Marvelous Marv

1.) That's good for you. First rule of civil actions is "If you don't have it, they can't take it." For details, contact OJ.

2.) Other people have alluded to this, but I'll say it differently. Where I live, legal service is by certified letter FROM THE COURT, by marshal, or by private process server. A non-certified letter sent by first class mail is NOT legal service. I would definitely not show up in court unless I'd been legally served. Also, it's not like they're going to be able to collect money tomorrow. These things normally take about two years to make their way through the court system.

This is assuming that the whole thing isn't a hoax. Definitely check the court docket to see if you're on it.

3.) Nobody goes to jail in civil actions. It has to be a criminal case. That's not to say that they couldn't file criminal charges, but considering the magnitude of your offense, I doubt they could get a DA to look at it.

He means an attorney paid for by the court. You are most definitely entitled to an attorney at your own expense, and you most definitely have a right to (non-free) legal representation.

He's right that you shouldn't be discussing this with someone other than your attorney.

My prediction is that this goes away with minimal monetary expenditure. It's probably not necessary to recommend that you not download copyrighted material anymore.

And by the way, Bittorrent is by no means anonymous.

__________________
"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."
Margaret Thatcher

politicophile

EDIT: Sorry I was being unnecessarily mean. I am just totally unsympathetic. You are a thief and you will be punished. End of story.

__________________
The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error. ~John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

soccerchamp76

First of all, from what I have read about the cases of people being sued by the RIAA and the MPAA, is that the distributors are being sued, not the users.

Think of the situation like the drug war. You arrest one junkie, there is one junkie in jail. You arrest one dealer, numerous junkies are taken care of. You sue one downloader, you have one pissed off college student who won't download songs. You sue one "file-sharer", and you eliminate all the people using his service.

The best thing to do: DO-NOT-SHARE!!!!!!!!
Who would you go after if you were the RIAA or MPAA? A guy who downloads a couple movies, or a guy who burns his movies so hundreds can download them?

__________________
Brian Griffin: Ah, if my memory serves me, this is the physics department.
Chris Griffin: That would explain all the gravity.

pan6467

I know last year they busted a bunch of Kent State students for downloading movies and Univ. of Akron was sending all kinds of warning fliers out.

They weren't "sued", they were arrested, computers confiscated and tried.... don't know what happened to them.

If this is real they could be using you as an example.

Personally, if I want to copy a movie I wouldn't do it on the internet, I'd go to Wal*Mart buy an Emerson DVD/VCR combo (or just have a dvd player and VCR hooked to the same tv, with the DVD inputting into the VCR) and copy a rental/ library loan that way. OR just tape it off a cable station.

Plus I just don't have the patience to download something that takes any longer than a piss and snack getting break.

There are too many reasons why I won't download movies or music from the internet, illegal unless paying a fee, too many viruses and nasties out there, it's not worth the risk.

My ex-father-in-law has 100's of movies, and games he downloads and they always had flaws in them, the games either need the code and won't work or have errors so that as you play the errors will pop in and ruin your game, the movies are always subpar quality and have displacement and problems. But he also pays for these services, which is idiotic considering the quality, but he never watches nor plays them he just libraries them and when someone in the family asks he'll get what they want.

__________________
I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

quadro2000

Wow, this thread is getting really, really nasty.

Before you post about how stupid this person is, ask yourself if you've EVER downloaded anything illegally off of the internet before by any means. If you have, you have very little right to give this person a hard time. IMHO, the only difference between you and him is that he got caught and you didn't.

__________________
You have to laugh at yourself...because you'd cry your eyes out if you didn't. - Emily Saliers

Strange Famous

from my perspective, all I can advise is try your best to make yourself a man of straw. Ie - dont own anything. Then they can win their judgement and you just say "ok, fine... but I dont have any money" if it works anything like the UK the suing company just gets a derisory amount. Remember, you are a little guy against a big corporation, and this works very much in your favour.

Th company in question almost certainly would accept a settlement as well, but it may be more than you can pay. As for legal advise, if youre a college student, couldnt you try your own law department?

As for these badnits and desperado's blackmailing an 12 year old child into making statements like:

""I am sorry for what I have done," Brianna said in a statement released by the Recording Industry Association of America on Tuesday. "I love music and I don't want to hurt the artists I love."

