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Verizon Adopts Graduated Response Against Illegal Downloaders
In December 2008, the Recording Industry Association of America (“RIAA”), a group which represents the recording industry distributors in the United States, made the surprising announcement that it would stop suing individuals accused of illegal file sharing. Instead, RIAA decided to work with major U.S. Internet service providers (ISPs) in adopting a “graduated response” to copyright infringement; comprised of warning notices to apparent infringers and followed by a discontinuance of Internet service should illegal downloading continue. In 2009, however, none of the major U.S. ISPs acknowledged support of this process, until recently when Verizon Communications Inc. (“Verizon”), a large American broadband and telecommunications company, confirmed it had “cut some people off” and that “[Verizon does] reserve the right to discontinue service” to subscribers who persist in illegally downloading copyrighted content.
A Verizon spokesperson indicated that initial warning notices began in April 2009 to certain subscribers, and proved to be effective in curbing illegal downloads of content, such as music, movies and games. The notices warn the subscriber that someone in their household may be illegally downloading copyrighted content, identifying the name of the file, the Internet protocol (IP) address used, and the time of the infringement, among other things. Verizon explains that it does not actually monitor its customers’ download activities, but receives requests for follow-up from the copyright owners, and does not give copyright owners subscriber contact information unless required by a court order.
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