Last Thanksgiving weekend, the Department of Homeland Security seized dozens of domain names that were accused of copyright infringement. It was a bold move, especially since there was no due process and accusations that led to the seizure were not substantiated with any real explanation, evidence, or specific complaints.
The music blog dajaz1.com found itself in the middle of all of this. After monitoring the blog and claiming that they had found multiple cases of copyrighted songs being offered for free download, the government took over DaJaz1 with no warning and nothing close to a trial. To them, it was a clear-cut case of illegal activity.
Things weren't so simple, however. The site's owner, known as Splash, fought back and provided proof that many of the songs in question were in fact sent directly to him for promotional purposes. In a digital world where blogs act not only as sources for fans, but avenues for promotion to artists and labels, Homeland Security didn't seem to understand exactly how things worked.
After a long, painful legal battle documented at Tech Dirt, the government has finally dropped the case. It has been over a year, but Homeland Security has finally returned DaJaz1 to its rightful owner. This is only a small step in the path to solving a much larger issue, but it's a step in the right direction.
The Recording Industry Association has issued the following statement:
We understand that a decision was made that this particular site did not merit a criminal forfeiture proceeding. We respect that government agencies must consider a range of technical issues when exercising their independent prosecutorial discretion. Criminal proceedings are not always brought, for a variety of appropriate reasons.
[via LosAngelesTimes]
