WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A U.S. federal court Tuesday examined details of a copyright law to determine if it permits unmasking of alleged peer-to-peer pirates by the music industry.
A three-judge panel pondered whether it would continue to permit the Recording Industry Association of America to exploit the law's subpoena procedures in its campaign against file-sharing networks, CNET News.com reported.
U.S. District Judge John Bates ruled in January the RIAA's use of the law was valid.
Judge John Roberts, however, questioned the RIAA's broad interpretation of the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which allows copyright holders to identify alleged infringers without filing a lawsuit.
Roberts said if he left the door to his library open and someone entered, "that doesn't make me liable for copyright infringement."
The RIAA's legal strategy involves suing individuals suspected of copyright infringement. If the Appeals Court overturns the lower court's decision, the RIAA could be forced to file thousands of "John Doe" lawsuits, a much more expensive proposition.
