Verizon appeal rejected

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Court of Appeals has rejected a request by the nation's largest phone company to stay an earlier court ruling ordering the company to identify two subscribers who were allegedly offering hundreds of copyrighted songs over the Internet.

The ruling in the closely watched case is a victory for the recording industry, which has been trying to force Verizon to turn over the names of the two people for months.

While U.S. District Court Judge John Bates ruled in favor of the recording industry earlier this year, Verizon had sought to keep the identities of the alleged offenders from the RIAA until it exhausted its judicial remedies.

The decision by thc court late Wednesday makes that impossible, and Verizon officials said they will comply with the subpoena.

The RIAA sued Verizon under a controversial provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that requires Internet service pr...