8th Circuit: No Subpoenas Under DMCA Where ISP is Mere Conduit

In Re Charter Communications, Inc. Subpoena Enforcement Matter, No. 03-3802 (8th Cir. 2005), The DMCA only authorizes copyright owners to obtain and serve subpoenas on an ISP if the ISP is notified in accordance with the provisions of §512(c)(3)(A). Since Charter was merely acting a conduit §512(a), to which the Notice provisions do not apply, Charter argued that RIAA was not entitled to a subpoena, since there was no provision for the Notice which is a prerequisite for the issuance of a subpoena. The Eighth Circuit agreed with the DC Circuit that the DMCA did not provide for subpoenas of ISP’s who act as mere conduits.