Stanford Center for Internet and Society
Nymox (Doe Case)
This case involves attempts by Nymox, a Canadian pharmaceutical corporation, to learn the identities of several pseudonymous individuals. The action originated in a Quebec court, where limited pre-filing discovery may be permitted by the Court. The Quebec court issued an Order requiring Yahoo!, Inc. to release whatever information it had about each of the eleven named pseudonyms. Yahoo! Canada responded that the requested information resides on U.S. servers and thus a U.S. subpoena/court order would be necessary before Yahoo! Inc. would release the information. Nymox filed a petition for subpoena before the Northern District of California in late October, 2002, which was granted by the court on October 29, 2002.
Oral Argument Set
Oral argument in the Nymox case will be on January 9, 2003 at 8:30 AM before the Honorable William H. Alsup in San Francisco. Stanford Cyberlaw Clinic student Jennifer Elliot will be making the argument on behalf of our client.
Motion to Quash Subpoena
The Cyberlaw Clinic filed a Motion to Quash Subpoena on November 12, 2002. In it, we make three arguments. 1) The First Amendment grants a right/privilege to anonymous speech, 2) that 28 U.S.C. section 1782, upon which Nymox relies as to why a U.S. federal court should uphold a Canadian court order requiring disclosure of these 11 identities, does not require the court-ordered release of privileged information, and in fact specifically excludes such release; and 3) that Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure specifically states that a subpoena may be quashed when it seeks information protected by privilege.
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