As reported on Tuesday, the US Department of Justice has proclaimed that forcing ISP Verizon Internet Services to reveal the identity of customers who record labels have accused of uploading serious amounts of music would not violate first amendment rights of said customers. With that in mind the US District Court in the District of Columbia yesterday turned down Verizon's appeal against an RIAA subpoena to release the identify of a subscriber who they say has uploaded serious amounts of copyright music via the ISP's email servers. Verizon now have 14 days to decide what, if any, legal action they take next before handing over that subscriber's contacts.
Commenting on the decision RIAA President Cary Sherman told reporters: "A federal district court has again affirmed that the law which provides copyright holders with a process to identify infringers is both constitutional and appropriate. If users of pirate peer-to-peer sites don't want to be identified, they should not break the law by illegally distriburing music. Today's decision makes clear that these individuals cannot rely on their ISPs to shield them from accountability."
For his part, Verizon Sr VP/Deputy General John Thorne argued: "Today's ruling goes far beyond the interests of large copyright monopolists - such as RIAA - in enforcing its copyrights. This decision exposes anyone who uses the internet to potential predators, scam artists and crooks, including identity thieves and stalkers. We will continue to use every legal means available to protect our subscribers' privacy and will immediately seek a stay from the US Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals has already agreed to hear this important Internet privacy case on an expedited schedule.
Of course the subscriber in question is still in the dark as to their role in this landmark music copyright case.