San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
today offered important resources to those wondering
whether the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
has filed a subpoena seeking their identities in connection
with a crackdown on music file-sharing.
EFF is assisting Internet users by offering a mechanism for
people to check the username they use on a file sharing
service against a database of those usernames specified in
hundreds of subpoenas the RIAA issued this month to Internet
Service Providers (ISPs).
"The recording industry continues its futile crusade to
sue thousands of the over 60 million people who use file
sharing software in the U.S.," said EFF Senior Intellectual
Property Attorney Fred von Lohmann. "We hope that EFF's
subpoena database will give people some peace of mind and
the information they need to challenge these subpoenas and
protect their privacy."
"EFF is also documenting the scope of privacy invasions
committed by the RIAA," explained EFF Staff Attorney Jason
Schultz. "EFF's subpoena database will help document the
damage done to innocent people misidentified as copyright
infringers in the RIAA's overzealous campaign."
A username appearing in the database does not confirm
absolutely that the RIAA has issued a subpoena seeking the
name of a particular person, since file sharing services
support duplicate usernames as well as allow multiple
people to use the same account or same computer. Nor do the
records in database reflect all subpoenas issued, due to
lags between issuance and entry into the court's electronic
record system by court employees. The EFF subpoena database
also permits people to check if the recording industry
named their Internet address, known as an IP address, in a
subpoena.
The initial database includes 125 subpoenas issued through
July 8, 2003, although EFF will update the database with
hundreds of additional subpoenas as they become available
through the court system.
To provide information and legal referrals for people
targeted by subpoenas, EFF has partnered with the U.S.
Internet Industry Association and other organizations to
form the Subpoena Defense Alliance. The Subpoena Defense
Alliance assists consumers and Internet Service Providers.
Links:
- File sharer subpoena database
- Subpoena Defense Alliance website
- EFF Let the Music Play campaign to legalize file sharing
Contact:
Fred von Lohmann
Senior Intellectual Property Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
+1 415 436-9333 x123 (office)
Jason Schultz
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
+1 415 436-9333 x112
