Louisville Court Subpoenas Amazon Under DMCA for Identity of 3rd-Party Seller

A U.S. District Court, Louisville, law clerk granted Tempur Sealy’s request Monday to serve a Digital Millennium Copyright Act subpoena on Amazon for information leading to the identity of a third-party merchant that the bedding manufacturer alleges is selling counterfeit goods on the e-commerce site, court records show. The subpoena (in Pacer) gives Amazon three weeks to turn over to Tempur Sealy's attorneys any documents it has on the merchant, Astonishing Goods, that identify the operator’s name and physical and email addresses. Tempur Sealy wants the information “only for the purpose” of protecting its intellectual property, said the attorneys (in Pacer). The lawyers also asked Amazon (in Pacer) to "immediately take steps" to disable access to the "infringing materials" and notify anyone who participated in the distribution of the goods that "their conduct was illegal and could be subject to enforcement." Tempur Sealy holds Amazon as "the party responsible for hosting the user's storefront," they said. They didn't explicitly accuse Amazon of contributory infringement but said Tempur Sealy is "not waiving its right to engage in other enforcement activities, and reserves all rights to do so at any time." Amazon didn’t comment. Under DMCA provisions, copyright holders can request federal subpoenas to stop alleged online infringement without filing an actual lawsuit and without requiring a judge's signature.