Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Verizon Is Ordered to Give Name of User in Music Dispute

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 19:02:28 -0500

The Dow Jones/ WSJ Alerts are meant to give everyone a heads up on "Breaking News". 9 out
of 10 times it has already hit the wire and is covered by multiple sources. A quick search
will normally yield excellent results, such as Evan has demonstrated.
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Verizon Is Ordered to Give Name of User in Music Dispute

By ANNA WILDE MATHEWS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

In a victory for entertainment companies that are
seeking to defend their works against digital copying,
a federal judge ordered Verizon Communications Inc.
to turn over the name of an Internet subscriber who
allegedly made songs broadly available online.

The decision from the U.S. District Court in
Washington, D.C., concerned a subpoena that
record-label members of the Recording Industry
Association of America had sent to Verizon's Internet
unit, demanding that it turn over the name of a
subscriber who was allegedly distributing hundreds of
songs online. In a written opinion, Judge John D.
Bates said that he granted the "RIAA's motion to
enforce, and orders Verizon to comply with the
properly issued and supported subpoena from RIAA
seeking the identity of the alleged infringer."

Verizon had refused to comply with the subpoena,
arguing it wasn't obligated to produce the name of its
subscriber.

The issue has drawn close attention from
entertainment companies and technology concerns, as
well as Internet consumer-rights advocates. The
record labels drew backing from the Motion Picture
Association of America. For its part, Verizon drew
supportive briefs from an array of technology
interests.

In a press release late Tuesday, Sarah B. Deutsch,
vice president and associate general counsel for
Verizon, said the court's decision has "troubling
ramifications for consumers, service providers and the
growth of the Internet."

Write to Anna Wilde Mathews at
[email-masked]

Updated January 21, 2003 5:01 p.m. EST

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB1043175088163002224,00.html

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