The District Court for the District of Columbia yesterday (March 11) granted a motion by the RIAA to begin the expedited discovery process of the trade group’s lawsuits against alleged P2P infringers. This means the RIAA can begin to issue John Doe subpoenas to learn the identities of suspected infringers from Internet service providers.
The judge allowed the “bundling” of subpoenas, unlike a judge in Philadelphia last week. That judge ordered the RIAA to file separate complaints against each John Doe defendant. RIAA has filed a motion in the Philadelphia court asking for reconsideration of the ruling.
The round of 531 lawsuits filed in February, were bundled into five suits and filed in four courts: Trenton, N.J.; Atlanta; Philadelphia; and Orlando, Fla.
