The Copyright Hammer

A new decision in a case pitting a service provider against record companies may well hand copyright holders the means to crush Internet service providers who allow file swapping on the their connections.

Verizon was holding out against the Recording Industry Association of American, which wanted to get the name of a Verizon subscriber who had downloaded a ton of music. Verizon said the Digital Millennium Copyright Act didn't give the RIAA the right to just demand such info without going to court first.

The judge disagreed, saying Congress clearly wanted the DMCA to give copyright holders a streamlined way to attack supposed infringers.