John Doe File-Swapper Suits

Supreme Court Declines Appeal on RIAA "John Doe" File-Swapper Suits

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 12, 2004 - 2:23am.

Washington -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to consider an appeal of a ruling that said the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and others must file "John Doe" lawsuits in order to compel Internet service providers to reveal the names of suspected file-swappers. Initially, the RIAA invoked a provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to subpoena ISPs directly for the names of large batches of alleged copyright infringers, but Verizon argued and a U.S. appeals court agreed that the RIAA must first file formal "John Doe" suits against each suspected file-swapping subscriber. Since the appeals court ruling in December 2003, the RIAA has sued over 3,500 individuals using the "John Doe" process.