FC: RIAA presses Verizon for name of peer-to-peer subscriber

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

http://news.com.com/2100-1023-954658.html

   Music body presses anti-piracy case
   By Declan McCullagh
   August 21, 2002, 6:54 AM PT

   ASPEN, Colo.--In what may become a new legal front in its war against
   online copying, the Recording Industry Association of America has
   asked a federal court for help in tracing an alleged peer-to-peer
   pirate.

   On Tuesday, the RIAA asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., for an
   order compelling Verizon Communications to reveal the name of a
   customer accused of illegally trading hundreds of songs. Citing
   privacy concerns and potential legal liability, Verizon has refused to
   comply with a subpoena the RIAA sent last month.

   "It's not that they don't want to turn over the name," said Mitch
   Glazier, an RIAA senior vice president. "It's that they don't want to
   be liable for turning over a subscriber's name."

   Until now, the entertainment industry has relied on civil lawsuits
   aimed at corporations, not individuals, to limit widespread copyright
   infringement on peer-to-peer networks. Now, however, the RIAA is
   revising its strategy and appears ready to sue individuals swapping
   songs over the Internet.

   At issue in the RIAA's request is an obscure part of the Digital
   Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that permits a copyright owner to send
   a subpoena ordering a "service provider" to turn over information
   about a subscriber. It is not necessary to file a lawsuit to take
   advantage of the DMCA's expedited subpoena process.

   [...]




-------------------------------------------------------------------------
POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice.
To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html
This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/
Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?q=declan
CNET Radio 9:40 am ET weekdays: http://cnet.com/broadband/0-7227152.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------