The reversal was requested in papers [PDF] filed last week in the federal appeals court for the District of Columbia by Cox Communications; Bright House Networks, which is owned by Time Warner; and Verizon.
Wants subscriber names
In the case—AF Holdings v. Does 1-1058 and Cox Communications, et. al.—the copyright holders allege that 1058 “John Does” engaged in file-sharing through BitTorrent of a sexually explicit film.
As part of the discovery process in the case, AF Holdings wants Cox and the other ISPs to turn over to them personal information on the John Does. The order came from a federal district court judge, Beryl A. Howell, a former lobbyist for the RIAA and Senate staffer who worked on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a federal law aimed to protect the rights of copyright holders in cyberspace.
The ISPs are asking the appeals court to overturn Howell’s decision ordering the disclosure of subscribers’ names as part of evidence discovery.
According to the ISPs, AF Holdings and its attorneys aren’t interested in obtaining the names of the alleged infringers to pursue their case in court, but in order to squeeze settlement money from the subscribers.
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- Vampires and Copyright Trolls Suck – The Thompsons LLC v. Does 1-155 (6:13-cv-00469 (OR)) (dietrolldie.com)
- Cox Targets Pirates With “10+ Strikes” Program (informationliberation.com)
- If You’re Still Downloading Copyrighted Material Stop Now (alleywatch.com)
- Guest Post: A look at the new notice and takedown regime under the Copyright Rules, 2013 (spicyipindia.blogspot.com)
- Judge Slams ‘Troll’ Lawsuit Against Illegal Porn Downloaders (embargozone.com)
- Prenda Expert Declaration – AKA: No Absolute Certainty Of Identifying Infringer – 2:12-cv-08333 (dietrolldie.com)
- Courts Want $9,250 Per Pirated Song, But BMG Will Settle For $20 (hypebot.com)
