Woman fined $222K by RIAA to get new trial.

Ha! Suck it, RIAA!! From Computer World:

A federal judge in Minnesota yesterday ordered a new trial in a copyright infringement case involving a woman who last fall was told by a jury to pay $222,000 to various record companies for illegally copying and distributing 24 songs.

In doing so, U.S. District Judge Michael Davis also rejected a key argument used by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the Minnesota case and numerous others — namely, that the mere act of making music available for download in a shared computer folder constitutes illegal distribution.

Davis' ruling is being seen as a setback for the RIAA's controversial campaign against music piracy, especially since he is now the third federal judge to have flatly rejected the trade group's "making available" argument. What isn't clear, though, is the extent to which his ruling will actually benefit the defendant in this particular case.