Federal Judge Blocks RIAA Subpoenas

A federal judge in Massachusetts has thrown a speed bump in front of the Recording Industry Assn. of America’s drive to sue individual file-sharers, blocking subpoenas issued to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston College.

The subpoenas sought to identify four people who allegedly violated the record companies’ copyrights through the campuses’ computer networks. But U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro quashed the subpoenas Thursday because they were issued in Washington.

The RIAA could face the same problem with many of the more than 1,000 subpoenas it obtained in Washington if other judges follow Tauro’s lead. Nevertheless, an RIAA spokesman said the issue was minor and would not derail plans to file lawsuits soon.

Jon Healey