Studios Stage Fight Against Internet Bill By Jon Healey, Times Staff Writer The Hollywood studios are fighting a behind-the-scenes battle in Sacramento to derail a bill they say would promote online piracy though the bill has little to do with downloading movies. Actually, the fight may have more to do with who's behind the legislation: the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties and technology advocacy group that frequently opposes the studios' anti-piracy initiatives. The measure by Assemblyman Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) would help Internet users maintain the anonymity they have in chat rooms and elsewhere on the Internet when sued in state court for something they said or did online. Passed by the Assembly on June 2 and scheduled for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today, AB 1143 would require Internet services to notify customers of subpoenas seeking their identities and give customers 30 days to challenge the requests in court. Because it would apply to lawsuits in state courts, the bill wouldn't affect people accused of pirating movies or other copyrighted works online. Copyright cases are heard in federal court. <snip> http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mpaa15jul15,1,5900411.story?coll=la-ho...