Filipino Gov't Loses Court Case Because It... >>
<< BBC Loses Its Attempt To Silence Top Gear Test...
 tdicon 

Copyright

by Mike Masnick

Thu, Sep 2nd 2010 3:52am




Filed Under:
copyright, harassment


Is Falsely Being Accused Of File Sharing With An Automated Pre-Settlement Letter A Form Of Harassment?

from the we-may-find-out dept

With law operations like ACS:Law in the UK and US Copyright Group in the US sending out thousands upon thousands of "pre-settlement" (i.e., "pay us or we'll sue you") letters for those it accuses of copyright infringement, based on extremely flimsy evidence, it's inevitable that plenty of innocent people will get swept up in the legal threats. At least one law firm in the UK is looking for those who were falsely accused to file a harassment charge on their behalf. This seems like a stretch. Even if it does seem like harassment, my guess is that no court would likely find that such legal threats were harassment, as the lawyers bringing the suits would make the case that it was just an "honest mistake." Of course, if you tried to use that in response to a threat letter for sharing a file online, I doubt these law firms would simply let you walk away...

15 Comments | Leave a Comment

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments (rss)

(Flattened / Threaded)

  1.  
    icon
    Richard (profile), Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 4:24am

    It has worked before

    One victim did get a £250 judgement against Davenport - Lyons in the past

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 4:28am

    Extortion?

    What about calling it what it really is: an extortion attempt?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  
    icon
    Haywood (profile), Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 5:28am

    Class action the cure for corporate indifference

    I'd say it would make a good counter attack.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  
    identicon
    abc gum, Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 5:31am

    Re: Extortion?

    They should be disbarred just for the carpet bombing alone and thrown in jail for the extortion. But don't hold your breath, it's not like that is going to happen.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 5:34am

    Re: Extortion?

    Mike still calls the ACTA meetings "negotiations". It's all about not driving away traffic with overly-polarizing word choice.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 5:44am

    Re: Re: Extortion?

    What would you call it?

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 5:48am

    U.K. law is different so there may be a possibility, also libel laws are in favor of people there.

    Those law firms have no respect for the rule of law and are using the justice system to make a buck not to redress grievances, they want to turn the courts into "justice incorporated".

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  
    icon
    Steve R. (profile), Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 5:59am

    Corportasim Running Amok

    We seemingly are becoming a society were the common citizen can be "assaulted" with impunity and without due process.

    Content can be taken down without notice based on questionable justification.

    Devices can be bricked if a company does not like the way you use the device.

    Privacy is the sole responsibility of the unfortunate recipient never the sender (offender).

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  
    identicon
    NAMELESS ONE, Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 6:12am

    definately slander and defamation of character

    thats right pay back time

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  10.  
    icon
    Overcast (profile), Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 6:58am

    "as the lawyers bringing the suits would make the case that it was just an "honest mistake."

    But wait...

    Could a spammer use that defense? Why not?

    What's the difference? It's pretty much a 'spam' tactic they use with these lawsuits.

    Either way - if this happens, they may really get drug into court, which is the last thing they want in any of this.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  11.  
    identicon
    NullOp, Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 7:36am

    Harassment

    Harassment? Oh yeah, in a big way! The correct action is file class action against whoever is sending the BS-ograms!

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  12.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 8:57am

    Re: Extortion?

    I agree, sounds like extortion to me.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  13.  
    identicon
    MrWilson, Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 9:53am

    Re: Corportasim Running Amok

    Due process is like free speech.

    Money = free speech. More money = more free speech.

    Money = due process. More money = more due process.

    It's not the fault of the law firm that you don't have enough money to pay for your right to due process...

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  14.  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Sep 2nd, 2010 @ 9:55am

    How do you know you're not being scammed altogether?

    http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/09/scammers-using-fake-copyright-infring ement-notices-for-profit.ars

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  15.  
    identicon
    Gene Cavanaugh, Sep 4th, 2010 @ 10:50pm

    Harrassment in legal threats

    Hopefully you will get responses from people who litigate, rather than prosecute IP as I do.
    However, when I was a civil attorney, years ago, there was a clear and important distinction between a few people ("I was mistaken") and a large number of people ("I may be mistaken, but I don't care"), especially if you can show the errors were pointed out to the firm, but the firm continued.
    One example is simple error, the other is intent or "reckless disregard" for the truth (which is legal intent).

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


Add Your Comment

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here
Get Techdirt’s Daily Email
Save me a cookie
  • Note: A CRLF will be replaced by a break tag (<br>), all other allowable HTML will remain intact
  • Allowed HTML Tags: <b> <i> <a> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <hr> <tt>
Filipino Gov't Loses Court Case Because It... >>
<< BBC Loses Its Attempt To Silence Top Gear Test...
 tdicon 
Follow Techdirt
Flattr rss rss
A word from our Sponsors...
Sponsored Resource
Essential Reading
Techdirt Reading List
Techdirt Insider Chat

A word from our Sponsors...
Recent Stories

Thursday

3:01pm: Partisanship Over Spying On Journalists Is Stupid: Spying On Journalists Is Bad, Period (0)
2:00pm: Magic Hat Brewery Sues West Sixth Brewing, Claiming 6 Looks Too Much Like 9 (11)
1:01pm: Filmmaker Behind The Pirate Bay Documentary Says Bogus DMCA Takedowns Take Away His Free Speech (53)
12:04pm: Vermont Declares War On Patent Trolls; Passes New Law And Sues Notorious Patent Troll (7)
11:05am: Prenda Lawyer Says Georgia Court Should Ignore Judge Wright's Order Because... Look! Hackers! (27)
10:01am: Chicago School System On FOIA Requests: Stonewalling, Obfuscation, & Paper-Shredding (19)
8:57am: VOD Service Acetrax Shutting Down, Forcing Customers Through DRM Hoops To Retain Their Purchased Movies (30)
7:58am: Man Butt Dials 911 While Discussing Murder Plot (18)
5:51am: Kim Dotcom Threatens To Sue Google, Facebook And Twitter Over 2-Factor Authentication Patent If They Don't Help Him (138)
3:44am: Amazon Wants To Sell Fan Fiction With It, Originator And FanFic Author All Sharing Profits (46)
More arrow
A word from our Sponsors...

Close

Email This