Several months ago, a track from the Suicide Squad soundtrack was leaked online. The track in question was called “Heathens” and was performed and recorded by the band, Twenty One Pilots. It was uploaded onto a file-hosting website and its link was shared on Reddit, thus allowing users to download the song for free (illegally).Unsurprising Atlantic Records wasn’t thrilled by this and claimed that the leak ruined their plans for the release and promotion. They also stated that since they gave the song an early release to only a handful of people, they were hoping that they would be able to figure out who was the leak by seeking the IP address of the person who posted the song on Reddit, something that the website has claimed that they will not be complying with.
According to Reddit, they claim that Atlantic is on a fishing expedition and has not managed to provide enough evidence. “First, it has failed to establish that it has a contractual relationship with the Reddit user. Second, it has failed to establish that it has a fiduciary relationship with the Reddit user. Because Atlantic has not demonstrated that it has meritorious causes of action against the unidentified Reddit user, its petition for pre-action discovery related to such user should be denied.”
Whether or not the court will order Reddit to hand over the IP address remains to be seen, but for now this is the stance that Reddit is taking.