It is a good day for electronic freedoms.
The RIAA can’t easily file John Doe lawsuits anymore. Details follow:

Until now, the RIAA has used an expedited subpoena process provided for under copyright law, which it says allows it to force ISPs to hand over customer names without a judge’s approval or even a lawsuit. If Friday’s decision stands, the record industry will likely be compelled to take the more time-consuming and costly step of filing “John Doe” lawsuits against people whose identities are not yet known. The person would eventually be unmasked during court proceedings.
This option has a possible downside for the RIAA, however. Currently, the trade association knows the identity of the people it names as defendants. By switching to a process in which anonymous people are sued, the RIAA runs the risk of making an embarrassing misstep–by suing a son or daughter of a record label executive or of a U.S. senator, say.

Also, a Dutch court has found for Kazaa and file trading.

The decision by the Dutch court, the highest European body yet to rule on file-sharing software, means that the developers of the software cannot be held liable for how individuals use it. It does not address issues over individuals’ use of such networks.

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