This is Attorney Brian Hall with Traverse Legal, PLC; I am a copyright attorney that regularly handles copyright infringement actions and defense of the same throughout the United States.
Today, I will be dealing with what has become a regular situation for many of my clients both prospective and existing. And what we’re talking about today is when a subpoena has been issued to reveal the identity of an individual associated with an IP address.
Welcome to Copyright Law Radio. We bring you the best in copyright news, legal advice and information. From copyright infringement claims and defenses to threat letter issues, DMCA takedown notice letters, copyright licensing, and legal analysis of the latest copyright law cases, we have a copyright attorney who can answer your copyright questions.
Today, I will be dealing with what has become a regular situation for many of my clients both prospective and existing. And what we’re talking about today is when a subpoena has been issued to reveal the identity of an individual associated with an IP address.
Now the situation usually unfolds like this. A copyright owner determines that their work has been infringed online. From there, the copyright owner files a lawsuit for copyright infringement and names John or Jane Does. By doing so, they don’t know who the defendant should be at this point in time, but they do want to get expedited discovery from the court so as to allow them to subpoena internet service providers that do have information that will reveal the identity of those defendants. And a lot of it is tied to what’s known as an IP address. Which is a unique identifier associated with the particular internet service that is used by the person that downloaded or otherwise infringed or allegedly infringed the work at issue. And what happens is once the court allows the plaintiff expedited discovery; they send subpoenas, which are a type of court order to those internet service providers. Typically, those internet service providers are such entities as Comcast or Cablevision or other providers of internet services to an entity. The recipient of the subpoena then notifies the IP address owner that, absent a motion to quash the subpoena, they will reveal the identity of that particular individual. It is oftentimes at this stage that I get contacted by prospective clients wondering what they should do. And more often than not, when we’re dealing with copyright infringement actions, they do not want their identity to be revealed because it’s in connection with copyright infringement such as the illegal downloading movies or videos or oftentimes pornography. However, absent filing a motion to quash with substantive legal grounds to do so, or reaching a resolution with the plaintiff that sends the subpoena who is also attempting to name that particular IP address owner as a defendant in the copyright infringement lawsuit, there will likely be the identification being made.
So, what should you do if, in fact, you are the recipient of a notice that your IP address has been subpoenaed and your identity will be revealed?
First, you should determine who the plaintiff is. There is a lot of commentary on the websites today about who these plaintiffs are and whether they constitute a copyright troll or a legitimate owner that is seeking to enforce their copyright rights becomes less relevant at this standpoint. Instead, it’s more critical to identify who the plaintiff is so you have a better understanding of what kind of liability you may be facing. Whether it’s an entity like AF Holdings, LLC or others out there that regularly and actively pursue copyright infringement against those that allegedly illegally download movies or other media, or some other entity, it is best if you speak with an internet attorney at this point in time, preferably one who has copyright infringement experience.
From there, the attorney should be in a position to advise you as to what steps you can take. If, in fact, a motion to quash to subpoena is possible, that will require filing paperwork with the court of law without revealing your identity. Alternatively, a resolution may be possible. And oftentimes in these situations, a settlement is possible for a certain amount of money. And these copyright owners typically have written releases that go along with the settlement. However, the attorney will be in a position to advise you as to whether that release is limited to a particular work or others, what a reasonable amount of money would be to resolve it and how to go about that process without revealing your identity. It is possible to resolve without having to reveal your identity. It’s oftentimes done by simply noting what the IP address is and having the attorney sign on behalf of that IP address owner.
Therefore, ultimately, if you are on the receiving end of a notice that a subpoena has been issued for your IP address, you should contact an attorney who can advise you as to the next steps.
So once again, this has been Brian Hall, a copyright attorney with Traverse Legal addressing what is becoming a common situation wherein subpoenas are issued to reveal the identity associated with an IP address stemming from an alleged unlawful downloading of music, videos, pornography or other online media.
You’ve been listening to Copyright Law Radio, where copyright infringement, licensing, litigation, and news are always the topic of the day. Whether you are a copyright attorney or a client, we are the number one resource for all your copyright questions.
Comments