News Update
Internet law pioneer takes on file-sharing cases
By DOUG SHERWIN, The Daily Transcript
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| Monday, August 28, 2006 |
Source Code: 20060828tbb |
An Encinitas lawyer is helping to change the way the entertainment industry goes after illegal downloaders.
Seyamack Kouretchian, a senior partner with the Coast Law Group LLP, recently prevailed in a potentially precedent-setting file-sharing case with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and is currently litigating a similar case against the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
The underlying issue in both cases is the entertainment industry's assumption that the owner of an Internet protocol (IP) address where an alleged copyright infringement has taken place is automatically guilty.
"There couldn't be a bigger assumption in the real world," Kouretchian said. "An IP address is simply the onramp to the Internet."
An IP address is a string of numbers that serve as a virtual mailbox on the Internet, according to the veteran technology partner.
Kouretchian insists that it is fairly easy for a hacker to access someone else's Internet connection, especially if it's a wireless one, and start using it to illegally download files. Internet users in a densely populated area are susceptible to anyone with a laptop who is within 150 feet of their residence.
The authorities, Kouretchian claims, simply go after the person who owns the IP address.
But wireless users aren't the only ones at risk.
Tammie Marson, a competitive cheerleading coach from Palm Desert, was accused of illegal file sharing by the RIAA.
She had Internet access from her home computer, but "literally hundreds of people were in and out of her house," Kouretchian said, meaning any one of her visitors could've used her computer to access illegal files.
As the owner of the computer -- and thus the IP address -- Marson was targeted by the authorities.
The RIAA eventually dropped the case for lack of sufficient evidence that Marson was the one infringing.
"They've spoken out on this and are trying to pooh-pooh the relevance of case," said Kouretchian, her attorney. "But the genie's out of the bottle."
The effect of the Marson case could be far reaching.
"It's a blow to their strategy," Kouretchian said. "They need to rethink what they do, (which is) filing willy-nilly against someone's address. The IP address is getting to the neighborhood but it's not identifying which neighbor is guilty."
He estimates there are currently 18,000 to 20,000 similar infringement cases filed by the entertainment industry.
"Hopefully the public is considerably more educated about these cases and what the real effect of these threats are," he said. "It's just an empty threat at the end of the day.
"They're (the RIAA and MPAA) not in the trial business. They're just in the bullying and settlement business."
In a case that appears headed to trial, San Diego software company owner Shawn Hogan has been sued by the MPAA for presumably illegally downloading "Meet the Fockers." Hogan, too, refuses to settle at the demand for $2,500 for a single download.
Kouretchian said the system the MPAA used to identify Hogan is wrong and totally unreliable. Hogan turned down a settlement offer and is prepared to go to court.
Kouretchian, who graduated from law school in 1992, has been a pioneer in the area of Internet law.
He taught the very first cyberspace law class at Pepperdine University in the late 1990s and later helped prepare the first international cybercasting agreement with a company he co-founded.
"By and large the area of (Internet) law is created ultimately by the attorneys and the judges," Kouretchian said, "because the technology is changing so rapidly and applications are changing so rapidly. By the time a scream is heard in the ear of a congressman, we've already dealt with it."
He is a little surprised at the attention he's received for these two file-sharing cases. A search of his name on Google turns up entries for stories in Japan, Croatia and Germany.
"That to me is remarkable," he said. "What's nice about that is internationally the precedent has been recognized, so folks at a minimum won't be bamboozled into 'Oh we've got to settle.' The jig is up."