EFF: 20040323 Atlantic Mtn for Leave

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UNITEDSTATESDISTRICTC

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URTFORTHEDISTRICT

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FCOLUMBIA

ATL

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NTICRECORDINGCORPORATION,aDelawarecorporation;VIRGINRECORDSCivilActionNo.:AMERICA,INC.,aCaliforniacorporation;SONYMUSICEN

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ERTAINMENTINC.,aDelawarecorporation;BMGMUSIC,aNewYorkgeneralpartnership;INTERSCOPERECORDS,aCaliforniageneralpartnership;UMGRECORDINGS,1NC.,aDelawarecorporation;ELEKTRAENTERTAINMENTGROUPINC.,aDelawarecorporation;MAVERICKRECORDINGCOMPANY,aCaliforniajointventure;CAPITOLRECORDS,INC.,aDelawarecorporation;ARISTARECORDS,INC.,aDelawarecorporation;andWARNERBROS.RECORDSINC.,aDelawarecorporation,Plaintiffs,

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DOES1-3,Defendants.

MOTIONFORLEAVETOTAKEIMMEDIATEDISCOVERYI.IN

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Plaintiffs,recordcompanieswhoownthecopyrightsinthemostpopularsoundrecordingsintheUnitedStates,seekleaveofCourttoservelimited,immediatediscoveryonathirdpartyInternetServiceProvider("ISP")todeterminethetrueidentitiesofDoeDefendants,whoarebeingsuedfordirectcopyrightinfringement.Withoutsuchdiscovery,Plaintiffscannot

identifytheDoeDefendants,andthuscannotpursuetheirlawsuittoprotecttheircopyrightedworksfromrepetitive,rampantinfringement.Asallegedinthecomplaint,theDoeDefendants,withoutauthorization,usedanonlinemediadistributionsystem(

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.,apeer-to-peeror"P2P"system)todownloadPlaintiffs'copyrightedworks,distributecopyrightedworkstothepublic,and

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ormakecopyrightedworksavailablefordistributiontoothers.SeeDeclarationofJonathanWhitehead("WhiteheadDecl."),¶16andEx.1.AlthoughPlaintiffsdonotknowthetruenamesoftheDefendants,2PlaintiffshaveidentifiedeachDefendantbyauniqueInternetProtocol("IP")addressassignedtothatDefendantonthedateandatthetimeoftheDefendant'sinfringingactivity.Id__.Additionally,Plaintiffshavegatheredevidenceoftheinfringingactivities.Id.___416-17.PlaintiffshavemadecopiesofseveralsoundrecordingseachDefendantillegallydistributedormadeavailablefordistribution,andhaveobtainedcopiesofamorecompletelistoffiles(attimesnumberinginthethousands)thateachDefendanthasmadeavailabletothepublicfordistribution.Id_.__

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ndEx.1.PlaintiffshaveidentifiedtheISPthatprovidedIntemetaccesstoeachDefendantbyusingapubliclyavailabledatabasetotracetheIPaddressforeachDefendant.Id.¶412,16.Here,theISPisGeorgeWashingtonUniversity("GWU").Id.WhengivenaDefendant'sIPaddressandthedateandtimeofinfringement,anISPquicklyandeasilycanidentifythenameandaddressoftheDoeDefendant(

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.e.

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theISP'ssubscriber)becausethatinformationis1BecausePlaintiffsdonotcurrentlyknowtheidentityofanyoftheDefendants,PlaintiffscannotascertainanyoftheDefendants'positiononthisMotion.2WhenusingaP2Psystem(

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.,KaZaA,iMesh,Grokster,orGnutella),Defendantstypicallyusemonikers,orusernames,andnottheirtruenames.WhiteheadDecl.,¶7.PlaintiffshavenoabilitytodetermineaDefendant'struenameotherthanbyseekingtheinformationfromtheISP.Id.¶¶11,16-17.

containedintheISP'ssubscriberactivitylogfiles.Id.¶14.3Plaintiffs'experienceisthatISPstypicallykeeplogfilesofsubscriberactivitiesforonlylimitedperiodsoftime-sometimesforaslittleasweeksorevendays-beforeerasingthedata.Id.¶22.PlaintiffsnowseekleaveofCourttoservelimited,immediatediscoveryonGWUtoidentifyeachDefendant.PlaintiffsintendtoserveaRule45subpoenaonGWUseekingeachDefendant'struename,address,telephonenumber,e-mailaddress,andMediaAccessControl("MAC")addresses.OncePlaintiffslearnaDefendant'sidentifyinginformation,PlaintiffswillcontacttheDefendantandattempttoresolvethedispute.Ifthedisputeisnotresolvedanditisdeterminedthatitwouldbemoreappropriatetolitigatethecopyrightinfringementclaimsinanotherjurisdiction,PlaintiffswilldismisstheparticularDefendantfromthepresentlawsuitandre-fileinanotherjurisdiction.WithouttheabilitytoobtaintheDefendant'sidentifyinginformation,however,Plaintiffsmayneverbeabletopursuetheirlawsuittoprotecttheircopyrightedworksfromrepeatedinfringement.Id.¶22.Thus,theneedforthelimited

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immediatediscoverysoughtinthisMotioniscritical.II.BACKGROUNDTheInternetandP2Pnetworkshavespawnedanillegaltradeincopyrightedworks.BydownloadingP2Psoftware,andloggingontoaP2Pnetwork,anindividualcanupload(distribute)ordownload(copy),withoutauthorization,countlesscopyrightedmusicandvideofilestoorfromanyotherInternetuserworldwide.Id.¶7.SeeUniversalCityStudios,3ISPsownorareassignedcertainblocksorrangesofIPaddresses.AsubscribergainsaccesstotheInternetthroughanISPaftersettingupanaccountwiththeISP.AnISPthenassignsaparticularIPaddressinitsblockorrangetothesubscriberwhenthatsubscribergoes"online."Afterreviewingthesubscriberactivitylogs(whichcontaintheassignedIPaddresses),anISPcanidentifyitssubscribersbyname.WhiteheadDecl.,¶14.3

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