In 2005, the RIAA’s efforts to obtain file-sharers’ personal details using cheap DMCA subpoenas ended when a court declared that they only apply to ISPs that directly store, cache, or provide links to infringing material. Almost two decades later, movie studios known for their cash settlement model are obtaining subpoenas regardless. Their latest target is Cox Communications, because that makes complete sense.

In the United States, consumer ISPs have been handing over the identities of suspected BitTorrent pirates for years, mostly because a court has compelled them to as part of a copyright infringement lawsuit. It’s not particularly difficult for rightsholders to take this route, but it can be expensive.

In the early 2000s, the RIAA hoped to cut costs by obtaining the details of Verizon customers via the DMCA subpoena process. That ultimately failed in 2005 when a court found that subpoenas under section 512(h) only apply to ISPs that directly store, cache, or provide links to infringing material.

That decision settled the waters for years but didn’t prevent BMG and anti-piracy partner Rightscorp from trying to identify 30,000 subscribers of ISP CBeyond in 2014. A year later, a court sided with the ISP and rejected calls for a more progressive reading of the law.

The rest of this article can be read on TorrentFreak.com

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