File Sharers Win More Protection
Katie Dean, Wired.Com
28 October 2004
Alleged file sharers must be given a notice explaining their legal rights before their internet service provider hands over any personal information to the music labels, a Pennsylvania judge ruled, making it still harder for the music industry to use the courts to intimidate people suspected of piracy.
Privacy advocates called the Oct. 12 order by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe a positive step in protecting the privacy and due process rights of accused copyright infringers.
The Recording Industry Association of America has filed thousands of so-called "John Doe" lawsuits, where the industry's trade association sues people based on their internet protocol addresses without knowing their names. The RIAA must first obtain an order from a judge to subpoena the internet service providers for the name of the defendant. With Rufe's order, now ISPs in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania must provide a detailed notice to their customer advising them of their rights, before they hand over their customers' names to the music companies' lawyers.
"It's another step in the evolution of protections for people who are accused by the record labels of file sharing, but may have a defense and may want to protect their anonymity," said Wendy Seltzer, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization that filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case. "It puts some procedural safeguards into the process."
"We have always encouraged ISPs to inform their subscribers of pending subpoenas. This action by the court is consistent with that," Jonathan Lamy, a spokesman for the RIAA, wrote in an e-mail. "Additionally, it should be noted that nothing in the court's directive absolves an illegal file sharer from liability under the copyright laws."
The order includes clear-cut information on how to challenge the subpoena if the defendant chooses and a list of attorneys who can help defendants weigh their legal options.
"To maintain a lawsuit against you in the District Court in Philadelphia, the record companies must establish jurisdiction over you in Pennsylvania," the notice reads. "If you do not live or work in Pennsylvania, or visit the state regularly, you may be able to challenge the Pennsylvania court's jurisdiction over you."
Paul Levy, an attorney with Public Citizen, which also filed a friend-of-the court brief, said that such information is important to convey to defendants because it is very likely that some of the ISP customers live in other states, even though their ISP is located in Pennsylvania.
"(The judge has) treated each defendant as an individual, so each can make their own individual decision about what's best for them in first responding to the subpoena and then the lawsuit," Levy said. "We are certainly going to be urging judges in other parts of the country to grant similar notices."
Meanwhile, the RIAA sued another 750 "John Doe" defendants on Thursday, including 25 who are accused of using university networks to share copyright music. The 13 schools targeted include Grinnell College, Hamilton College, Indiana State University, Iowa University and the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, among others.
The music labels also filed an additional 213 lawsuits against named defendants who had been identified during the legal process. Those defendants either refused or ignored the music companies offers to settle the case before proceeding, according to a RIAA statement.