File Sharing Pre-Settlement Letters In Europe Get Lawyer Banned For Six Months

from the extortion-not-appreciated dept

Mon, Apr 7th 2008 10:02pm — Mike Masnick

Earlier this year, we wrote about how common it was becoming for companies to send out "pre-settlement" letters to people they haven't yet accused of a crime. While these are well-known for groups like the RIAA, they're also used by big retailers and were famously used by DirecTV against anyone it thought might have been stealing satellite TV. The letter basically demands an upfront payment to get the company not to sue. And, of course, the letter includes all sorts of threatening legalese about how going to court will be expensive and time consuming, suggesting that it's much easier to just pay up. While these "extortion-lite" letters in the US grow in popularity, it looks like folks in Europe aren't so willing to let them pass. A lawyer representing Logistep, a company that has recently run into trouble in both Italy and Switzerland for its tactics in trying to sniff out file sharers, has been banned from practicing law for six months by the Paris Bar Council. The lawyer had been sending out these types of letters demanding 400 euros not to sue, and the Paris Bar apparently felt this was rather problematic. Somehow I doubt we'll see the same sort of thing happen in the US any time soon.

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Filed Under: file sharing, france, pre-settlement letters, threatening letters

16 Comments

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ScytheNoire, 7 Apr 2008 @ 10:23pm

Extortion Illegal?
I'm not shocked, as Europe seems to have more sense typically and less catering to lobbyists and corporations. It shouldn't come as any surprise, although I think lawyer extortion should be a much more seriously punishable crime, around the world, and include a life-time ban from practicing law. Lawyers, once upon a time, were known for having integrity and upholding the law. What happened to those days?
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2008 @ 10:40pm
  
  Re: Extortion Illegal?
  When was that?
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- Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2008 @ 11:30pm
  
  Re: Extortion Illegal?
  I think lawyer extortion should be a much more seriously punishable crime
  Hey, I'll take "unable to earn income in this line of work for half a year"-- for a first offense of this type of misrepresentation.
  However it does looks like this lawyer was pocketing the money. They should have offered a deal...offer full reimbursement to the victims or face a fine in range of “hundreds of thousands of euros”, and if necessary, seek to "gain the amount by the sale of [the lawyer's personal] goods”
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Adam, 7 Apr 2008 @ 10:36pm

What happened to lawyers?
It's not profitable, enough said?
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bobbknight, 8 Apr 2008 @ 2:28am

Ha Ha
"Lawyers, once upon a time, were known for having integrity and upholding the law. What happened to those days?"

When was this, because I haven't seen this in my lifetime.
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Twinrova, 8 Apr 2008 @ 3:54am

Somehow I doubt we'll see the same sort of thing happen in the US any time soon.
Hmm, I wonder what prompted you to make this remark?

I would love to make a few guesses, but that would mean a flame war.
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- Mike (profile), 9 Apr 2008 @ 2:40am
  
  Re:
  Hmm, I wonder what prompted you to make this remark?
  
  Court precedent?
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Apr 2008 @ 3:55am

QUOTE: "Lawyers, once upon a time, were known for having integrity and upholding the law. What happened to those days?"

And when was that? Lawyers have been always about how to make the most $$, or I should say, How to "get" the most $$! In the world of today - They should be shot on site
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- JS Beckerist, 8 Apr 2008 @ 7:46am
  
  Re:
  What an asinine statement. Lawyers happened when it became too difficult for the lay man to understand the law. A Lawyer is there to interpret the written word. You have no idea what you are talking about, and commented like a 6 year old to prove it.
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  - Cynic, 8 Apr 2008 @ 10:35am
    
    Re: Re:
    QUOTE: "What an asinine statement. Lawyers happened when it became too difficult for the lay man to understand the law. A Lawyer is there to interpret the written word. You have no idea what you are talking about, and commented like a 6 year old to prove it."
    
    We don't have to guess what your occupation is.
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    - JS Beckerist, 8 Apr 2008 @ 11:25am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Tech support. I am also in local politics though and respect the work the lawyers around me do.
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  - sonofdot, 8 Apr 2008 @ 1:50pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Actually, lawyers are the reason the law is so difficult to understand -- it's written in legalese, for the benefit of lawyers. See this book: Party of the First Part: The Curious World of Legalese. Better yet, read the book.
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Notorious, 8 Apr 2008 @ 4:46am

So now the lawyers will be forced to take the sharers to court , great...
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Lilli, 8 Apr 2008 @ 6:02am

It's rather naive surely to thnk that anyone isnt in business to make $. Maybe if we all started out with that premise we would be mroe in control of our lives and less disappointed. I mean look at all the others - mechancis who want to rip you off, plumbers who charge by the second, doctors who want to do unecessary surgeries and supply you with drugs which they are paid handsomely to do by drug companies, bloggers who want to sell you rubbish and politicians who lie just for the hell of it. Lawyers are no different. But like any profession there are the good and the bad. Corporations breed greed.
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- Sean, 8 Apr 2008 @ 12:44pm
  
  Re:
  "doctors who"... "and supply you with drugs which they are paid handsomely to do by drug companies"
  
  That would be a stark violation and if reported would result in large fines to the practice and offending companies. By turning them in the person would get 10-25% of the fines.
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another mike, 9 Apr 2008 @ 4:58pm

when men were real men...
Lawyers, once upon a time, were known for having integrity and upholding the law. What happened to those days?
Those were the dark ages when lawyers were attorneys and legal disputes were settled with swords. An attorney (from tournament) was a knight-champion you hired to fight in your defense. Those days are long since gone, having died out alongside chivalry and epic quests.
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