Re: [ga] ICANN whois issue here also again? French Court: Privacy Trumps Piracy

["Prophet Partners Inc." <Domains@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Jeff,

"The right-holders found the IP address of my client and reported it to the
police," said Olivier Hugot, the defending lawyer, who declined to name his
client.

Given that the copyright holder turned the IP address information over to
the police, it is my personal opinion that he/she did not invade someone's
personal privacy. This would be analogous to a store owner reporting to the
police, the license plate number of the car belonging to the person who
robbed him. Neither an IP address nor a license plate number contain
personally identifiable information available to anyone. However, the
personally identifiable information associated with each is available to law
enforcement.

We are not lawyers and these are only our personal opinions. If you require
legal advice, you should seek qualified legal counsel.

Best wishes to everyone for the new year.

Sincerely,
Ted
Prophet Partners Inc.
http://www.ProphetPartners.com
http://www.Premium-Domain-Names.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeff Williams" <jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "General Assembly of the DNSO" <ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "icann board address" <icann-board@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 2:26 AM
Subject: [ga] ICANN whois issue here also again? French Court: Privacy
Trumps Piracy


> All,
>
>   Well it seems of all countries, France has taken issue with some of
> ICANN's reasons for it's Whois policy.  It's interesting the US, was
> not taking the lead here.
>
>   I am also curious as to how France rectifies this against it's lack
> of privacy in public restroom facilities?  Jefsey?
>
> See: http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/21/business/privacy.php
>
> "A French court has ruled that copyright holders do not have free reign
> to monitor the Internet for people violating their copyrights.  The case
>
> involved a man whose IP address was traced while he was using
> peer-to-peer software.  In France, entities wishing to uncover the
> identities of individuals they believe are pirating content must obtain
> authorization from the National Commission for Information Technology
> and Liberty.  In fact, violating French citizens' privacy could result
> in fines of as much as 300,000 Euros (US$396,500)."
>
> Regards,
>
> --
> Jeffrey A. Williams
> Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 134k members/stakeholders strong!)
> "Obedience of the law is the greatest freedom" -
>    Abraham Lincoln
>
> "Credit should go with the performance of duty and not with what is
> very often the accident of glory" - Theodore Roosevelt
>
> "If the probability be called P; the injury, L; and the burden, B;
> liability depends upon whether B is less than L multiplied by
> P: i.e., whether B is less than PL."
> United States v. Carroll Towing  (159 F.2d 169 [2d Cir. 1947]
> ===============================================================
> Updated 1/26/04
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