A federal judge has rejected the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) request for $250,000 in attorneys' fees from stream-ripper Yout in their ongoing legal battle.

The dispute began in October 2020 when Yout filed a complaint against the RIAA, claiming the organization had violated the DMCA by sending three false takedown notices that damaged Yout's business and reputation. The core issue revolves around whether Yout's service circumvents YouTube's "rolling cipher" technology when allowing users to download audio from videos.

Yout maintains that audio downloads are "just an incidental component" of their video content downloading service, which works with various video-sharing websites. The company also claims it prevents users from downloading content protected by anti-circumvention technology.

The case was dismissed with prejudice in September 2022, after which the RIAA sought $250,000 in attorneys' fees. Judge Stefan R. Underhill denied this request, stating that fee decisions should wait until after the appeal process is complete.

In his ruling, Judge Underhill explained: "The Copyright Act provides for recovery of fees and costs incurred by the prevailing party, including fees and costs incurred on appeal." He added that waiting for the appeal's resolution would serve "judicial efficiency" and avoid "piecemeal adjudication."

Neither party has officially commented on the order. The case continues as Yout pursues its appeal, with the RIAA maintaining its position against stream-ripping services while also expanding its focus to other areas like artificial intelligence and domain name protection.

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