I can say only that they (the RIAA) are scum. Dispicable capitalist attack dogs like this are the reason I dont buy music anymore. There will come a time of reckoning to be sure, and I hope and expect that these people will be dealt with in the appropriate way and learn the true consequences of actions like these.

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

Menoman

meh,

It was a pretty good bullshit but you started slacking now :\ You've made it too obvious

__________________

Nisses

from a technical pov, if your college uses a dhcp server for your addresses, (and I'm guessing they do) it seems very, very unlikely that they would right away zoom in to your machine, deduct your local IP, and get your personal name and info out of that...

that, combined with the fact that the letter wasn't properly delivered, makes me call bullshit on this so far.

I hope for you I'm right
But yeah, you might wanna compare that Kontraband letter to the one you received.

__________________
Moderation should be moderately moderated.

Pragma

I also don't believe that this is real, but it's trivial for them to get the IP address and then turn around to the University and say "A student on IP 1.2.3.4 at $DATE $TIME was engaged in copyright infringing activities. Who is this student?" - My roommate got a letter from my university telling him that they were contacted by Universal and to knock off the file sharing. No lawsuit involved, Universal just said cease & desist, and he did, and they were happy.

__________________
Eat antimatter, Posleen-boy!

Lasereth

1. The letter wasn't legally served to you, so I think it's bullshit.

2. This is a civil case, so you can't go to jail unless you're brought to court in a criminal trial. Civil cases are about monetary damages, not criminal activities.

3. I know a few friends who have been contacted by the RIAA and MPAA about downloading movies and music. They were told to remove the media from their computers (the University actually does it) and had their Internet connectivity taken away for a period of time. No legal action was ever taken, and they were busted for waaay worse stuff than what you're describing (a movie circa 1982).

I'd say it's bullshit.

-Lasereth

__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

Cynthetiq

I received a letter for a court date for 2 weeks later than posted. the letter was posted in my mailbox and as I checked with a lawyer it was very legal. A day or two later I got another one taped to my front door, ALSO legal. I didn't sign shit. Rule has something to do with multiple mailboxes in multiple dwellings.

as far as the not able to get legal representation for free, yes, it's not criminal and the court does not provide one, but there are legal aid services that will do these types of things for those that cannot afford them.

actually the difference for me is far greater.

for the things that i have downloaded, I accept the responsibility and consequences of my actions which means that if I was served with a summons, I wouldn't be complaining about how I couldn't afford to pay the consequences, I'd be accepting of my role in the scheme of things. I don't speed without accepting the fact I could get a ticket and pay extra for the fines, points on my license, and extra for my insurance.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Powderedmaggot

I'd say he missed the refference comletely.

*Nikki*

If they couldn't prove that you downloaded things before, they sure can now that you have stated so in this thread.

Powderedmaggot

Get an eye patch and go to court and use "ARRRRRRRRRRR" alot.

Slavakion

Exactly. I've downloaded my share of data, but I don't try to make excuses. I don't say that I didn't know it wasn't illegal (it's been on the nightly news and in the newspapers! come on!) or that the *AA is going overboard by enforcing the law.

To me, it sounds like X_7 is doing his best to not assume responsibility for his actions.

Schwan

Wow, so much self-righteousness in this thread. Hope it makes you guys feel better about yourselves.

X_789_X:
Whether it’s a hoax or not, it’s a good lesson. And thanks for posting – I’m sure many people learned something new about their rights from this post.

ObieX

Step 1: Delete any and all downloaded movies/songs
Step 2: Do not do it anymore.
Step 3: Relaxamundo

__________________
We Must Dissent.

shakran

Some misguided advice in this thread.

Get a lawyer. They do not have to appoint a lawyer for you because you are not being criminally prosecuted. You are being sued, and that is a civil action.

You cannot go to jail in a civil trial. You go to jail if convicted in a criminal trial. Civil trials involve the exchange of money, not incarceration.

Delete anything you've pirated off your drives. Wipe the drives completely. And keep in mind that data recovery can be done on formatted drives, on drives that have been "erased" with a magnet, etc. I'd suggest a new hard drive and toss the old one where they won't find it.

Write NBC/Universal legal department for verification that the lawsuit is real. Vigorously deny that you pirated the movie while doing so, but do not send the letter without having your attorney look it over, since the letter can be used as evidence if you say the wrong thing.

I suggest exploring the "some asshole cracked my wifi router and downloaded it in my driveway" defense.

