Recording Industry vs The People: 2004 Decision Ordering Severance of John Does in Fonovisa v. Does 1-41, Austin Texas

Friday, March 09, 2007

2004 Decision Ordering Severance of John Does in Fonovisa v. Does 1-41, Austin Texas

In view of the fact that many universities, and probably many ISP's, will soon be facing "John Doe" cases in which the RIAA improperly joins unrelated "John Doe" defendants, we thought this an appropriate juncture to remind lawyers of the Order in federal court in Austin, Texas, in Fonovisa v. Does 1-41, 2004 ILRWeb (P&F) 3053 (W.D. Texas 2004) and 3 other cases, under caption "In re Cases Filed by Recording Companies", which ordered the RIAA to cease and desist from that practice, but which the RIAA has simply ignored for the past 2 1/2 years, just in case anyone's thinking of making a contempt motion:

November 17, 2004, Order, in Fonovisa v. Does 1-41 and 3 other cases under Caption "In re Cases Filed by Recording Companies ordering RIAA plaintiffs to file future cases against one defendant at a time*

Keywords: digital copyright online 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

9 comments:

Alter_Fritz said...: EFF has also papers about this in Florida in Interscope Records v. Does 1-25. I guess it is about the same point, legalese isn't my speciality ;-)

http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/RIAA_v_ThePeople/JohnDoe/20040429_Interscope_judges_order.pdf
http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/RIAA_v_ThePeople/JohnDoe/20040401_Ruling_on_motion_severance.pdf
http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/RIAA_v_ThePeople/JohnDoe/20040429_Interscope_district_order.pdf

all found here:
http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/riaa-v-thepeople.php; March 9, 2007 at 3:21:00 PM EST
raybeckerman said...: Yes it is about the same point. But this one has that interesting kicker: a court order they have been violating since November 17, 2004.; March 9, 2007 at 4:36:00 PM EST
Alter_Fritz said...: ok,
and what about pennsylvania with this 2 orders?
http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/RIAA_v_ThePeople/JohnDoe/20040305_EDPA_Order.pdf

RIAA bad there too? ;-); March 9, 2007 at 4:44:00 PM EST
Anonymous said...: Just wondering....

What major ISP is in that district that those cases were directed at?

Now that Bellsouth has been gobbled up by Southwestern Bell (aka, the "new at&t"), is their new corporate headquarters in that district as well? Would love to see them go at RIAA like Verizon did.....; March 9, 2007 at 5:41:00 PM EST
StephenH said...: Ray,

I think you should offer to formally debate Mitch Bainwol on this lawsuit campaign!

Additionally, I heard from Nancy Tar-Wager, a former employee of RIAA that her opinion on the RIAA's tactics changed, and is now lobbying for digital freedom at http://www.digitalfreedom.org; March 9, 2007 at 7:52:00 PM EST
raybeckerman said...: I don't know, Albert. Maybe it was University of Texas they were after.

Alter_Fritz, yes, we've cited all those cases in our briefs. See Warner v. Does. The important thing about the Texas case is that there's a court order they've been violating which means contempt of court.; March 10, 2007 at 12:53:00 AM EST
Scott said...: I went to my state university's web site, and found the general email address for their legal counsel. I sent them this email:

RE: RIAA subpoenas

Dear Sir or Madam:

New York attorney Ray Beckerman has published a helpful open letter for the benefit of legal staff at universities who are dealing with RIAA subpoenas. The link to the letter follows:

http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2007/03/open-letter-to-universities-whose.html

As a [my state] resident and taxpayer who supports [university name], it is my hope that the University is not merely stepping aside and allowing the RIAA to assault students with tenuous ex parte litigation. Mr. Beckerman outlines an approach to defending the rights of students that seems quite reasonable and proper. I hope you will consider it.

Sincerely,

[My Name]
[My Address]; March 10, 2007 at 12:10:00 PM EST
Scott said...: Woops, posted my previous comment under the wrong thread, sorry.; March 10, 2007 at 12:19:00 PM EST
StephenH said...: I think it is sad that RIAA is essentiallly in contempt of court by violating the order since Nov 2004.

The reason this joinder has been improper:

1) The RIAA linked defendants who don't know each other, who actually live in many different districts.

2) The RIAA files these cases in the district of the ISPs corporate offices. This can be far apart from the district the actual defendant resides in.

3) Each user may have a different defense.

