[Clips] Dutch Court Orders Lycos To Reveal Client's Identity

[R. A. Hettinga]

"Regulatory Arbitrage" continues to go the way of "Devine Right of Kings"...

Cheers,
RAH
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 Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 11:59:27 -0500
 To: Philodox Clips List <clips at philodox.com>
 From: "R. A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
 Subject: [Clips] Dutch Court Orders Lycos To Reveal Client's Identity
 Reply-To: rah at philodox.com
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 <http://online.wsj.com/article_print/BT-CO-20051125-002595.html>

 The Wall Street Journal

  November 25, 2005 11:27 a.m. EST

  Dutch Court Orders Lycos To Reveal Client's Identity

 DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
 November 25, 2005 11:27 a.m.

 --

 THE HAGUE (AP)--The Dutch Supreme Court Friday ordered Internet company
 Lycos Europe NV (LCY.XE) to reveal the identity of a client in a benchmark
 decision on privacy that was praised by copyright groups as a way to go
 after illegal swapping of music and movies online.

 It is the first ruling of its kind in the Netherlands on Internet privacy
 and could have far-reaching consequences for other Internet providers.

 The country's highest court ruled that Lycos wrongly protected the identity
 of a user who anonymously posted slanderous allegations against an Internet
 postage stamp dealer on a member site. The dealer, who traded stamps on
 auction site Ebay Inc. (EBAY), was accused of cheating buyers.

 The claimant, identified in court documents only as A. Pessers, took Lycos
 to court in 2003, seeking the details of its client so he could seek
 financial damages allegedly resulting from the allegations.

 Supreme Court spokesman Steven Bakker said the court found Pessers' claim
 of having suffered damages sufficient to order Lycos to release the
 client's name and address, even though no criminal offense had been
 committed. It issued a sweeping rejection of Lycos' argument that personal
 client details should only be released if they are suspected of a crime and
 the information is wanted by the police.

 "The court considers it probable that the information posted on the Web
 site is illegal and damaging to Pessers," the ruling said. "Pessers has a
 genuine interest in obtaining the client's details and there is no other
 way to obtain them."

 The Brain Institute, which represents the global entertainment industry in
 the Netherlands, said in a statement that the ruling will enable it to seek
 damages from people who illegally swap copyrighted software, music and
 movies over the Internet.


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 R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
 The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
 "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
 [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
 experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
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-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'