Good luck.

pan6467

It's easy to blame the record execs and they are partially to blame but the artists who command millions of dollars are too.

However, just because you don't like the prices and the industry, doesn't give one the right to illegally download and copy that music. There are artists out there that need the money from their royalties and have every right to them.

Piracy doesn't just hurt the industry or the rich artist it also hurts the backing musicians, the film crews the supporting crews that also make a few pennies on every sale as part of being paid for their work.

__________________
I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

hrandani

This reads a lot like some fake grass roots ("astroturf") trolling by some sort of anti-filesharing organization.

The innocent, wide-eyed questions... "I'm just a college student" act.

Well played.

SecretMethod70

This happened to me about two years ago. I lost my internet connectivity for the rest of the term (about 6 weeks). Went on break, came back, and it was working again. Of course, this was 2 years ago before the MPAA took a apage out of the RIAA playbook. Who knows how it works now.

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Menoman

It comes off that way sometimes when you see someone boohooing about getting caught, doing what they know is against the law.

Go punch a random guy in the face, then come here and cry about how they are going to sue your ass for medical payments.

__________________

eotlemac

Thats what im thinking at this point. Mainly because you said it.

X_789_X

You know-- You can think it's fake all you want, but it's *NOT* fake. Bah... You know, I think I made a mistake in posting this here.

All I get is:

1.) "You're lying"
2.) "You deserved it" or
3.) Some inane and overly useless comment o.0

Edit: And, for the record, I don't care if some of you want to call me a liar because I'll just ignore your posts. I really have no reason to make this up and some of your comments *REALLY* aren't helping.

Anyway, I did call the courthouse and they told me that there wasn't any trial scheduled for me and to call the number on the letter. Well, I tried to call the number and it went through (I guess I didn't dial it right the first time). Anyway, I really didn't get anywhere because, for such a big company, they just give you the runaround and transfer you from department to department. Anyway, I called the courthouse back and they stated the same thing that some of you did: That unless I actually get served not to worry about it (That is to say that it might not happen, but that there's no use in worrying about something that hasn't happened yet).

__________________
When a woman says she'll call you, she means when she gets home. When a man says he'll call you, he means sometime before he dies...

pan6467

Why because no one sympathizes and says what you want to hear? You broke the law, be a man accept responsibility and work a deal with them.... I am sure they and the system would rather work something out than to spend a lot of time and money and not be able to collect.

__________________
I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

trickyy

heres a website that you may find interesting, 789
http://p2pnet.net/index.php

there are a few stories about how people have responded to being sued/threatened, as well as general copyright and privacy news.

Jinn

789:

First -- calm down.

Second -- this is not legitimate.


Now I realize you've responded harshly to other posters who've told you it's fake, but I offer you a different perspective.

I'm an active and donating member of EFF (Electronic Freedom Frontier -- www.eff.com) and I'm directly opposed to every action the RIAA has taken in the last year. There's a similar thread elsewhere in General Discussion of a woman who's finally suing the RIAA for their questionable "bully" tactics. I do not respect them as an organization, and I've not funded their cause by buying an RIAA-endorsed-company CD in years. I myself download songs and occasionally movies, and will continue to do so until the RIAA and the MPAA (their partner in crime) stop dragging their 'customers' into court for nonexistant "lost costs." They've somehow managed to convince the court system thus far that $500,000 is fair price for "stealing" a movie. Not only would stealing a PHYSICAL COPY of the movie be far less than this, you're not (realistically) stealing anything. Because we live in a digital world, things can be given bitwise to another person without every destroying their original. Do I think the RIAA or MPAA should recieve a royalty? Sure.. but not $500,000. They're a very corrupt organization (look at some of the action reports on EFF.com) and are trying their hardest to remove our "fair use rights" which were established long ago. During the age of the casette tape and the VHS similar organizations tried to stop their progress because they were afraid to update their liscensing scheme. (Basically, I'm on YOUR side).

^^ To the would-be flamers, I realize that you can feel differently than I do above, but I would apprecite you not derailing it by attacking my opinion. I only offered this as an explanation for 789.

Look very carefully at ALL the documents you've recieved. Although I have an extreme distate for the RIAA, they're usually very official in their dealings with the "criminals" trading their movies or songs. There are PLENTY of hoaxes out there, posing as the RIAA or MPAA, designed by organizations who support their causes. They could simply choose an IP or physical address at random and send you a form letter like the one you've gotten. Likewise, pranksters seem to be enjoying a similar process, as I just got an "RIAA warning letter" via email. A trace of the headers shows it wasn't anyone remotely associated with them and was in fact just a student at our University.

