In the last year thousands of alleged copyright infringers have fallen prey to the dubious litigation practices of a handful of lawyers. Many of the accused are not guilty, but the cleverly constructed scheme leads them to believe that they have no other option than to pay up. One desperate defendant is now threatened with a $150,00 fine for allegedly downloading an adult film concealed as classical music.
As copyright cases pile up at various U.S. courts, anti-piracy lawyers are getting more bold with their demands for money and information. In one case at the District Court of Northern California, copyright holders are demanding the personal details of all members of a video streaming site. In their defense, the website’s owners referenced a recent TorrentFreak article, which the copyright holder’s lawyer incorrectly characterized as a “myriad of lies.”
Over the last year a handful of lawyers have sued close to two hundred thousand alleged BitTorrent users in the United States. Many of these cases were launched by so-called “copyright trolls” who have re-engineered piracy into a healthy revenue stream. Today, we reveal a critical part of this legal bullying by taking a closer look at a settlement proposal sent out by John Steele, one of the most active anti-piracy lawyers around.
Starting last year U.S. courts have been bombarded with lawsuits against tens of thousands of file-sharers. Among the copyright holders claiming damages are a few well-known names, but the vast majority of the cases concern more obscure content. As time passes by more and more copyright trolls join in, and in some cases copyright holders are now suing people for files that were deliberately mislabeled, lulling unsuspecting individuals in.
Receiving a warning letter from the RIAA for alleged copyright infringement can be a frightening experience for students, considering the damage they might bring along. A 37 year-old employee of the University of Georgia abused this fear to extort a student, demanding money in return for covering up the accusation.
