COURTS TAKING DIFFERING TACKS IN COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT CASES
In setback for content owners, court in San Francisco ruled late Mon. that Texan who posted DeCSS on Internet couldn’t be tried in Cal. In L.A. same day, judge seemed inclined to give U.S. court in Cal. jurisdiction in content owners’ suit against Australia-based owner of file-sharing service KaZaA. Meanwhile, in Denmark Tues., individuals who allegedly downloaded copyrighted entertainment from Internet received hefty bills for content after judge there ordered ISPs to reveal subscribers’ identities and locations.
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In case that DVD Copy Control Assn.(DVD CCA) has been pressing since Dec. 1999, Cal. Supreme Court in San Francisco ruled Mon. that Tex. resident Matthew Pavlovich, who published DVD-hack DeCSS (DVD’s Content Scrambling System) on Internet, couldn’t be made to stand trial in Cal. Court said Pavlovich, who was defended pro bono by Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), wouldn’t have to defend against DVD CCA’s trade secret lawsuit simply because he knew that his posting could cause “general effects” on entertainment and technology industries in Cal.
Court laid out clear jurisdiction rules for claims arising from publishing information on Internet, EFF said. Court said that without reasonable rules jurisdiction in Internet cases, “plaintiffs connected to the auto industry could sue any defendant in Michigan, plaintiffs connected to the financial industry could sue any defendant in New York and plaintiffs connected to the potato industry could sue any defendant in Idaho.”
Pavlovich decision is one piece of larger legal struggle over Internet publication of DeCSS by thousands of individuals in fall 1999. DVD CCA, licensing body for DVD’s CSS, sued hundreds of named and unnamed individuals and entities in case Dec. 27, 1999. “Mr. Pavlovich had no connections with California whatsoever,” EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn said. “This decision clearly puts to rest the notion that you can drag someone into California court simply because he should have known that a Web publication could harm Hollywood.” Comment wasn’t available from DVD CCA.
Decision affects other defendants named or served in legal struggle, all but one of whom are located outside Cal., EFF said. Appeal of preliminary injunction entered against sole Cal. resident in case, Andrew Bunner, is awaiting argument date before Cal. Supreme Court. Norwegian teenager Jon Johansen, who originally published DeCSS on Internet in Oct. 1999, still faces criminal prosecution in Norway.
In hearing to determine whether entities overseas can be hauled into U.S. courts, federal judge in L.A. Mon. said he was inclined to let U.S. studios and record labels sue Sharman Networks, Australia-based parent company of KaZaA file-sharing service that’s incorporated in Pacific-island nation Vanuatu.
U.S. Dist. Judge Stephen Wilson said “it is a difficult question, but it has to be resolved,” AP reported. “The court will do its best to resolve it promptly.” Judge didn’t say when he planed to issue ruling, but said “I find the argument about providing the service to so many California residents compelling” and he “would be inclined to find there’s jurisdiction against Sharman.” Content owners contend KaZaA has 21 million users in U.S. who use service to download copyrighted movies and music. KaZaA contends it can’t control how members use peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing service; its revenue comes from online advertising.
Meanwhile, Danish Anti Piracy Group (APG) announced Tues. it had sent bills to individuals it said had downloaded copyrighted materials. APG, working with Danish chapter of International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, said it had identified 150 alleged pirates and was demanding combined compensation of $133,600 -- with as much as $13,360 charged to largest downloaders, Reuters said.
APG developed program that monitored file-sharing on KaZaA and EDonkey P2P networks, enabling group to determine users’ Internet addresses and whether they were located in Denmark. Snooping program also identified files shared and time of downloading. After evidence was presented to court, judge told users’ ISPs to turn over users’ identities and addresses for invoicing.
Action was criticized by some parties, who argued P2P users’ PCs would be needed to determine whether material actually was pirated. Some challenged size of bills -- which was determined by court. Compensation to copyright owners was based on quantity of files shared. Fee for single music file was $2.67, movie download was $26.70 and videogame about $50. Danish Consumer Council said it had received about 50 complaints from affected individuals, Reuters said. Council spokesman said it had determined APG had observed country’s data protection laws. In current U.S. case, RIAA has asked courts to make ISP Verizon turn over identity of subscriber suspected of heavy content downloading.