p2pnet: Jane Doe’s arguments ‘already rejected’: RIAA
Jane Doe’s legal motion to block an RIAA subpoena demanding that Verizon give up her name says the subpoena violates her rights to due process, privacy and anonymous association, as well as her contract with Verizon.
Her arguments “have already been addressed by a federal judge – and they have been rejected,” NewsFactor Network’s James Maguire has RIAA senior vp Matt Oppenheim saying here. “Courts have already ruled that you are not anonymous when you publicly distribute music online.”
Court records say Jane Doe used Kazaa, but tried to prevent other P2P users from accessing files on her PC, says Maguire, going on, “She used the Kazaa software mostly as a music player to listen to music from her own CDs as well as files that were bundled with her computer, court documents claim.
“The RIAA issued a subpoena to Verizon, her ISP, on July 9th, demanding her contact information. Verizon informed Jane Doe of the subpoena on July 15th. Jane Doe, deciding to fight the subpoena, asked Verizon to withhold her name.”
The pressure on subpoenaed individuals is enormous, Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff told NewsFactor.
“An individual who settles with the RIAA is likely to end up paying in the range of $10,000 to $30,000 dollars. An individual who does not settle is liable somewhere in $100,000 per downloaded song range.” Fighting and losing a lawsuit against the RIAA “could bankrupt an individual forever,” he said.
The RIAA’s subpoena skirmishes will continue, and “almost every individual will end up settling,” Bernoff said.
But, he added, the RIAA, too, is in danger – of losing a case against file swappers.
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