Openmind Solutions, Inc. v. Does 1-2925

Filing 11

MOTION for Leave to File The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Motion for Leave to Appear as Amicus Curiae by Electronic Frontier Foundation. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Amicus Brief, # 2 Exhibit ISP Notice, # 3 Exhibit Schoen Declaration)(Mudd, Charles)

EXHIBIT 2

READ AT ONCE
COURT-DIRECTED NOTICE
REGARDING ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENA
SEEKING DISCLOSURE OF YOUR IDENTITY
A legal document called a subpoena has been sent to your Internet Service
Provider, ______________________, requiring the disclosure of your name, address and
other information to a company that has sued you.1
The company that sued you, called the “Plaintiff,” claims that various people have
infringed its copyrights by illegally downloading and/or distributing its copyrighted
works. However, the Plaintiff does not know the actual names or addresses of these
people – only the Internet Protocol address (“IP address”) of the computer associated
with the alleged activity. That is why the Plaintiff’s legal filing simply identifies the
Defendants as “Does.”
In order to determine the identities of the people associated with the IP addresses
it has collected, Plaintiff now has issued subpoenas to various Internet Service Providers
(“ISPs”) and asked them to provide identifying information associated with those IP
addresses. If you are receiving this notice, that means the Plaintiff has asked your ISP to
disclose your identifying information to Plaintiff, including your name, current (and
permanent) addresses, and your email address and Media Access Control number.
Enclosed is a copy of the subpoena seeking your information and the exhibit page
containing the IP address that has been associated with your computer and showing the
date and time you are alleged to have used the Internet to download or upload the movie.
This is a civil lawsuit, not a criminal case. You have not been charged with any
crime. The Plaintiff wants the court to order you to pay it thousands of dollars for
uploading or downloading its movie without permission. If the Plaintiff receives your
information from your ISP, you may be added as a named defendant to the lawsuit.
Plaintiff has filed this case as a “class action,” which means that it claims, among
other things, that common questions of law and fact apply to the Defendants in this case.
That Court has not yet determined whether it is fair and appropriate to treat the
Defendants as a class in this case. More information about class actions can be found
here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_action
INFORMATION ABOUT YOU HAS NOT YET BEEN DISCLOSED,
BUT IT WILL BE DISCLOSED IN 30 DAYS IF YOU DO NOT
TAKE ACTION

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The lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of
Illinois. The case is entitled Openmind Solutions v. Does 1-2925, Case No. 3:11-cv00092.
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Your identifying information has not yet been disclosed to the Plaintiff.
This notice is intended to inform you of some of your rights and options. It does
not provide legal advice. We cannot advise you about what grounds exist, if any, to
challenge this subpoena. If you would like legal advice you should consult an attorney
who can discuss your particular situation. On the following pages of this notice you will
find a list of resources that may help you locate an attorney and decide how to respond to
the subpoena or lawsuit
If you want to prevent being identified, you have 30 days from the date of this
notice to ask the court to block the subpoena or to dismiss the case against you. You can
do this by filing a legal document called a “motion,” but you should take care not to
reveal your identity in the motion. You must also notify your ISP that you have asked the
court to block your identity from being released. If you need more than 30 days to file
such a motion or find a lawyer to assist you, you can file a motion asking for an extension
of time; you should also notify your ISP if you file a motion asking for more time.
Your ISP cannot file these documents for you. You must file them directly with
the Court in the Southern District of Illinois.
If you file a motion to quash the subpoena or a motion to dismiss, your identity
will not be disclosed until the court makes a decision on your motion. If you do nothing,
then after 30 days your ISP will send the Plaintiff your name, address, email address,
telephone number, and your modem’s Media Access Control number.
You may wish to obtain an attorney to advise you on these issues or to help you
take action. Three resources to help you find a lawyer are:
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The American Bar Association’s attorney locator can be found on the
Internet at http://www.abanet.org/lawyerlocator/searchlawyer.html

•

The State Bar of Illinois has a Lawyer Referral Service that can be reached
at http://www.illinoislawyerfinder.com/

•

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has created a website that lists
attorneys who have volunteered to consult with people in your situation
and contains further information about the lawsuit that has been filed
against you as well as similar lawsuits:
o https://www.eff.org/issues/file-sharing/subpoena-defense

To assist you or your lawyer in evaluating your rights and options, enclosed is a
copy of the subpoena seeking your information, the exhibit page containing the IP
address that has been associated with your computer, and Plaintiff’s Complaint.

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The Plaintiff has created a website where it has posted copies of the Complaint
filed in the case; the Motion for Early Discovery, which it filed to explain why it needs
this information; Motions to Quash and/or to Dismiss that have been filed by other
Defendants, as well as Plaintiff’s responses to those motions; and answers to Frequently
Asked Questions:
www.___________.com
If you file a motion and the Plaintiff opposes it, you will be able to find a copy of the
Plaintiff’s response there.
OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE LAWSUIT AGAINST YOU
The subpoena was issued as a result of a court order issued by the United States
District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, in a case entitled Openmind Solutions
v. Does 1-2925, Case No. 3:11-cv-00092.
To maintain a lawsuit against you in the District Court for the Southern District of
Illinois, the court must have personal jurisdiction over you. If you do not live in the
Southern District of Illinois or otherwise have contacts with the District, you may be able
to challenge the Court’s personal jurisdiction over you and have the case dismissed
against you in the Southern District of Illinois. However, please note that even if your
challenge is successful, the Plaintiff can still file against you in another location, such as
in a state in which a court has personal jurisdiction over you.
You may also be able to challenge the subpoena on a number of other grounds,
including that it was improper to add you into the lawsuit with others (called “joinder”),
or that the First Amendment requirements for revealing your name and address have not
been met. A “friend of the court” brief on those issues was filed in another court by the
Electronic Frontier Foundation and is available here:
https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/uscg/effamicus11411.pdf
You may also be able to challenge the subpoena or the lawsuit on other grounds
depending on your particular situation. This should be discussed with an attorney.
If you are interested in discussing this matter with the Plaintiff’s attorneys, you
may contact them by telephone at _____________. Please understand that these lawyers
represent the company that sued you. They can speak with you about settling the lawsuit,
if you wish to consider that. You should be aware that they are not your attorneys and
are adverse to you. You should also be aware that if you contact them they may learn
your identity, and that anything you say to them can later be used against you in court.
You should not call the Court.
Again, you may wish to retain an attorney to discuss these issues and your options.

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