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





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.

    [...]




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