There was what could prove to be a landmark decision in the legal fight against music downloads yesterday. A federal judge in the US ruled that ISP Verizon has to identify the customer who is suspected by the record labels to be illegally downloading more than 600 songs a day. It brings to an end something of a test case in how far the music industry can take their battle against the downloaders – the answer being considerably further than the ISPs hoped!
The Recording Industry Association of America demanded Verizon release the name and details of the customer last summer. The ISP claimed it was against its customer confidentiality policy to reveal the name of any of its customers – but the courts disagreed.
It all depends on your interpretation of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This US legislation means ISPs have to give copyright owners contact details of anyone they can prove is violating their copyright. The copyright owners are legally entitled to this information and do not need to go to court to secure it. However Verizon argued that this legislation only applied to customers who illegally stored copyrighted material on their webspace – not customers who used their internet access for peer to peer file exchange. There main concern is that if the act is extended to customers who exchange (rather than store) copyright material that might just mean handing over the details of more or less every customer they have!
But District Judge John Bates said yesterday: "The court disagrees with Verizon's strained reading of the act," arguing that under "Verizon's reading of the act, a significant amount of potential copyright infringement would be shielded from the subpoena authority of the DMCA. That would, in effect, give Internet copyright infringers shelter from the long arm of the DMCA subpoena power, and allow infringement to flourish."
Needless to say the RIAA welcomed the decision - President Cary Sherman telling reporters: "We appreciate the court's decision, which validates our interpretation of the law. The illegal distribution of music on the internet is a serious issue for musicians, songwriters and other copyright owners, and the record companies have made great strides in addressing this problem by educating consumers and providing them with legitimate alternatives."
Also needless to say, Verizon plans to appeal. The company’s VP Sarah Deutsch told reporters: "This is not a case in which we believe the court was right. This kind of decision could open the floodgates to copyright holders, sending numerous subpoenas to internet providers seeking identities of subscribers."
As the legalities rumble on the identity of the downloader in question remains a secret – so much so even s/he may not realise s/he is the subject of so much legal debate.