The District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted a motion by the major record companies to subpoena the names and information of University of Pennsylvania Internet users accused of violating record company copyrights by uploading or downloading music over the Internet. The motion was granted with a limitation that requires the record company to allow University of Pennsylvania to issue a “Court Directed Notice Regarding Issuance of Subpoena” to those University of Pennsylvania Internet users before information is disclosed to the record companies.
The two page directed notice informs the defendant that he is being sued as a “John Doe” by the plaintiffs in the District Court and that the ISP, in this case, University of Pennsylvania, has been asked for the defendant's information to identification for purposes of the suit. The defendant is told that he is able to contest the charges and prevent the release of the information from the university within 21 days from the issuance of the subpoena. The defendant can challenge the court's jurisdiction or can attempt to settle with the record companies before they are personally named in the suit. The defendants are then given information about lawyers and resources in the Pennsylvania area to contact to determine their legal options.
