Appeals Court Denies Verizon's Stay Request in Music Case

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2003 10:09:11 +0900
> From: Adam Peake <ajp () glocom ac jp>
>
>
> <http://www.quicken.com/investments/news_center/story/?story=NewsStory/dowJones/20030604/ON200306041901001440.var&column=P0DFP>
>
>
> Appeals Court Denies Verizon's Stay Request in Music Case
> Wednesday, June 4, 2003 07:01 PM ET
>
> Dow Jones Newswires
>
> WASHINGTON -- A federal appeals court ordered Verizon Communications Inc. 
> (VZ, news) to turn over the names of two high-speed Internet customers 
> suspected of downloading copyrighted music files.
>
> The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected Verizon's 
> request for a stay of a lower court's order enforcing a subpoena obtained 
> by the Recording Industry Association of America. Verizon had requested a 
> stay pending its appeal of U.S. District Court Judge John Bates' decision.
>
> Verizon "has not shown so great a likelihood of success on the merits as 
> to outweigh the clearly greater harm that would accrue to the appellee if 
> the stay were granted," the Appeals Court said.
>
> The case is a test of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, meant to 
> protect intellectual property in the digital age.
>
> "The Court of Appeals decision confirms our long-held position that music 
> pirates must be held accountable for their actions, and not be allowed to 
> hide behind the company that provides their Internet service," said RIAA 
> president Cary Sherman. "Given that an epidemic of illegal downloading is 
> threatening the livelihoods of artists, songwriters and tens of thousands 
> of other recording industry workers who bring music to the public, we look 
> forward to Verizon's speedy compliance with this ruling."
>
> Sarah Deutsch, associate general counsel for Verizon, said the company 
> will comply with the subpoena within the next 24 hours. The Appeals Court 
> has agreed to hear Verizon's appeal on an expedited basis, with oral 
> arguments scheduled for Sept. 16.
>
> "The problem in this case is that the real harm is to consumers" who lose 
> their privacy, said Ms. Deutsch. "The court is not in the position to 
> weigh the harm to consumers."
>
> Verizon is supporting a bill introduced by Sen. Sam Brownback (R., Kan.), 
> that would raise the bar for subpoenas served on a company for activities 
> not occurring on its network. The music files were allegedly shared using 
> "peer-to- peer" software that plucks the copyrighted materials from users' 
> personal computers.
>
> -By Mark Wigfield; Dow Jones Newswires; 202-828-3397; mark.wigfield@ 
> dowjones.com
>
> --


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