Bad News for Content Owners Suing Bit Torrent Downloaders...

[RawAlex]

I think the judge failed on this ruling, and will likely be overturned, for a very simple reason:

Because the ISPs do not provide the user information readily, there is no way for the people filing the lawsuits to know what jurisdiction to operate in. They are left to file in a jurisdiction where the ISP operates, hoping to be able to pry the information out of their hands and then be able to move forward with actual defendants, rather than does 1 - 10000.

If this ruling stands, it would put a lot of force behind moves to limit section 230 and ISP privacy rules to allow for more direct access the defendants. Section 230 safe harbor rules were not intended to create a blind from while people could blatantly violate the law wholesale.

As a side note, take what Torrent Freak posts with a grain of salt. They are so incredibly one sided that they tend to misrepresent the rulings.

[pornlaw]

Originally Posted by RawAlex

I think the judge failed on this ruling, and will likely be overturned, for a very simple reason:

Because the ISPs do not provide the user information readily, there is no way for the people filing the lawsuits to know what jurisdiction to operate in. They are left to file in a jurisdiction where the ISP operates, hoping to be able to pry the information out of their hands and then be able to move forward with actual defendants, rather than does 1 - 10000.

If this ruling stands, it would put a lot of force behind moves to limit section 230 and ISP privacy rules to allow for more direct access the defendants. Section 230 safe harbor rules were not intended to create a blind from while people could blatantly violate the law wholesale.

As a side note, take what Torrent Freak posts with a grain of salt. They are so incredibly one sided that they tend to misrepresent the rulings.

This wont be appealed. Its not a final order and not worth appealing. It will stand. Also, an entire copy of the Order is included with the story so while I understand you might not agree with the bias of the writer, the Judge's decision is there for everyone to read.

And its not about filing where the ISP is. Its about the court having jurisdiction over the actual defendants, the downloaders. The ISPs are not defendants and therefore it doesnt matter where they are located in regards to the Judge's ruling. It matters where the defendants reside. These cases are probably going to have to be split up amongst many different US District Courts.

You can serve anyone with SDT anywhere.