How RIAA Initiates Lawsuits

Filed in archive RIAA, MPAA on January 5, 2006

P2Pnet has an in-depth article on how the recording industry starts the legal process. Attorney Ray Beckerman has represented sued mother Patti Santangelo. He explains:

A lawsuit is brought against a group of John Does with the corporate headquarters of the ISP as the location of the lawsuit. But, "All the RIAA knows about the people it is suing is that they are the people who paid for an internet access acount for a particular dynamic IP address," says Beckerman, going on:

"The 'John Does' may live - and usually do live - hundreds or thousands of miles away, and are not even aware that they have been sued. The case may drag on for months or even years, with the RIAA being the only party that has lawyers in court to talk to the judges and other judicial personnel.

"The RIAA - without notice to the defendants - makes a motion for an "ex parte" order permitting immediate discovery. ('Ex parte' means that one side has communicated to the Court without the knowledge of the other parties to the suit. It is very rarely permitted, since the American system of justice is premised upon an open system in which, whenever one side wants to communicate with the Court, it has to give prior notice to the other side, so that they too will have an opportunity to be heard.).

"The 'ex parte' order would give the RIAA permission to take 'immediate discovery' - before the defendants have been served or given notice - which authorizes the issuance of subpoenas to the ISP's asking for the names and addresses and other information about their subscribers, which is information that would otherwise be confidential.

"In the United States the courts have been routinely granting these 'ex parte' orders it appears. (Not so in other countries. Both Canada and the Netherlands have found the RIAA's investigation too flimsy to warrant the invasion of subscriber privacy. Indeed the Netherlands court questioned the investigation's legality.).

"Once the ex parte order is granted, the RIAA issues a subpoena to the ISP, and gets the subscriber's name and address.

"The RIAA then discontinues its 'John Doe' 'ex parte' case, and sues the defendant in his own name in the district where he or she lives.

"Thus, at the core of the whole process are:

(1) the mass lawsuit against a large number of "John Does";
(2) the "ex parte" order of discovery; and
(3) the subpoenas demanding the names and addresses of the "John Does"."