Naperville Woman Wants Internet Provider to Keep Her Information Private

In a world where a Hollywood film company wants to stop illegal downloading of its movies, Iris Tam just wants to remain unknown.

Tam, a resident, recently filed paperwork asking a DuPage County judge to block her Internet provider—Wide Open West, known as WOW!—from releasing any of her personal information to Los Angeles-based production company, Voltage Pictures.

Tam's request doesn't involve witness protection or any other plot you'd find in a Hollywood thriller. In fact, her filing doesn’t exactly say why Tam—who did not return a message seeking comment—has turned to the courts for such anonymity.

However, the answer might be rooted in a federal lawsuit filed by Voltage in May 2010. The company is suing at least 5,000 "John Doe" defendants in a copyright infringement case involving illegal downloads of the Academy Award winning film The Hurt Locker.

A federal judge in the District of Columbia has given the production company until the end of March 2011 to complete a six-month process to identify the “Doe” defendants only known initially by their Internet provider addresses.

Voltage alleges that thousands of people illegally downloaded and shared the movie in late April and early May 2010, according to court documents. The company lists 10 pages of IP addresses and Internet providers for suspects around the country in its court filings.

Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, Earthlink, Comcast, Clear and Cricket are among the providers that serve the Chicago area, as well as WOW!. Records show Voltage wants details for 10 WOW!-Illinois users.

Tam, whose name does not appear in Voltage filings, is due in court Feb. 28 on her request to prevent the wireless company from releasing her information to Voltage.

A WOW! spokesman could not discuss customer-related questions due to privacy policies. He also forwarded litigation questions to the company’s legal department for consideration.

Voltage's six-page complaint seeks to stop "copying and distributing ... unauthorized copies" of films, such as The Hurt Locker.

Each illegal download, "can result in the nearly instantaneous worldwide distribution of that single copy to limitless number of people," Voltage contends in court documents.

The Hurt Locker, which won six Academy Awards and earned $17 million, has "significant value and has been produced and created at a considerable expense," Voltage states in its complaint.