READ WATCH TOWER SUBPOENAS HERE

From June 2017 to the present, Legal Counsel for the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society went on a witch hunt to find the leakers of secret documents and books used by the hierarchy of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Most of the ordinary members, particularly the most vulnerable and most affected by these secrets – women and children – are unaware such secrets exist.

Originally published Feb 23, 2019 09:26. Last updated Mar 13, 2020 16:25.

Here are links to a substantial collection of subpoenas issued by Philip Brumley and his legal colleagues, Mario Moreno and Paul Polidoro in less than two years. The listing is in order from first to last subpoena issued.

The law invoked in these subpoenas is 17 USC §512 (DMCA). This law is antiquated as it was passed in 1998 to try to deal with online piracy. It was passed when no one in US Congress really understood what “online” meant. It’s purpose is solely to demand service providers (Google, Facebook, Reddit etc) to hand over any identifying information of users who are allegedly infringing on copyrights.

When it comes to such subpoenas, the only thing a judge looks at is whether there is a DMCA notice. A subpoena form is submitted and a lawyer signs a declaration saying a particular entity has info about an alleged infringer and the only reason they need the info is to protect their rights. As long as those three things are included with the filing, the judge has the court clerk issue the subpoena. The judge doesn’t really look at the particulars of the case. And for the most part, Watch Tower are happy that the Court has little or no interest in looking at the particulars of the subpoena because often times, they are looking for the identity of an individual who has posted a thumbnail.

The law is specific to service providers, which is defined as “a provider of online services or network access, or the operator of facilities therefor, and includes an entity described in subparagraph (A).”

It’s a law that Philip Brumley, Paul Polidoro, Mario F Moreno and Steven Simonis are exploiting in an attempt to root out whistleblowers within the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization.

The language over subpoenas is really problematic, and it’s usually a tool to threaten people and try to make settlements happen. However, it’s worth noting that there is no case law to support what happens if the likes of Facebook or Google ignore the subpoenas.

The Grand Finale? Watch Tower v Truth and Transparency Foundation

On April 30th, 2020, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania filed a civil lawsuit against the Truth and Transparency Foundation, a non-profit organization accused of hosting and posting 74 copyrighted motion pictures created by amateur and volunteer Jehovah’s Witnesses. While Truth and Transparency does not sell Watch Tower material nor solicits money for downloading any content, Watch Tower attorney Paul Polidoro claims that the site sells merchandise and solicits donations.

Watch Tower retained the New York copyright law firm Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman as attorneys of record in the copyright infringment suit.

On July 17th, 2020, the Truth and Transparency Foundation settled with Watch Tower.