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Originally Posted by X_789_X
And -Sigh-, I think this is complete BS. I innocently downloaded a movie to watch and next thing you know, I have Universal breathing down my neck.
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Lol, I know you've probably heard enough of this, but - in essence, you are saying that you innocently stole the intellectual property rights of a company. And it's BS that the company has problems with you stealing it.
I understand that you probably never thought it would happen to you, however - I highly doubt that you though downloading "free" music and movies was legal. You said that you've been downloading since Napster - when napster one day went away, it said on their web page that they were expeciencing legal issues. I can't believe you have been in the dark all these years.
Obviously, if you knew you were going to be sued if you dowloaded it, you probably would have bought/rented the movie instead of it potentially costing you $50,000 - but knowing that it was illegal, even if the chances were remote that you get busted - still doesn't mean that you'll get away with it.
I'm hoping for you that it's all just a hoax or something, but it really wouldn't surprise me if you were prosecuted for it - especially since you have been doing it for so long. Two people I went to school with had suits brought against them - one settled for $15,000.00 and the other got the full $50,000 penalty. Since neither of them had any money, their wages have been garnished for a long time now - although I don't keep in touch with them, I heard one of them declared bankruptcy, which may have wiped the debt out.
I don't mean to be harsh, but you're basically asking people not to be "harsh" when you did something you knew was illegal and got caught. It would be the same thing if you got caught robbing a gas station or burglerizing a house - either way, you're taking something that isn't yours...