A newly contested RIAA case involving Sony in South Carolina may help set some important precedents. Court filings obtained by Recording Industry vs. The People show a legal team that's stepping back from the trees to take a whole new whack at the forest.

An astute reader of RIVTP points out the crux of the argument in the counterfiling, "The Complaint fails to join an indispensable party or parties, including but not limited to the "online media distribution system" [...] and therefore should be dismissed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(7), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure." That same astute reader explins it for the rest of us, "this lawyer went one step further and is requesting that the RIAA include anyone who ACTUALLY downloaded content from the defendant."

Thus far the RIAA hasn't ever proven anyone has downloaded music from a defendant, aside from the RIAA or its own representatives, and this suit is essentially asking them to put up or shut up when it comes to that specific point. Even one successfully defended case that rests on the difference between "making available" and "distributing" copyright protected content could be quite important for other defenses.