[Kosh]

http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/07/08/28/1912247.shtml

Reaffirming a magistrate's earlier decision, a federal judge has ordered TorrentSpy to begin keeping server logs as it defends itself against an MPAA lawsuit. In her opinion, Judge Florence-Marie Cooper interpreted federal discovery rules broadly. ' Judge Cooper took issue with TorrentSpy's argument that data in RAM is not "stored." She noted RAM's function as primary storage and that the storage of data in RAM — even if not permanently archived — makes it electronically stored information governed by federal discovery rules.' Given that TorrentSpy has limited access for users in the US, the ruling may be moot. But it does set a precedent for other, similar cases. 'Under this interpretation, any data stored in RAM could be subject to a subpoena, as at a basic level it is a "medium from which information can be obtained" just like a hard drive.

Will someone please give this judge an education about the basics of computers....... 

[NGTM-1R]

It sounds to me like she had one.

It was the advanced course lacking.

[Woolie Wool]

Sometimes I wonder if, in technology-related court cases, the jurors (if it's a jury trial) should be composed entirely of experts with another expert assisting the judge. Because many people are just unqualified to participate in proceedings like these.

[jr2]

http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/07/08/28/1912247.shtml

as at a basic level it is a "medium from which information can be obtained" just like a hard drive.

Will someone please give this judge an education about the basics of computers....... 

This should make for some interesting court cases... here, you can have my RAM...

* jr2 pops his RAM sticks out of his compy, and gives his now-blank memory to the authorities, laughing maniacally all the way to the court, where his case is dismissed due to lack of evidence.

Well, they do have a point... you'd just have to transfer the information from the RAM to another, non-volatile medium before transporting it.  And pray that no-one "accidentally" trips the main power breaker for a second or two before you do so.    Fat chance. 

[Herra Tohtori]

Hehe...

Let's say a server has 8 GB of RAM. I wonder how the judge would like to have a few memory dumps in her e-mail.

Or better yet, printed on paper and delivered to the office.

And then explain that the memory changes every processor cycle when the processor is doing something - which in server's case means every damn cycle.


...archive that.

[colecampbell666]

This is stupid. Wonder if someone's told her how RAM actually works?

[Mustang19]

From a purely legalistic point of view, RAM is storage; watching a pirated porno from your RAM and deleting the file is the same as having it on your hard drive, even if it only lasts a few seconds. So the court ruling isn't bad so much as stupid.

Like anti-torrent lawsuits in general, nothing new will happen. It's hard to sue something that has no citizenship outside wherever its IP happens to appear.

[Bob-san]

The problem is that your system purges its own RAM quite often--the data has to be constantly refreshed because the signal fades. Anyways--the judge is stupid. It's like asking you to preserve your etch-a-sketch "drawings" after shaking it a thousand times in every which direction! Now, RAM is storage, but it's temporary and has no storage ability outside of each clock cycle's refresh. AS we know and she doesn't, stuff "disappears" after volatile memory (RAM) loses power.