Ruling sounds sour note for record industry

A court decision in a high-profile file-swapping case means the Recording Industry Association of America will have to change its tactics. Read what the changes mean for the music industry and for file swappers.

Ruling rebuffs record industry effort
A federal appeals court Friday hands a major setback to the RIAA's legal tactics for tracking down and suing alleged file swappers.

What the ruling means for file swappers
FAQ How does the court's decision effect peer-to-peer fans and Internet service providers? What comes next?

Read the court's decision
The judges say it's not the province of the courts to rewrite copyright law in order to make it fit "a new and unforeseen Internet architecture, no matter how damaging that development has been to the music industry."

Is the RIAA out of the ballgame?
Not exactly, CNET News.com's John Borland says, but recent court decisions represent a step backward for the record industry's attempts to control file swapping on peer-to-peer networks.

Dutch court nixes bid to control Kazaa
The Dutch Supreme Court throws out an attempt by a music copyright agency to put controls on the popular file-swapping service, a ruling that the music industry attacked as flawed.