US Copyright Group Kicking Off Next Round Of Lawsuits [Updated]
from the can't-stop-now dept
Despite the fact that there are still some serious legal questions about the methods of US Copyright Group (really, DC-based law firm Dunlap, Grubb and Weaver), the firm is apparently about to file its next round of lawsuits,The same article also notes (without much surprise) that despite orders from the judge for USCG to work with the EFF to craft a more informative letter to be sent to people who are targeted in the lawsuits, the two sides are having quite a bit of trouble agreeing on the language. Apparently, they're already going back to the judge to say that this isn't exactly working. Shocking.
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Filed Under: automated, copyright, lawsuits, pre-settlement letters
Companies: us copyright group
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Breaking Brien loses case against Ziggo and XS4ALL - No Pirate Bay Block in Holland!!!!!!!!!
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Re: Breaking Brien loses case against Ziggo and XS4ALL - No Pirate Bay Block in Holland!!!!!!!!!
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Re: Re: Breaking Brien loses case against Ziggo and XS4ALL - No Pirate Bay Block in Holland!!!!!!!!!
"Brein, the testicles of the internet..."
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Re: Re: Breaking Brien loses case against Ziggo and XS4ALL - No Pirate Bay Block in Holland!!!!!!!!!
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Re: Breaking Brien loses case against Ziggo and XS4ALL - No Pirate Bay Block in Holland!!!!!!!!!
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Re: Re: Breaking Brien loses case against Ziggo and XS4ALL - No Pirate Bay Block in Holland!!!!!!!!!
Here's English: http://torrentfreak.com/dutch-isps-dont-have-to-censor-the-pirate-bay-100719/
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Re: Re: Re: Breaking Brien loses case against Ziggo and XS4ALL - No Pirate Bay Block in Holland!!!!!!!!!
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Re: Re: Breaking Brien loses case against Ziggo and XS4ALL - No Pirate Bay Block in Holland!!!!!!!!!
"We are careful to drink a beer."
:)
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Mike, I think you missed the whole point of the article on THR, Esq. It's not that USCG is getting ready to thousands of new people, it's that they are proceeding against the people they have already sued as "Does." They aren't trying to force people to settle, they are taking those who wouldn't settle to court. This shreds the argument that USCG only wanted to threaten people with a court battle to get them to settle--they are following through on their threats.
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Re: "taking those who wouldn't settle to court"
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Re: Re: "taking those who wouldn't settle to court"
The multi-factor balancing test was set out in Sony Music v. Does 1-40, 326 F.Supp.2d 556 (S.D.N.Y. 2004).
A great appellate case to read for analysis of this issue is Arista Records v. Doe 3, 604 F.3d 110 (2nd Cir. 2010).
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Re:
No, you read it wrong. What is happening is that in those cases where the ISP gave up the user's identity without a fight they are sending out their first round of letters.
They aren't going to go to court like the RIAA did - making a huge loss... (see recent posts on this site)
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Re: Re:
Did you read the article on THR Esq. that Mike linked to?
From THR Esq.: "The U.S. Copyright Group, which is representing a handful of independent film production companies, has signed up 15 law firms across the continental U.S. to act as local counsel and begin filing individual lawsuits against those alleged file-sharers who refused to settle."
They are proceeding with lawsuits against the "Does" who refused to settle.
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If you read the sentence carefully it doesn't actually imply that they are about to start taking people to court - merely that the local firms have been brought on board for that purpose - (which may mean "to threaten the purpose")
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They are taking the next step. They are replacing the unnamed "Doe" defendants in the complaint with named defendants. Joining all of the defendants for the early discovery phase of the trial was proper. The court held so. Once a defendant is named they then gain standing to challenge joinder and jurisdiction. The court will order that the defendants be severed and the cases will be moved.
You can view this all as a bluff, but I think USCG taking the next affirmative step in litigation shows that they intend to follow through with the litigation. I'm sure many people thought they weren't even going to take this step.
