Comment RTFR (Score 1) 338
IANAL
If you read the ruling, the judge said that:
a) Of the people who filed to squash the subpoena, 3 of the 4 people actually revealed the pertinent information (name, address etc) as part of their filings
b) That the subpoena was for the ISP to reveal name and address
c) That fulfilling the subpoena was not burdensome
d) That the time and place to defend against the accusation would be after the plaintiff actually filed to litigate against individuals
Sounds to me like at this point in the process, it's a solid ruling on the merits. Of course, once the plaintiff refiles against an individual, they can respond to the accusation with (in roughly this order):
* this court doesn't have jurisdiction
* you don't have standing to sue me in the US
* you can't prove (on balance of probabilities) it was my IP address at the time without getting the ISP to reveal my traffic through them
* you can't prove (on balance of probabilities) that my equipment wasn't a) hacked or b) setup in accordance with the ISPs instructions so any possible downloading was by intrusion on their equipment (ie, it's their fault)
* If it was on my IP, you can't prove which individual was connected to that IP at the time (wifi etc)
* if I did download it, you can't prove I infringed your copyright (is downloading an infringement)
* If I infringed your copyright, you can't prove there was any financial loss
* If there was financial loss, it was minimal
* If it was minimal, then the case should never have been brought at this level and it should be refiled in small claims (or equivalent)