Verizon to turn over names of downloaders

WASHINGTON - Verizon Internet Services plans to turn over the names of four large-scale music downloaders as early as late Thursday after an appeals court denied the company's request for a stay while it challenged a law allowing the music industry to subpoena the names.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied Verizon's request for a stay pending the outcome of an appeal. Verizon filed the appeal after a U.S. district judge ordered the Internet service provider to turn over the names of two Verizon customers who had allegedly downloaded hundreds of songs through a peer-to-peer file-swapping service. "(Verizon) has not shown so great a likelihood of success on the merits as to outweigh the clearly greater harm that would accrue to the (RIAA) if the stay were granted," three appeals court judges wrote in the one-page decision.

The Recording Industry Association of America Inc. (RIAA) has sought the names of two other alleged downloaders from Verizon, but those two haven't been part of the previous court rulings.

Although the four alleged downloaders could face legal action from the RIAA, Verizon will continue to fight a portion of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that allows copyright holders to find out names of suspected copyright violators through subpoenas issued by a court clerk instead of a judge, said Sarah Deutsch, vice president and associate general counsel for Verizon Communications.

"Verizon will continue arguing the merits of this case and taking the appeals process as far as it will go," Deutsch said.

Verizon, along with more than 40 consumer groups, privacy groups and ISPs, argued against the clerk-issued subpoenas, saying they violate the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on using court powers without a pending case or controversy. Verizon also argued that the clerk-issued subpoenas open up a potential for abuse, with anyone wanting to know the name of an anonymous Internet user, including pedophiles and stalkers, able to claim a copyright violation and get a subpoena.

Deutsch said the RIAA could have avoided this court battle by filing "John Doe" lawsuits against the anonymous downloaders and having a judge decide whether subpoenas were warranted. "What we think the RIAA is trying to do is create a legal shortcut where they can amass hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of names," Deutsch said.

Deutsch called on the U.S. Congress to change the subpoena section of the DMCA.

An RIAA spokeswoman had no comment on the industry group's plans for the four downloaders.

"When Congress enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it deliberately balanced the interests of Internet service providers and copyright holders," said Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA, in a statement. "ISPs were given immunity from liability for piracy on their networks, while copyright holders were given a quick and efficient mechanism to learn the identity of computer users who were stealing their works."

The appeals court decision confirmed the RIAA's position that "music pirates must be held accountable for their actions, and not be allowed to hide behind the company that provides their Internet service," Sherman added. "Given that an epidemic of illegal downloading is threatening the livelihoods of artists, songwriters and tens of thousands of other recording industry workers who bring music to the public, we look forward to Verizon's speedy compliance with this ruling."