4) Each user is probably alleged at sharing a different set of songs, by a different set of plantiffs.

5) Using this grouped "john doe" tactic deprives money to the public coffers.; March 10, 2007 at 6:51:00 PM EST

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JUDICIAL QUOTATIONS

"[T]he Court is concerned about the lack of facts establishing that Defendant was using that IP address at that particular time. Indeed, the [complaint] does not explain what link, if any, there is between Defendant and the IP address. It is possible that Plaintiff sued Defendant because he is the subscriber to IP address .... As recognized by many courts, just because an IP address is registered to an individual does not mean that he or she is guilty of infringement when that IP address is used to commit infringing activity." -Hon. Barry Ted Moskowitz, Chief Judge, S.D. California. January 29, 2013, AF Holdings v. Rogers
"The complaints assert that the defendants – identified only by IP address – were the individuals who downloaded the subject “work” and participated in the BitTorrent swarm. However, the assumption that the person who pays for Internet access at a given location is the same individual who allegedly downloaded a single sexually explicit film is tenuous, and one that has grown more so over time." - Hon. Gary R. Brown, Magistrate Judge, E.D.N.Y. May 1, 2012, K-Beech v. Does 1-37
"The concern of this Court is that in these lawsuits, potentially meritorious legal and factual defenses are not being litigated, and instead, the federal judiciary is being used as a hammer by a small group of plaintiffs to pound settlements out of unrepresented defendants."
-Hon. S. James Otero, Dist. Judge, Central Dist. California, March 2, 2007, Elektra v. O'Brien, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 1555
"The University has adequately demonstrated that it is not able to identify the alleged infringers with a reasonable degree of technical certainty...[C]ompliance with the subpoena as to the IP addresses represented by these Defendants would expose innocent parties to intrusive discovery....[T]he Court declines to authorize discovery and quashes the subpoena as to Does # 8, 9, and 14" -Hon. Nancy Gertner, Dist. Judge, Dist. Massachusetts, November 24, 2008, London-Sire Records v. Does 1-4
"[C]ounsel representing the record companies have an ethical obligation to fully understand that they are fighting people without lawyers... that the formalities of this are basically bankrupting people, and it's terribly critical that you stop it...." -Hon. Nancy Gertner, Dist. Judge, Dist. Massachusetts, June 17, 2008, London-Sire v. Does 1-4
"Rule 11(b)(3) requires that a representation in a pleading have evidentiary support and one wonders if the Plaintiffs are intentionally flouting that requirement in order to make their discovery efforts more convenient or to avoid paying the proper filing fees. In my view, the Court would be well within its power to direct the Plaintiffs to show cause why they have not violated Rule 11(b) with their allegations respecting joinder. [I]t is difficult to ignore the kind of gamesmanship that is going on here.....These plaintiffs have devised a clever scheme... to obtain court-authorized discovery prior to the service of complaints, but it troubles me that they do so with impunity and at the expense of the requirements of Rule 11(b)(3) because they have no good faith evidentiary basis to believe the cases should be joined." -Hon. Margaret J. Kravchuk, Magistrate Judge, District of Maine, January 25, 2008, Arista v. Does 1-27, 2008 WL 222283, modified Oct. 29, 2008
"[N]either the parties' submissions nor the Court's own research has revealed any case holding the mere owner of an internet account contributorily or vicariously liable for the infringing activities of third persons.....In addition to the weakness of the secondary copyright infringement claims against Ms. Foster, there is a question of the plaintiffs' motivations in pursuing them..... [T]here is an appearance that the plaintiffs initiated the secondary infringement claims to press Ms. Foster into settlement after they had ceased to believe she was a direct or "primary" infringer." -Hon. Lee R. West, District Judge, Western District of Oklahoma, February 6, 2007, Capitol v. Foster, 2007 WL 1028532
"[A]n overwhelming majority of cases brought by recording companies against individuals are resolved without so much as an appearance by the defendant, usually through default judgment or stipulated dismissal.....The Defendant Does cannot question the propriety of joinder if they do not set foot in the courthouse." -Hon. S. James Otero, Central District of California, August 29, 2007, SONY BMG v. Does 1-5, 2007 ILRWeb (P&F) 2535
"Plaintiffs are ordered to file any future cases of this nature against one defendant at a time, and may not join defendants for their convenience."
