Hurt Locker File Sharing Lawsuit Lists Hockey Stadium IP Address

from the those-canadians-and-their-hockey dept

It’s a bit of a stereotype that Canadians love their hockey. But do they love it so much that they file share while attending hockey games? Recently, the movie studio Voltage Pictures decided to extend its braindead, shortsighted, shakedown of those it accuses (on weak evidence) of file sharing its movie, The Hurt Locker, to Canada. Voltage hired a law firm to go to court and identify who was behind 29 IP addresses. Of course, some individuals did a little investigating on the IP addresses and, as noted by Michael Geist, have apparently fingered one of the culprits: the Bell Centre in Montreal, better known as the home of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team. I’m guessing Voltage will just drop that IP address from the lawsuit, but it’s another reminder that an IP address is not very useful evidence, in some cases. And, of course, anyone involved with the lawsuit could have checked the IP address themselves and realized what it resolved to — providing yet more evidence that the folks filing these lawsuits aren’t particularly clued in on the technology they’re suing over.

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Comments on “Hurt Locker File Sharing Lawsuit Lists Hockey Stadium IP Address”

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48 Comments
Anonymous Coward says:

I’m guessing Voltage will just drop that IP address from the lawsuit

What a retarded statement.

The stadium very likely has internet for its employees and someone downloaded the movie.

Many companies already have measures in place to deal with illegal activity committed online, but for those who don’t, here’s a nice wake-up call.

Anonymous Coward says:

Re: Re: Re:

Anyone with a dissenting opinion is lambasted as a troll.

TD does not foster debate. TD fosters the same hackneyed buzzwords that are gobbled up by the blind, non-thinking, kool-aid drinking followers who regurgitate the same tired drivel Mike pedals on a day-to-day basis.

Now, quick, go ahead report this post.

PaulT (profile) says:

Re: Re:

“The stadium very likely has internet for its employees and someone downloaded the movie.”

…and here’s where you post you proof to back that up…

No? Just more assumptions that yet again back up the idea that an IP address does not equal an individual? That when faced with personal lawsuits, people go after other targets rather than pay whatever you charge? That show that these lawsuits are never going to catch the actual individuals responsible for your unproven “losses”?

Allllrighty, then (oops, that may have been copyright infringement!).

Atkray (profile) says:

Re: Re:

Just a reminder

it is an accusation of civil copyright infringement

it is not a conviction for illegal activity

I actually hope they follow your lead and go ahead and sue the stadium owners it may help to demonstrate to those who refuse to see how an IP address is at best only a starting place to investigate, not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that your handlers seem to think it is.

abc gum says:

So they have a list of IP Addresses and a file name which was supposedly downloaded via P2P to that addr. I’m curious whether this is all Voltage has. Did they verify the file contents were actually their copyright material, and if so how was this done? In addition, what verification technique was used in the determination that the IP Addr was not spoofed. If Voltage has not thought about these things they may be in for a surprise if any of their marks decides to fight.

The Devil's Coachman (profile) says:

Re: Re:

If it were me they came after, on the same horseshit IP dragnet basis, they’d have a lot more to worry about than a legal battle. I don’t have the time or money or the interest for protracted legal battles, but I certainly do have the time, and the money, and few other resources for other, extra-legal battles, if you know what I’m sayin’.

Anonymous Coward says:

Re: Re: Re:

Hockey is played in an arena. You can stick a sign on the front that says “bozo stadium”, but the area that they play in is an ice rink, which is found in an arena. They differ from stadiums in that a stadium is typically very large and open air, where arenas are typically smaller (25,000 seats tops) and are enclosed.

For that matter, the place in question is called the “bell center”. It is not a stadium, sorry.

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