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Brief in Support of Motion to Quash RIAA Subpoena IP Justice and The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) have filed an Amici Curiae brief (PDF, also see motion to file and proposed order) in the case Recording Industry Association of America v. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The brief is in support of the protection of the privacy of John Doe. The RIAA has subpoenaed the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) in order to learn highly personal information about a student. Their subpoena is based on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). IP Justice and EPIC strongly question the validity of the RIAA subpoena. The RIAA's subpoena violates the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution, which provides for due process of the law. This unconstitutional subpoena seeks to divulge personal information about an Internet user without allowing for review by a judge or hearing before an impartial decision-maker. There is no way to validate the subpoena or determine its legitimacy before personal information is irrevocably divulged. This opens the subpoena process to error and abuse. Without a clear review process subpoenas could be issues to intimidate innocent citizens or even to obtain private information for improper reasons. Additionally, the RIAA has not even made an allegation of copyright infringement, as required by Section 512(h) of the DMCA. They have observed that John Doe has music files on his computer, but not sought to determine if they are of legal origin or accused him of unlawful copying. If no accusation of wrongdoing is required to issue a subpoena then subpoenas may be abused as means of intimidation. It is important to protect the privacy of the student from the prying eyes of the RIAA. IP Justice and EPIC have attached a proposed order to quash the RIAA subpoena based on these objections. Documents:
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