-Hon. Sam Sparks and Hon. Lee Yeakel, District Judges, Western District of Texas, November 17, 2004, Fonovisa v. Does 1-41, 2004 ILRWeb (P&F) 3053
"The Court is unaware of any other authority that authorizes the ex parte subpoena requested by plaintiffs."
-Hon. Walter D. Kelley, Jr., District Judge, Eastern District of Virginia, July 12, 2007, Interscope v. Does 1-7, 494 F. Supp. 2d 388, vacated on reconsideration 6/20/08
"Plaintiffs contend that unless the Court allows ex parte immediate discovery, they will be irreparably harmed. While the Court does not dispute that infringement of a copyright results in harm, it requires a Coleridgian "suspension of disbelief" to accept that the harm is irreparable, especially when monetary damages can cure any alleged violation. On the other hand, the harm related to disclosure of confidential information in a student or faculty member's Internet files can be equally harmful.....Moreover, ex parte proceedings should be the exception, not the rule."
-Hon. Lorenzo F. Garcia, Magistrate Judge, District of New Mexico, May 24, 2007, Capitol v. Does 1-16, 2007 WL 1893603
"'Statutory damages must still bear some relation to actual damages." Hon. Michael J. Davis, Dist. Judge, U.S.District Court, Dist. Minnesota, January 22, 2010, Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset
"[T]his court finds that defendants' use of the same ISP and P2P networks to allegedly commit copyright infringement is, without more, insufficient for permissive joinder under Rule 20. This court will sever not only the moving defendants from this action, but all other Doe defendants except Doe 2."
-Hon. W. Earl Britt, District Judge, Eastern District of North Carolina, February 27, 2008, LaFace v. Does 1-38, 2008 WL 544992
"[L]arge awards of statutory damages can raise due process concerns. Extending the reasoning of Gore and its progeny, a number of courts have recognized that an award of statutory damages may violate due process if the amount of the award is "out of all reasonable proportion" to the actual harm caused by a defendant's conduct.[T]hese cases are doubtlessly correct to note that a punitive and grossly excessive statutory damages award violates the Due Process Clause....."Hon. Marilyn Hall Patel, Dist. Judge, N.D. California, June 1, 2005, In re Napster, 2005 US DIST Lexis 11498, 2005 WL 1287611
"[P]laintiffs can cite to no case foreclosing the applicability of the due process clause to the aggregation of minimum statutory damages proscribed under the Copyright Act. On the other hand, Lindor cites to case law and to law review articles suggesting that, in a proper case, a court may extend its current due process jurisprudence prohibiting grossly excessive punitive jury awards to prohibit the award of statutory damages mandated under the Copyright Act if they are grossly in excess of the actual damages suffered....."-Hon. David G. Trager, Senior District Judge, Eastern Dist. New York, November 9, 2006, UMG v. Lindor, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83486, 2006 WL 3335048
"'[S]tatutory damages should bear some relation to actual damages suffered'....(citations omitted) and 'cannot be divorced entirely from economic reality'". -Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin, Dist. Judge, Southern Dist. New York, August 19, 2008, Yurman v. Castaneda
"The Court would be remiss if it did not take this opportunity to implore Congress to amend the Copyright Act to address liability and damages in peer to peer network cases.... The defendant is an individual, a consumer. She is not a business. She sought no profit from her acts..... [T]he damages awarded in this case are wholly disproportionate to the damages suffered by Plaintiffs." -Hon. Michael J. Davis, District Judge, Dist. Minnesota, September 24, 2008, Capitol v. Thomas
"If there is an asymmetry in copyright, it is one that actually favors defendants. The successful assertion of a copyright confirms the plaintiff's possession of an exclusive, and sometimes very valuable, right, and thus gives it an incentive to spend heavily on litigation. In contrast, a successful defense against a copyright claim, when it throws the copyrighted work into the public domain, benefits all users of the public domain, not just the defendant; he obtains no exclusive right and so his incentive to spend on defense is reduced and he may be forced into an unfavorable settlement." US Court of Appeals, 7th Cir., July 9, 2008, Eagle Services Corp. v. H20 Industrial Services, Inc., 532 F.3d 620
"Customers who download music and movies for free would not necessarily spend money to acquire the same product.....RIAA’s request problematically assumes that every illegal download resulted in a lost sale."
-Hon. James P. Jones, Dist. Judge, Western Dist. Virginia, November 7, 2008, USA v. Dove