"It had always been clear that litigation wasn't going to provide the solution to the challenges the recording industry faces," said Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who has criticized the recording industry for trying to solve the online piracy problem with lawsuits. "I think this will accelerate a process that's already going on. There's got to be more conversation between the peer-to-peer folks, the technology folks and the industry."
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kans.) said in prepared statement that he will introduce a bill that mirror's today's decision.
RIAA President Cary Sherman said the ruling could lead to more lawsuits against people suspected of illegally trading music online.
"We can and will continue to file copyright infringement lawsuits against file sharers who engage in illegal activity," Sherman said in a prepared statement. The ruling "unfortunately means we can no longer notify illegal file sharers before we file lawsuits against them to offer the opportunity to settle outside of litigation."
Using the DMCA subpoenas, the RIAA was able to obtain the names of suspected file sharers from ISPs without filing lawsuit and without getting a judge's approval. Without that subpoena power, the RIAA would have to file suit against unnamed file-swappers in order to obtain their identities.
"Verizon is solely responsible for a legal process that will now be less sensitive to the interests of its subscribers who engage in illegal activity," Sherman said.
Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), who supports the RIAA's anti-piracy fight, said that, "Instead of receiving a cease and desist letter, a P2P user may now be named in a public copyright infringement complaint and face the embarrassment and expense of fighting a lawsuit."
Verizon Associate General Counsel Sarah Deutsch dismissed that claim.
"It's not on the [RIAA's] agenda to care about the subscriber or any of the subscribers' rights, but automate the process even further," Deutsch said.
Just this past week, the RIAA stepped up its subpoena efforts by requesting the names of multiple subscribers in a single subpoena. Had it worked, that tactic would have made it even harder for Verizon to notify its customers that they had been targeted by the RIAA, Deutsch said.
"This decision will ensure that the recording industry will have to follow the legal process that everybody else in America uses. Consumers will gain important due process rights," Deutsch said.
Former RIAA Chairman Hilary Rosen warned that today's decision will trigger "more surprises."
"I think that the industry that is so far down this path that they can't let this decision stop their efforts against individuals," she said.
Wayne Rosso, chief executive of Madrid-based OptiSoft, which operates the Blubster and Piolet file-sharing networks, said, "This is a great day for technology and American jurisprudence. Thank God the courts are there to stop these Stalinistic tactics that the RIAA uses to abuse the rights of Americans."
The RIAA would not comment on whether it intends to appeal the ruling.
The ruling comes on the same day that the Dutch Supreme Court dismissed a claim by Buma/Stemra, a European music representation group, that the online file-sharing service Kazaa should be liable for people who use its software to trade copyrighted files. The decision affirmed a lower court's ruling. Buma/Stemra asked the Dutch courts to impose a fine of $124,000 per day on Kazaa.
