Embroidery Software Protection Coalition v. Ebert & Weaver

EFF filed a motion to block a brazen attempt to unmask the identities of anonymous members of an online discussion group for embroidery fans. The online group was created to share information about a long-running campaign to threaten purchasers of embroidery designs and software with copyright infringement lawsuits. The Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC), a purported coalition of embroidery pattern design companies, is behind the heavy-handed campaign. Last month, ESPC filed defamation claims against some members of the group and then issued a subpoena for detailed personal information about every single person who joined the discussion group—whether or not they had ever posted a single message.

In September, ESPC dropped its attempt to unmask the anonymous users.