Time Warner denies it's looking to score publicity points in BitTorrent litigation

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Time Warner denies it's looking to score publicity points in BitTorrent litigation

Mon Jun 07, 2010 @ 07:22PM PST

By Eriq Gardner

6a00d83451d69069e20134819d27f9970c EXCLUSIVE: Time Warner Cable has responded to charges that it is presenting itself as a "good ISP for copyright infringers" in an ongoing case that targets thousands of BitTorrent pirates.

TWC is involved as a third party in lawsuits targeting alleged pirates of "The Hurt Locker," "Far Cry," and other movies. In these cases, the plaintiffs have subpoenaed TWC's records to identify the anonymous individuals behind certain IP addresses. 

In May, TWC asked a court to limit subpoena requests to no more than 28 IP address lookup requests per month. The plaintiffs responded by disputing the burden of compliance as significant and saying that in resisting, TWC "exposes itself to a claim for contributory copyright infringement."

In its latest filing, TWC dismisses this claim as "nonsense" and says the plaintiff is "inventing a theory" as to its motives.

The two sides disagree about almost everything, including whether there was a previous agreement between the parties to limit discovery. TWC repeats its claim made in earlier papers that the high-volume of subpoena requests could compromise its ability to respond to law enforcement.

As for the claim made about being a "good ISP for copyright infringers," TWC says it has made no effort to publicize its resistance.

Here's TWC's  latest argument about why its discovery burden should be eased. 

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The Hollywood Reporter, Esq. blog focuses on how the entertainment and media industries are impacted and influenced by the law. It is edited by Matthew Belloni with contributions from veteran legal reporter Eriq Gardner and others. Before joining The Hollywood Reporter, Belloni was a lawyer at an entertainment litigation firm in Los Angeles. He writes a column for THR devoted to entertainment law. Gardner is a New York-based writer and legal journalist. Send tips or comments to [email protected]

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