Letter from ISP (with subpoena from a movie company) stating that they will release my personal information to movie company (who is the plaintiff in an action in D.C.) because my IP address has been identified as one that downloaded and uploaded a movie through a bit torrent site.
The ISP notice states that if I do not object to them and the court, my information will be released (and I'm assuming I will be then named in the lawsuit and not just my IP number). Is there anyway I can stop the ISP from releasing my personal information? Don't I have some privacy in my personal information that should stop the ISP from releasing that info to the plaintiff in the case? I don't have the money to hire an attorney at this point, any advise on how to object to this?
Thanks.
James JuoIntellectual Property Law AttorneyLos Angeles, CA ·
I suspect that your ISP received a subpoena from the plaintiff, and is informing you to give you the opportunity to object and file a motion to quash the subpoena with the court that issued the subpoena. If you want to fight the subpoena, you can inform the ISP that you object to production, and then consult with an attorney to prepare and file an appropriate motion to quash. You can try to find samples of similar motions on the internet, but if you are not familiar with the law, your DIY arguments may be incoherent or may be irrelevant to your facts.
You can try to contact organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which has a webpage that addresses these issues and suggests referrals at https://www.eff.org/issues/file-sharing/subpoena-defense
Good luck.
Q: "Don't I have some privacy in my personal information that should stop the ISP from releasing that info to the plaintiff in the case?"
R: No.
A movie copyright owner discovered that its copyright was infringed. It accumulated evidence, drafted and filed a federal lawsuit [supported by evidence from the bit torrent site and sworn declarations], and received permission from the judge to engage in early discovery via subpoenas to certain ISP's to compel the disclosure of the identity of the alleged infringers. Your ISP has internally identified you as the person responsible for the IP address allegedly used to infringe the copyright in the movie. The ISP must comply with the subpoena unless you persuade the judge to quash it as to you.
Against all that evidence what would your argument be to the judge that he or she should NOT order your name and contact information disclosed? As far as the judge is concerned ALL the evidence points to you as a lawbreaker. Of course you will be identified. At this stage in the proceeding there is no good way "to object to this." [Unless you were never a customer of the ISP that sent you the letter].
You will be identified. And then you will get a settlement demand letter that says, essentially, pay $X or we will amend the complaint to remove the Doe #275 designation under which you are now being sued and we'll replace it with your name. Being named in a federal copyright infringement lawsuit is no fun - especially if the movie was a porn. Big downside, including negatively affecting your credit rating.
Make no mistake: You have already been sued and are currently a defendant in the lawsuit -- its just that you're currently designated as a Doe defendant with a particular IP address. It is merely a PROCEDURAL exercise to replace that designation with your name. A cumbersome one, for sure, but absent the ISP simply being wrong there is no substantive argument for keeping your identity private. Nor should there be: you're being accused of unlawful conduct. The party harmed has the right to know who you are.
The ISP is not releasing your personal information to the general public---it is releasing your information to a movie company that has convinced a court that that the IP address associated with your computer was used to illegally download copyrighted material. The owner of the IP address (you) have already been sued by this movie company---the purpose of the subpoena is to identify you---and the movie company clearly has the right to find out the identify if the person who owns this IP address that was used for an improper purpose. As my colleague notes, your chances of prevailing if you object to disclosure of this information are very low---what possible legitimate objection could you make? Instead of fighting a losing battle to avoid disclosure of your name to the movie company, you would be better off developing a strategy for defending yourself in the law suit. It is quite possible that you have viable defenses which might give you some leverage in settlement negotiations. You will undoubtedly soon receive a demand that you pay a significant sum to settle the case, and as a practical matter you may have no choice other than to pay this amount or attempt to negotiate a reduction. One thing is sure---you would be very foolish if you did not retain counsel to represent you in this matter. If you do not have the money to pay an attorney, then you need to raise the money (borrow from family, friends, etc). This is no different from a situation in which you need medical assistance---you need professional help and that means you will have to pay for it. There are no short cuts here. Someone (presumably you) used your internet address to download copyrighted material, and unless you can prove that it wasn't you and that you are not responsible for some reason, you are likely to be found liable---perhaps as a willful infringer, Statutory damages for willful infringement range from $750 per work to $150,000 per work, and the movie company also has the right to collect its attorneys fees. You need a lawyer to defend you against these charges and negotiate a settlement. If you do this on your own, quite frankly you may be making a terrible mistake.
