. This is a significant victory for individuals who share personal copies of music files on the internet.
This ruling essentially legalizes the sharing of MP3s. Furthermore, it prohibits the CRIA from subpoenaing ISPs for the names of those doing so. Have a read of this synopsis from the Federal Court. On page 14, the judge states the following: "I cannot see a real difference between a library that places a photocopy machine in a room full of copyrighted material and a computer user that places a personal copy on a shared directory linked to a P2P service."
Wow.
