RIAA wins over Verizon
According to this article on the Register, Verizon has lost its appeal against the Recording Industry Ass. (sic) of America (RIAA) which demanded the name of a Verizon customer that they alleged held illegal copies of copyrighted music works.
This decision is a clear win for the RIAA and other DMCA proponents, who can obtain privacy information from any company by shelling out $5 and filling a simple form (subpoena) on the basis that they suspect somebody of copyright infringement. The procedure seems as simple as that, and no judge (or anybody with a judicial competence) has to examine the request. This is a double edged sword, as innocent victims of those actions can fight back in court and obtain damages (but the procedure is more difficult and costly).
No later than last month, I have seen a case here in France (Old Europe) about a libel and passing off case. The victim needed to obtain the identity of someone from an ISP. It took a couple of days to obtain the authorization from a judge in order to get that information from the ISP. I find this method much better and at least more respectful of the principle that someone is presumed innocent until being convicted by a court.
For the likes of the music majors, we must surely be a true member of the axis of evil.
