A Slashdot effect was created earlier tonight when that site announced the summary dismissal of the RIAA vs. Candy Chan case—Candy Chan being a mother sued for unauthorized file-sharing via an Internet account in her name. Actually, the dismissal occurred in May of this year, as shown in this court docket (PDF file). the extra publicity is helpful to other lawsuit defendents who might be considering fighting the case instead of settling. However, some portrayals of humiliating RIAA defeat in the Chan case or skewed; it was actually the RIAA which requested dismissal of the case, while Chan was denied legal fees in her sloppy and uncooperative defense. Yhe Chan case is hardly a model procedure for future defendents; the Santangelo case holds more promise.
