Music companies try to force Verizon to name alleged copyright violator

<br>WASHINGTON (AP) _ The music industry wants a federal judge to force Internet service provider Verizon to identify a subscriber accused of illegally trading copyrighted songs. <br><br>Such an action

Friday, October 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The music industry wants a federal judge to force Internet service provider Verizon to identify a subscriber accused of illegally trading copyrighted songs.

Such an action would pave the way for ailing record companies to scare alleged music-swapping pirates into submission through reams of cease-and-desist letters, rather than court action.

Verizon general counsel Sarah Deutsch said a record company win in the case would harm the privacy rights of its subscribers and force Internet providers to give up the names of customers without judicial review.

``There are plenty of companies that have business problems that would like to write a letter-writing campaign to hundreds of thousands of people,'' Deutsch said. ``We'll be a turnstile.''

The case is the music industry's latest attempt to clamp down on illegal file sharing. Through programs like Kazaa, Morpheus and Gnutella, a person can find virtually any song or movie _ sometimes even before it's released in stores _ and download it for free. On a typical afternoon, about 3 million people were connected on the Kazaa network and sharing more than 500 million files.

Verizon has already agreed to hand over the subscriber's name if the music firms' trade group, the Recording Industry Association of America, files a separate ``John Doe'' suit against the subscriber. The RIAA refused. Top RIAA lawyer Cary Sherman said anti-piracy laws don't require a separate suit, which would require more time and expense.

``One of the things we're discovering is that people are not aware that they are engaging in conduct that is clearly illegal,'' Sherman said. ``If you got a letter from RIAA saying we know that you're doing this, I'd say there's a pretty good chance that you would stop.''

Some of the technology industry's fears are listed in a friend-of-the-court brief filed by an Internet provider trade group. They cite some overzealous automated programs that identify alleged pirates and shoot out automatic letters to their Internet providers without checking the facts.

In one case, Warner Bros. demanded a particular subscriber be disconnected for illegally sharing the movie ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.'' But the computer file identified by Warner Bros. in its letter indicated it wasn't the ``Harry Potter'' movie but a child's written book report.

Another letter, to Internet provider UUNet, wanted a subscriber cut off for sharing songs by former Beatle George Harrison. But some files were not songs at all. One was an interview with Harrison, and another was a 1947 photograph of a ``Mrs. Harrison.''

The Verizon subscriber at the center of this process was sharing thousands of songs on the Kazaa network, including some by Beck, Billy Joel and Janet Jackson. According to the Internet address cited in court records, the person is located in the Pittsburgh area. But the person may be oblivious to the controversy.

``Our general policy is to inform a user when we receive a subpoena,'' Deutsch said. ``Since in our view this isn't valid, we haven't gotten the consumer involved in the debate.''