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<font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">Private policing..... Shows
the kind of global policy issues and frameworks that are at stake.
Parminder </font><br>
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<blockquote cite="mid:4B12E15A.5060800@gmail.com" type="cite">Page last
updated at 13:54 GMT, Friday, 27 November 2009
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<br>
Lawyers target thousands of 'illegal' file-sharers
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By Jonathan Fildes
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Technology reporter, BBC News
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Ethernet cable
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Software is used to track down the suspected pirates
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Around 15,000 suspected pirates may soon get legal letters accusing
them of illegally sharing movies and games.
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ACS:Law plans to send notes to the accused in the new year offering a
chance to settle out of court for "several hundreds of pounds".
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A lawyer who has defended people who have received similar letters
described it as a "scattergun approach" that would catch "innocent
people".
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ACS:Law said it was "unaware" of anyone who had been wrongly sent a
letter.
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Andrew Crossley of the firm told BBC News it was acting to "eradicate"
sharing of its client's products.
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"We give them opportunity to enter into compromise right at the start
to avoid having to deal with it [in court]," said Mr Crossley.
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If it went to court and the lawyers were successful, he said, damages
"would run into several thousands of pounds".
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But consumer group Which? said that it had heard from around 150
consumers who had been "wrongly accused" in similar cases.
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"A lot are accused of downloading pornography," Jaclyn Clarabut of
Which? told BBC News. "People find it distressing or embarrassing and
pay up."
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Others, she said, "don't want the threat of court action" hanging over
them or cannot afford to pay for a lawyer and settle the claim for the
lower figure.
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We estimate that commencing in the New Year we will be despatching
circa 15,000 letters in relation to these two orders
<br>
Andrew Crossley
<br>
<br>
She said that based on previous experience, "a lot of people will be
surprised" by the latest wave of letters.
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Michael Coyle, lawyer at Southampton based firm Lawdit, described the
scheme as "having very little to do with protecting the rights of the
copyright holder".
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Instead, he said, it was "more to do with making money from alleging
copyright infringements on a massive scale".
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He has represented several hundred clients who have received letters
from ACS: Law and other firms. None of his clients has ever been forced
by a court to pay a fine, he said, although some clients had decided to
settle out of court.
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"This scattergun approach to the file sharing litigation will
inevitably result in a large number of innocent parties being issued
with a claim for copyright infringement."
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ACS: Law are "currently under investigation" by the Solicitors
Regulation Authority (SRA), but a spokesperson said it could not
divulge any more details about the nature of the complaints. The Law
Society has also received complaints.
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Mr Crossley said his firm had been targeted by an "internet campaign"
and was cooperating with the inquiries.
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"It doesn't of itself indicate that I have done anything wrong," he
said. "I have no qualms or concerns about what I am doing."
<br>
<br>
Data harvest
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<br>
ACS: Law recently obtained two High Court orders that require ISPs to
hand over the names and addresses of the account holders for 30,000 IP
addresses, a number which can identify a computer on the internet. It
is currently preparing three more.
<br>
<br>
The orders were obtained on behalf of two German clients: DigiProtect
and MediaCat.
<br>
Mouse and keyboard
<br>
Which? say innocent people have been caught out in similar cases
<br>
<br>
Both firms are licensees of copyright work. They act on behalf of
copyright holders, including various pornography studios, to pursue
alleged copyright infringements.
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They use software to monitor file sharing networks to harvest IP
addresses which are then turned over to law firms to get account
details.
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"We state that they [the alleged file-sharers] have made available to
others via peer-to-peer file-sharing networks various products that
they have rights in," said Mr Crossley.
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He said these included "games, films and music".
<br>
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"We estimate that commencing in the New Year we will be despatching
circa 15,000 letters in relation to these two orders," he said.
<br>
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The letters would be used to tell the alleged "file-sharer" that they
were thought to have infringed copyright.
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It would also inform recipients that a claim may be made against them
in court and would "invite" them "to enter into a compromise to avoid
any litigation."
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The amount would vary, he said, but was typically £300-500.
<br>
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The money is split between the copyright holder, licensee, the firm
monitoring IP addresses and ACS: Law, which operates on a no win, no
fee basis.
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'Spoof' address
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Concerns have been raised about the technology used to identify IP
addresses.
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Which? has highlighted various examples of innocent people accused by
firms such as DigiProtect .
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"Many have never heard of peer-to-peer file sharing," said Ms Clarabut.
<br>
ILLEGAL FILE-SHARING
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File-sharing is not illegal. It only becomes illegal when users are
sharing content, such as music, that is protected by copyrights
<br>
The crackdown will be aimed at people who regularly use technologies,
such as BitTorrent, and websites, such as The Pirate Bay, to find and
download files
<br>
There are plenty of legitimate services which use file-sharing
technology such as some on-demand TV services
<br>
<br>
Q&A: Disconnecting file-sharers
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<br>
"Some are accused of downloading video games but never played a game in
their life."
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A study published in 2008 by Which? highlighted the case of Scottish
couple Gill and Ken Murdoch, aged 54 and 66, who were accused of
sharing a video game.
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At the time, Mrs Murdoch told Which?: "We do not have, and have never
had, any computer game or sharing software."
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<br>
The letters were sent by another law firm, which no longer represents
DigiProtect. Mr Crossley said the Murdochs had been identified because
the ISP gave the lawyers the wrong information about the account.
<br>
<br>
Mr Crossley admitted the account holder may not be the person sharing
files illegally. As a result, he said, the letter, would also invite
the recipient to name the person they thought was responsible.
<br>
<br>
The growing popularity of wi-fi means many people share an internet
connection. Recent studies have also shown that many people do not
password protect their wi-fi connections, meaning they can be hijacked
and used for nefarious means.
<br>
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In addition, technology exists that can hide or "spoof" an IP address.
<br>
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Mr Crossley said that "spoofing" did not apply for file sharing
purposes.
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<br>
Expert analysis
<br>
<br>
Mr Coyle said he also had reservations about the methods used to
identify people and said they had never been challenged in court by
experts.
<br>
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"The last thing they want is this software being examined in a court of
Law - it would shoot the goose that lays the Golden Egg," he said.
<br>
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No court case has ever been fully decided from a letter sent by ACS:
Law, he said.
<br>
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Although Mr Crossley admitted the software had never been analysed in
court, he denied it had never been scrutinised.
<br>
<br>
"Every application submitted to court is supported by an expert
report," he said.
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The report was compiled by "an independent expert" and confirmed that
the "data being collected is accurate".
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<br>
"That is the starting point for us," said Mr Crossley. "It is very
important for us to be accurate. If it is not, everything that comes
from that data must be flawed."
<br>
<br>
Similar concerns are currently being outlined to the UK government
which recently outlined how it plans to tackle illegal file-sharers.
<br>
<br>
The Digital Economy bill recently had its first reading and includes a
plan to disconnect persistent offenders.
<br>
BBC News - Lawyers target thousands of 'illegal' file-sharers (29
November 2009)
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8381097.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8381097.stm</a>
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