Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Motion to Quash Subpoena and Sever as to John Does 1-25 Denied in Atlantic v. Does

The motion to quash the subpoena in Atlantic Records v. John Does 1-25 has been denied by judge Laura Taylor Swain, in Manhattan federal court. The judge agreed with the holding of Judge Colleen McMahon in Elektra v. Santangelo that the RIAA's conclusory allegation that defendants "downloaded, distributed, and/or made available for distribution" was a sufficiently specific allegation of copyright infringement to satisfy federal pleading standards.

The motion to sever as to John Does 2-25 was denied "without prejudice". The judge said that motion could be reinstituted when the defendants were actually served with summonses and complaints. (The judge was apparently unaware that the RIAA has no intention of serving the defendants with summonses and complaints in the action that is before her.).

The order is not appealable according to a recent ruling of a 3-judge panel in Loud v. Does from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Order denying motion to (a) quash subpoena and(b) dismiss and sever as to John Does 2-25.

"Memo endorsed" order deeming motion to vacate ex parte order withdrawn.



Keywords: copyright download upload peer to peer p2p file sharing filesharing music movies indie label freeculture creative commons pop/rock artists riaa independent mp3 cd favorite songs

2 comments:

Jonathan said...

What can stop this?

It would appear that we either have a slew of judges who simply sympathize with the RIAA's "plight", or the law really is on their side.

I am deeply afraid, when I see these wins for the RIAA, that standards are being set that will allow endless abuses of the legal system to screw American citizens on the part of corporations. I don't understand, and am deeply afraid for the future.

But then again, I think we have a lot of reason to fear for the future of our country these days

raybeckerman said...

We should all support the litigants, the lawyers, and the organizations that are fighting this onslaught.