The DC Circuit heard oral arguments from Verizon and the RIAA about the music industry association’s use of DMCA subpoena powers.
In the NY Times, Amy Harmon reports: In Court, Verizon Challenges Music Industry’s Subpoenas
As Congress intensifies its scrutiny of the special subpoenas that the recording industry is using to track down and sue people who share music over the Internet, a federal appeals court panel questioned today whether legislators had intended the subpoenas to be used in such a way.
For News.com, Declan McCullagh reports: Court scrutinizes P2P subpoena process
The three-judge panel gave little indication of whether it would continue to permit the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to exploit the law’s turbocharged subpoena procedures in its campaign against file-trading networks. But the judges did seem to lend more credence to Verizon Communications’ arguments than did U.S. District Judge John Bates, who ruled in January that the RIAA’s use of the law was valid.
Update: The AP reports: RIAA Tactics Under Scrutiny
Judge John Roberts of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia challenged Recording Industry Association of America lawyer Donald Verrilli Jr. on whether computer users downloading music were any different from people who maintain libraries in their homes.
