P2P-Zone - Court: Verizon Must Hand Over Names

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Lisa M. Bowman and Evan Hansen

Verizon Communications said Wednesday that it will turn over to a recording industry trade group the names of four anonymous subscribers accused of illegal file swapping, after an appellate panel denied the company's request for a delay.

In a victory for copyright holders, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia refused to intervene in the case and protect the subscribers' identities while the case moves forward. However, final victory for the recording industry is still a ways off, with a pending appeal scheduled for a hearing in September that could vindicate Verizon.

The case immediately exposes the four defendants to legal action. More broadly, it could pave the way for copyright holders to more easily identify people who trade pirated files on peer-to-peer networks. While file swappers may seek to conceal their identities online, they can usually be discovered by connecting online activity to records kept by Internet service providers (ISPs) such as Verizon.

At stake are subpoena powers granted under a controversial copyright law that aims to make it easier for content owners to combat Internet piracy. Unlike ordinary "John Doe" subpoenas, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows copyright holders to subpoena information without first seeking a judge's blessing, making it an easier and cheaper method for tracking down alleged copyright infringers.

Privacy experts have criticized such subpoenas, saying they violate consumers' privacy and give copyright holders too much power. Internet trade groups worry that it could shift the burden of copyright enforcement toward ISPs.
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