[governance] Lawyers target thousands of 'illegal' file-sharers

Sun Nov 29 19:56:47 EST 2009

Private policing..... Shows the kind of global policy issues and 
frameworks that are at stake. Parminder

> Page last updated at 13:54 GMT, Friday, 27 November 2009
> E-mail this to a friend     Printable version
> Lawyers target thousands of 'illegal' file-sharers
> By Jonathan Fildes
> Technology reporter, BBC News
>
> Ethernet cable
> Software is used to track down the suspected pirates
>
> Around 15,000 suspected pirates may soon get legal letters accusing 
> them of illegally sharing movies and games.
>
> 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".
>
> A lawyer who has defended people who have received similar letters 
> described it as a "scattergun approach" that would catch "innocent 
> people".
>
> ACS:Law said it was "unaware" of anyone who had been wrongly sent a 
> letter.
>
> Andrew Crossley of the firm told BBC News it was acting to "eradicate" 
> sharing of its client's products.
>
> "We give them opportunity to enter into compromise right at the start 
> to avoid having to deal with it [in court]," said Mr Crossley.
>
> If it went to court and the lawyers were successful, he said, damages 
> "would run into several thousands of pounds".
>
> But consumer group Which? said that it had heard from around 150 
> consumers who had been "wrongly accused" in similar cases.
>
> "A lot are accused of downloading pornography," Jaclyn Clarabut of 
> Which? told BBC News. "People find it distressing or embarrassing and 
> pay up."
>
> 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.
>    We estimate that commencing in the New Year we will be despatching 
> circa 15,000 letters in relation to these two orders
> Andrew Crossley
>
> She said that based on previous experience, "a lot of people will be 
> surprised" by the latest wave of letters.
>
> 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".
>
> Instead, he said, it was "more to do with making money from alleging 
> copyright infringements on a massive scale".
>
> 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.
>
> "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."
>
> 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.
>
> Mr Crossley said his firm had been targeted by an "internet campaign" 
> and was cooperating with the inquiries.
>
> "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."
>
> Data harvest
>
> 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.
>
> The orders were obtained on behalf of two German clients: DigiProtect 
> and MediaCat.
> Mouse and keyboard
> Which? say innocent people have been caught out in similar cases
>
> Both firms are licensees of copyright work. They act on behalf of 
> copyright holders, including various pornography studios, to pursue 
> alleged copyright infringements.
>
> They use software to monitor file sharing networks to harvest IP 
> addresses which are then turned over to law firms to get account details.
>
> "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.
>
> He said these included "games, films and music".
>
> "We estimate that commencing in the New Year we will be despatching 
> circa 15,000 letters in relation to these two orders," he said.
>
> The letters would be used to tell the alleged "file-sharer" that they 
> were thought to have infringed copyright.
>
> 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."
>
> The amount would vary, he said, but was typically £300-500.
>
> 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.
>
> 'Spoof' address
>
> Concerns have been raised about the technology used to identify IP 
> addresses.
>
> Which? has highlighted various examples of innocent people accused by 
> firms such as DigiProtect .
>
> "Many have never heard of peer-to-peer file sharing," said Ms Clarabut.
>    ILLEGAL FILE-SHARING
> File-sharing is not illegal. It only becomes illegal when users are 
> sharing content, such as music, that is protected by copyrights
> 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
> There are plenty of legitimate services which use file-sharing 
> technology such as some on-demand TV services
>
> Q&A: Disconnecting file-sharers
>
> "Some are accused of downloading video games but never played a game 
> in their life."
>
> 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.
>
> At the time, Mrs Murdoch told Which?: "We do not have, and have never 
> had, any computer game or sharing software."
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> In addition, technology exists that can hide or "spoof" an IP address.
>
> Mr Crossley said that "spoofing" did not apply for file sharing purposes.
>
> Expert analysis
>
> 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.
>
> "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.
>
> No court case has ever been fully decided from a letter sent by ACS: 
> Law, he said.
>
> Although Mr Crossley admitted the software had never been analysed in 
> court, he denied it had never been scrutinised.
>
> "Every application submitted to court is supported by an expert 
> report," he said.
>
> The report was compiled by "an independent expert" and confirmed that 
> the "data being collected is accurate".
>
> "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."
>
> Similar concerns are currently being outlined to the UK government 
> which recently outlined how it plans to tackle illegal file-sharers.
>
> The Digital Economy bill recently had its first reading and includes a 
> plan to disconnect persistent offenders.
> BBC News - Lawyers target thousands of 'illegal' file-sharers (29 
> November 2009)
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8381097.stm
>
>
>
>
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