Litigation
Cal. Litig. 2015, Volume 28, Number 2
Content
- Belated Thanks for Something I Borrowed
- Can Private Attorney General Actions Be Forced Into Arbitration?
- Curious Clerks and the Case of the Yellow Hat
- Demystifying Patent Litigation
- Dutch Treat
- Editor's Foreword This is Not a Eulogy!
- From the Section Chair
- Litigation Section Executive Committee Past Chairs
- Masthead
- McDermott On Demand: If Only.... Supreme Court of the United States, October Term, 2015
- New Lawyers Column: Why I Went to Law School and Chose Not to Work in a Firm
- Past Editors-in-Chief
- Table of Contents
- The Mysterious World of Civil Litigation Bonds
- Timing Posttrial Motions: Statutory Amendments Freshen the Bait in Traps for the Unwary
- Where First Amendment Internet Anonymity Rights Collide with Copyright
Where First Amendment Internet Anonymity Rights Collide with Copyright
By Peter Afrasiabi
Peter Afrasiabi
Does the First Amendment allow Internet users to engage in acts of anonymous copyright infringement free from discovery of their identity? How do litigators on either side of this question engage in such discovery?
Perhaps not surprisingly, cases from around the country diverge, and cases within the Ninth Circuit conflict. The Ninth Circuit has not yet addressed copyright infringement anonymity rights, although it has established a framework that balances First Amendment anonymity rights with discovery rights. Navigating the case law is critical for practitioners seeking discovery from alleged anonymous infringers and for those defending against such efforts. It is likewise critical for practitioners seeking discovery in non-copyright cases where the actor is cloaked in anonymity because of the inherent privacy the Internet affords.