The Recording Industry Association of America has withdrawn a lawsuit
against four U.S. Internet service providers, saying it no longer needs to
force the ISPs to block users’ access to a rogue music file-sharing site
that has since gone offline.
However, a separate action to force another ISP, Verizon Communications’ Thirteen record companies, including Arista Records, Interscope,
Their copyright-infringement action sought to force the ISPs to block users’ The RIAA said it had taken legal action “seeking the help” of ISPs to Though hosted in China, the RIAA continued, “the site clearly targeted U.S. Hilary Rosen, chairman and CEO of the RIAA, called the www.listen4ever.com The RIAA also said the withdrawal of the lawsuit did not preclude it from In a related action this week, the RIAA filed a motion to enforce a subpoena that Verizon has so far refused to comply with the subpoena. A Verizon spokesman “We recognize that copyright holders are entitled to protection, but we’re also concerned about the privacy rights of our subscribers,” said Eric Rabe, vice president of media relations for Verizon. “We want to make sure they’re protected too,” he added, particularly since this is a somewhat new area of law. Verizon is expected to file a response to the motion within a few days.
Internet services division, to identify a user the RIAA
accuses of online music piracy, lives on.
Bertelsmann’s RCA Records and AOL Time Warner’s Warner
Brothers filed suit last
Friday against ISPs A&T Broadband, Cable & Wireless, Sprint Corp and UUNet
Technologies, a unit of WorldCom.
access to a China-based music file sharing site http://www.listen4ever.com, which it
accused of pirating copyrighted works.
Because the site went offline not long after news of the suit broke, the
RIAA decided to drop the action.
block access to www.listen4ever.com because “the site’s particular file
sharing network — an especially flagrant and sophisticated violator of
copyright laws, offering up a cache of copyrighted U.S. music with a
centralized server, ala Napster — had attempted to shield itself from U.S.
laws by using offshore servers located in China.”
users with a polished, all-English website with music from U.S. top-selling
artists, available for free.”
network “a crass attempt to evade our copyright laws by setting up shop in
China while offering a treasure trove of mostly American music for free.”
further litigation if the site should decide to come back online, re-emerge
under a new name or move to another server.
was issued against Verizon’s Communications’ Internet services division on
July 24th. Citing provisions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA),
the RIAA asked a federal district court in Washington D.C. to enforce the
existing subpoena, which seeks information related to “a computer connected
to the Verizon network that is a hub for significant music piracy.” The
motion said Verizon is the only entity that can identify the infringer
behind the computer.
said the company doesn’t think the request meets the circumstances that the DMCA allows for in compelling information in order to protect against piracy.
