Last month a panel of three judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned a ruling that had previously granted the Recording Industry Association of America permission to obtain names of suspected illegal file sharers from their Internet service providers.
The ruling marked a victory for Verizon Communications Inc., who has spearheaded the opposition to the RIAA in the case.
The RIAA had formerly been relying on a "fast-track" method of issuing subpoenas. The method, which allowed clerks -- rather than judges -- to approve the subpoenas, was permitted by the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The appellate judges said that the DMCA applies only to Internet service providers who actually store illegal files on their servers rather than those that function as "a mere conduit for the transmission of information sent by others."
RIAA President Cary Sherman said in a Dec. 19 press release, "This decision in no way changes our right to sue, or the fact that those who upload or download copyrighted music without authorization are engaging in illegal activity." Sherman also said that the association would continue to file lawsuits against suspected file sharers.
Verizon's statement on its Web site says that the company "appealed the court's decision because it opens the door for anyone who makes a mere allegation of copyright infringement to gain complete subscriber information without the due process protections afforded by courts."
"It's about privacy -- not piracy," the statement added.
Some feel that the recent ruling will not create substantial change. School of Law Professor Richard Wagner said, "It raises the cost. It makes it more expensive and troublesome to get names of suspected file sharers, but it won't fundamentally stop the RIAA."
Other experts agreed.
"The judge in the Verizon case took away one of the RIAA's quicker and easier tools to unmask people sharing copyrighted movies and music," said David Miller, a University information security officer. However, "there are other legal vehicles that copyright owners will probably now use."
"It's getting more and more likely that copyright holders will take action against you personally," he added.
Communication Professor Joseph Turow said, "The question is to what extent students are concerned about copyright ... . Students should realize that there are moral and legal aspects to it. In a pragmatic world, however, it will be interesting to see what happens."
Though varied, student reactions were fairly consistent with Wagner's assessment.
College sophomore Cristina Suroiu said, "I'm not sure that this is going to counter the movement ... . If people didn't care [about being sued] before, they really won't care now."
"I don't think people stopped downloading before this. It didn't stop me," College junior Ben Piven said. College senior and Information Technology Adviser Sanela Kunovac said, "It will make students more relaxed about downloading perhaps, but not many people were concerned about it in the first place."
"Penn students in general should be happy about this," she added. "In the grand scheme of things, it's a victory in the privacy sector."
