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A federal court in Oklahoma granted the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) permission to withdraw its case against a mother whose only connection to the alleged filesharing was that she was the person who paid for the Internet access.

The RIAA decided to withdraw when it was faced with the mother's motion for

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leave to file a summary judgment motion dismissing the case against her and awarding her attorney's fees. However its tactics failed when the court ruled that the defendant was entitled to attorney's fees, regardless.

Steve Gordon, a New York-based entertainment attorney, told the Recording Industry vs The People blog that this ruling has significant implications.

'This case demonstrates weakness in RIAA's cases in general,' Gordon said. 'If they cannot back up their claims of infringement with legally required evidence, this could affect all their cases and encourage more defendants to fight back - especially if, as in this case, the court awards attorneys fees for the defendant.'