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In the UK the only lawsuit that I am aware of that was actually pursued was a county court case against Davenport-Lyons by one of the accused. Davenport Lyons failed to show up and lost the case. The person they accused won damages to cover his time plus travel and court costs.
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/34690659-post287.html
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The fact is that USCG is taking this to the next level. This next step is a huge step that I presume many never thought they would take.
Personally, I hope USCG isn't bluffing. I'd love to see these legal issues worked out in court.
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This leads me to believe that they intend to make money out of this process. Noting your comment below I suggest you spend some time investigating the economics of this process - bearing in mind that the RIAA has engaged in a similar process over the last few years and has recorded a massive financial loss from it. Compare the cost of filing a lawsuit with the size of the out of court settlement. Now compare the likely damages +costs (that you could actually recover) in a case that actually goes all the way with the costs of bringing that case. Now factor in the losses from unsuccessful cases (and there will be some - remember that those IP addresses were harvested by software - and all software has bugs). DO all those summ and you will see that actually going to court is a financial nightmare - but of course the threat must be made credible.
Tje UK firms that tried this have attracted a lot of bad press - however I believe it has been a profitable exercise for them.
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Interesting. I've updated the post to reflect this.
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Hope "informative" letter includes that ignoring it is possible.
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Re: Hope "informative" letter includes that ignoring it is possible.
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Re: Re: Hope "informative" letter includes that ignoring it is possible.
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Re: Re: Re: Hope "informative" letter includes that ignoring it is possible.
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Re: Hope "informative" letter includes that ignoring it is possible.
Actually, wiping disks to intentionally destroy evidence potentially gets them in more trouble. There is very little that will sway a judge against a defendant's case faster than destruction of evidence.
Besides, I doubt that the people who get caught would have the expertise to effectively wipe the hard disk and all evidence of file sharing. After all, it takes very little expertise to avoid getting caught file sharing. If they got caught, their technical skills are in question.
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Re: Re: Hope "informative" letter includes that ignoring it is possible.
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Re: Re: Re: Hope "informative" letter includes that ignoring it is possible.
Which is exactly why it is immoral to engage in mass - anonymous lawsuits where proof of infringement is not required until trial has commenced.
Ordinary people do not make enough money to defend themselves against this type of exploitation of the system. Allowing this abuse to continue will not garner copyright any more supporters, that is for certain.
In my opinion, the USCG needs to be smacked down and run out of town.
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Re: Re: Re: Hope "informative" letter includes that ignoring it is possible.
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Re: Re: Hope "informative" letter includes that ignoring it is possible.
These suits only catch the rookies anyway. None have caught any who really know how to game the system.
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Re: Re: Re: Hope "informative" letter includes that ignoring it is possible.
My own research shows me that a simple paid-for usenet account with SSL is better than using bit-torrent any day. Is that right?
Thanks!
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Hope "informative" letter includes that ignoring it is possible.
Funny thing is, in order for the AA's to get into a private network, they would have to break the law, may be a bit more difficult to present evidence that was obtained like that...
Hell, i've "heard" of USB parties where everyone shows up with their media and shares in person.... would be damn near impossible to stop that one....
The more they go after the main stream guys, the more people like you will ask that question. In the next couple of years, they will have fragmented file sharing to the point it will no longer be a useable platform for them to distribute from..... by the time they realize they could make money this way, it will no longer be main-stream.... lol figures.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Hope "informative" letter includes that ignoring it is possible.
They have no caved yet. I have a group of friends approx 50, that we all share this way. They have no answer for this simple game. hat are they gonna do block RS, LOL.
This is not even a challenge anymore, I have since taught hundreds or more on the simple task of setting up their own accts, of course I have access :)
I don't even need to look online anymore, just thru contacts stuff.
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Here we go again...
"The U.S. Copyright Group, which is representing a handful of independent film production companies, has signed up 15 law firms across the continental U.S. to act as local counsel and begin filing individual lawsuits against those alleged file-sharers who refused to settle."
And I still haven't heard anything about this on TV, I wonder why that is?
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hmmm
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Who's better?
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