Set-back for Dutch RIAA?
p2pnet.net News:- Brein, the Dutch MPAA/RIAA clone, may have suffered an unexpected legal setback in its pursuit of infringers.
A Dutch judge has ruled that parties can’t be forced to divulge the ID of people who acted ‘unlawfully’.
The so-called Lycos-Pessers defense, which states a party must divulge, wasn’t honored by the judge.
In short, his decision means ISP’s can’t be forced to hand over the IDs of file-shares.
The case centered on a stolen cell phone and the father of a student.
The student had his exclusive cell phone stolen during a school trip and the father received information pointing to a co-student as the thief. Based on this, school authorities investigated but weren’t able to turn anything up.
The co-student responded by suing the father to obtain the ID of the “supposed” informant.
The judge ruled the father, as a party to the stolen cell phone case, didn’t have to reveal the ID of the informant who’d fingered the co-student.
In a similar case concerning slander, ISP Lycos was order to reveal the ID of the person who slandered Pessers on a Lycos hosted site.
However, in this case the judge conveniently evaded the Lycos-Pessers argument. Nevertheless, this will still boost the Lycos appeal against the Brein sponsored Pessers.
It boils down to this:
Can someone be sued or forced to hand over ID’s to pursue a civil action against someone who’s anonymous, bearing in mind the severity of the violation and the privacy of the anonymous person; and, knowing that privacy is a fundamental prerequisite to the right of freedom of expression and the right to communicate?
While every case has its own merits, and I feel for the co-student, judges must be aware of, and comprehend, the effect their decisions will have in the virtual world.
This is especially true in cases considering commercial interests. As more ID’s and related information are stored, used, trafficked and lost under dubious circumstances, a judge is our last defense.
As seen in the Apple-Think Secret case, this still is a slippery legal slope.
And while judges zig-zag on the issue, we can temporarily chalk this one up for our side.
Raymond Blijd – fk2w
============
Something you think we should know? tips[at]p2pnet.net
============
See:-
reveal the ID – Shareconnector, Releases4u, p2pnet, January 6, 2005
Apple-Think Secret - Judge rules for Apple in ID case, p2pnet, March 11, 2005
