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LionsPride writes "http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/7533051.htm
Posted on Fri, Dec. 19, 2003
Court bars music downloading subpoenas
IDENTITIES OF SONG SWAPPERS PROTECTED BY RULING
By Dawn C. Chmielewski
Mercury News
In a setback to the recording industry's campaign against illegal music downloading, a federal appellate court today ruled that Internet service providers cannot be forced to reveal the identities of individuals suspected of swapping copyrighted songs over the Internet.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia agreed with Verizon Internet Services that the recording industry lacks the authority to subpoena ISPs for information about customers using Kazaa or other file-swapping services.
Verizon has been battling the Recording Industry Association of America since July 2002, when the industry trade group issued a subpoena demanding the name of a single individual accused of downloading more than 600 songs via Kazaa. Verizon refused to comply, prompting a lawsuit.
The U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia in January rejected Verizon's arguments that the subpoena was invalid. In a separate case, Verizon also unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Congress designed the law to give copyright holders new tools to fight piracy in an era where computers and the Internet allow the distribution of an infinite number of flawless copies.
Those rulings cleared the way for thousands of subpoenas to be issued demanding ISPs turn over the names of suspected file-swappers. The subpoenas have provided information for the RIAA to sue 341 suspected file-swappers for copyright infringement.
Today's appellate court ruling halts that process. The court didn't tackle the constitutional issues that Verizon raised -- namely that the recording industry's subpoenas would muzzle the the right to free, anonymous speech over the Internet.
Rather the court found thesubpoenas could not be used in instances where ISPs such as Verizon serve as a mere conduit for communication between individuals, such as occurs on file-swapping networks.
Privacy rights advocates hailed the decision as a victory for Internet users.
"The effect of the appeals court decision is that we do not lose our privacy simply by connecting to the Internet,'' said Wendy Seltzer, a staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based advocacy group. ``The ruling stops the record labels from taking our free speech rights as collateral damage in the campaign against the American music fan.''
The recording industry, meanwhile, described the ruling as a procedural setback. It said it would continue its campaign of suing individuals who use file-swapping networks to distribute copyrighted songs.
"Regardless of this decision, we will continue to defend our rights online on behalf of artists, songwriters and countless others involved in bringing music to the public,'' said RIAA President Cary Sherman in a prepared statement. "We can and will continue to file copyright infringement lawsuits against file sharers who engage in illegal activity.''
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Posted on Sunday, December 21 @ 18:25:00 PST by Wizarium |
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