[x-pubpol] Fed judge rules that a downloader's IP address is not proof of identity

[Joly MacFie]

http://boingboing.net/2014/01/22/fed-judge-rules-that-a-downloa.html

Ruling on a motion to dismiss filed on behalf of one of the defendants,
Judge Lasnik notes that part (b) is not a valid claim.

“[The movie studio] has actually alleged no more than that the named
defendants purchased Internet access and failed to ensure that others did
not use that access to download copyrighted material,” Lasnik states.

In other words, the complaint itself states that the account holder may not
be the person who downloaded the movie, which isn’t enough to pursue the
case.

“Simply identifying the account holder associated with an IP address tells
us very little about who actually downloaded ‘Elf-Man’ using that IP
address,” Judge Lasnik writes.

“While it is possible that the subscriber is the one who participated in
the BitTorrent swarm, it is also possible that a family member, guest, or
freeloader engaged in the infringing conduct,” he adds.

As a result, the defendant’s motion to dismiss was granted because the
movie studio failed to state a claim for direct copyright infringement,
contributory infringement and indirect infringement. The copyright holder
is allowed to file an updated complaint, but doubts that the movie studio
will be able to make a valid claim.

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