Century Media’s lawsuit against downloaders hits a snag

So in case you weren’t previously aware, the metal giant Century Media sued a few thousand people who downloaded the latest albums by Lacuna Coil and Iced Earth.  They were caught using torrents via their IP addresses.  Nothing new here, right?

Well, now the judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Faith S. Hochberg, has thrown out the 943 subpoenas used against those that pirated the Lacuna Coil record.  The issue?  Well, those subpoenas were based on “John Doe lawsuits” and were all lumped into one, big criminal. and Hochberg doesn’t see things the way CM does.  She ruled that

there must be a connection between defendants beyond the copyrighted work and method of distribution, namely that defendants were involved in the same transaction with the same downloader at the same time.

Exactly.

There is one John Doe left on the hook for this, apparently.  S/he must have the worst luck ever.

But on the whole: a victory for those against these bullshit lawsuits brought on by record companies and/or the RIAA.