Is the IFPI lying to the media, or the RIAA lying to the courts?

Trying to keep stories straight when there are a lot of people involved is quite tricky, as anyone who's ever tried to arrange a drunken night out with a bunch of novice nuns will testify. So perhaps it's not surprising that the IFPI and RIAA have been caught out by the Digital Music Weblog contradicting each other:

John Kennedy of the IFPI tells the BBC, "People should understand that they can be caught whatever network they are using. The next time a series of law suits are announced you could be on the receiving end if you are an illegal file-sharer," a statement which contradicts earlier legal action by the RIAA in the US courts.

Industry lawyers in the US have told courts that the opposite is true, that there are methods and techniques which prevent the RIAA from identifying users of file-sharing software, and have argued the RIAA's contracts with its copyright protection software provider MediaSentry should be held in confidence as a result.

Of course, just because one has to be wrong doesn't mean either have to be right.

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