Saturday, January 26, 2013

Oral argument of reconsideration motions scheduled for February 14th in Capitol v MP3Tunes

A new scheduling order has been entered in Capitol Records v. MP3Tunes, LLC, fixing February 14th as the date for oral argument of the parties' respective reconsideration motions.

January 25, 2013, Scheduling order

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Ray Beckerman, PC

Friday, January 18, 2013

Plaintiff's discovery motion denied in Third Degree v John Does 1-110: "infringer might be someone other than subscriber"


In Third Degree Films v. John Does 1-110, a Newark, New Jersey, case, the Court has denied the plaintiff's motion for discovery, on the ground that the plaintiff had not submitted a discovery plan which takes into account the Court's concerns about ensnaring, and burdening, innocent people:
Plaintiff fails to define John Does 1-110 in its complaint other than to state that “[e]ach Defendant is known to Plaintiff only by an IP address.” (Comp. ¶ 2.) In some instances, the IP subscriber and the John Doe defendant may not be the same individual. Indeed, the infringer might be someone other than the subscriber; for instance, someone in the subscriber’s household, a visitor to the subscriber’s home or even someone in the vicinity that gains access to the network. See VPR Internationale v. Does 1-1017, No. 11-2068, 2011 WL 8179128 (C.D.Ill. Apr. 29, 2011). As a result, Plaintiff’s sought after discovery has the potential to ensnare numerous innocent internet users into the litigation placing a burden on them that outweighs Plaintiff’s need for discovery as framed.

Granting Plaintiff’s motion has the potential to permit Plaintiff to obtain detailed personal information of innocent individuals. This could subject an innocent individual to an unjustified burden.


Order denying discovery

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Ray Beckerman, PC

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Huffington Post: Verizon Copyright Alert System Would Throttle Internet Speeds Of Repeat Online Pirates


From Gerry Smith at the Huffington Post:


Verizon Copyright Alert System Would Throttle Internet Speeds Of Repeat Online Pirates 

 

Guilty of online piracy? Verizon may slow your high-speed Internet service to a crawl.
The company is considering punishing subscribers who illegally share movies or songs on the Internet by temporarily throttling their Web service to dial-up speeds.

An internal Verizon document leaked online Friday outlines the proposed "copyright alert program." The plan is part of a controversial strategy being rolled out in coming weeks by the entertainment industry and major Internet providers to crack down on Internet piracy, which content creators say costs them billions in lost revenue each year.

Under Verizon's proposed program, subscribers accused of copyright infringement will receive a series of alerts, which critics of such programs call "six strikes." After the first two offenses, Verizon will send emails to subscribers with a link allowing them to see if illegal file-sharing is operating on their computers and how to remove it, according to the leaked document, which was confirmed as authentic by a Verizon spokesman.....

Complete article

 










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Ray Beckerman, PC

My take on the Aaron Swartz tragedy: MIT & MA US Attorney can go to Hell


As a lawyer who's spent a lot of time trying to defend people from the Corporatocracy's iron grip on our judicial system, I am saddened but not in the least surprised over the assassination suicide of Aaron Swartz.

Here was an idealistic young man who essentially committed what was at worst a prank, for the purpose of making a statement on the importance of sharing -- as opposed to hoarding -- important research. He returned all of the data, and the organization which was supposedly 'victimized' dropped its charges, and expressed regret that it had ever been drawn into a criminal prosecution in the first place.

There is a special place in Hell for the a**holes at MIT who insisted on pursuing this matter, and for the heartless clones in the US Attorney's Office who insisted on seeking 30 years imprisonment.

That's what happens in a facist society, where big business owns the government and the universities.

Those at MIT and in the US Attorney's office responsible for the persecution prosecution of Aaron Swartz are a disgrace to their families, and have caused a black mark on their respective institutions which will never, ever be erased.

I call upon anyone who is the recipient of a request from MIT for money or anything else to tell them to go to Hell, and to tell them why.



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Ray Beckerman, PC

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Defendant moves for summary judgment or dismissal in DC case, Patrick Collins v John Does 1-6

In a District of Columbia case, Patrick Collins, Inc. v. John Does 1-6, one of the defendants has moved for summary judgment or dismissal of the complaint.

Defendant's memorandum of law in support of motion for summary judgment or dismissal of complaint

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Ray Beckerman, PC

Thursday, January 03, 2013

John Doe 8 moves to sever, dismiss, quash in NJ case, Malibu Media v John Does 1-19


In a Trenton, New Jersey, case, Malibu Media v. John Does 1-19, John Doe #8 has moved to sever, dismiss, and quash.

Memorandum of law in support of John Doe #8 motion to sever, dismiss, and quash

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Ray Beckerman, PC