Soo --- a long story short -- unless you get something OFFICIAL, take this "litigation warning" with a large grain of salt. I'm not implying that you've made it up or that the documents you've recieved don't SEEM official, but I'd be willing to bet with near 90% certainty that you have nothing to be worried about in the near future.

__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

duckznutz

Aggression is born out of fear . . . . . . . . the music and movie companies are terrified that the gravy train they have been riding for the last 30 years is being exposed for the over-priced sham which it is . . . by the internet. Its the last thrashings of a dying animal . . they cant stop this. Is it possible that Britney and Eminem and Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman dont really deserve the millions they 'earn'?

Its all scare tactics . . . if you dont feel confident enough to circumvent the system with your own pc then get yourself down to your local market and buy what you need anonimously. This is unstoppable and maybe pop stars and movie stars might be brought back down to earth in terms of what they earn . . . and thats a good thing. The rest of us work damn hard for it.

PS : Are you sure you dowloaded the movie and not some scam trojan virus? I heard you had bought a new pc because the old hard disk had failed? Deny it all.

PPS : I remember in the 1970's every 12" vinyl album had the words "Home Taping Is Killing Music" printed in large letters on the liner sleeve. Looking at what we are offered today it looks like music has certainly suffered but not the profits!

__________________
Where your talents and the needs of the world cross . . there lies your vocation.

Jinn

Likewise, you might want to check out http://www.boycott-riaa.com/mission.

They have similar stories of people effected by RIAA hoaxes as well as the organization themslves.

(It's no surpise that in a google search for RIAA "boycott-riaa.com" and "EFF.com" are the second and third listings)

__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

n0nsensical

I don't think people are calling YOU a liar; when they say it's "fake" they're saying someone ELSE made it up, maybe as a prank.

__________________
"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." --Abraham Lincoln

Jinn

A little creative Googling hit a page of a guy who also got this letter from good ol' Aaron:

Well said, Mike.

http://www.rushgaming.net/

EDIT to clarify something for you. The waters are still murky as far as the courts are concerned when it comes to downloading. If you can demonstrate that you have or had a copy of the movie prior to downloading then they have absolutely no case. Even under the unrealistic DMCA, you still have the fair use to make copies (digital or otherwise) of your media for backup purposes. Don't ever give up that right.

__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

NbCal

If you are worried at all about the validity of these letters, simply call the civil division of the court you are allegedly being sued in. If the phone number is not on the summons just google the courts name that most definitely will be on it, and find their number. Tell the clerk your case number, which will also be on the summons if it is real, and they will verify if the case is legit. Also as has been said, if the alleged paper with a court date on it was not either served to you personally by a Registerd Process Server, a Sheriff in your county district, or by certified mail in which you signed for, it is not legal service and the case will be placed off calendar. It is also possible to have the entire case thrown out if you are not served propery.

Lasereth

Some of the people in this thread crack me up being so self-righteous, even though if they were in his situation they'd be shitting a brick as well. I still think it's fake, but good luck to whatever happens, and if it IS real, sorry that it had to be you.

-Lasereth

__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

mastertakana

Whatever, if everyone obeyed laws throughout history where would civilization stand now? What would America be like?

Narc, that's what I think.

__________________
All I know the time it is gettin dread
Need alot of trees up in my head

stevie667

If you havn't been issued a summons to court, and still don't get one, you've been done over.
Find the bastard and introduce him to the blunt end of a crowbar.

__________________
Office hours have changed. Please call during office hours for more information.

florida0214

I want to know what happens this an intriguing story.
Sucks to be him but kinda interesting to see how this transpires

__________________
"Two men: one thinks he can. One thinks he cannot. They are Both Right."

Slavakion

I seem to be repeating myself, but... You're missing the point. If you break the law, don't expect nothing bad to happen to you. I never said not to download anything.

What I said had nothing to do with civil disobedience or conscientious objection.

*sigh*

Strange Famous

The point is that I reject the commodification of human relations into relations of exploitation.

The noise a person makes when they sing or play should be free - not a commodity to be packaged, sold, and to sue people if they dare to try listen to it without paying the sufficient dues to the capitalist machine.

To sing is an act of rebellion agaisnt the RIAA.

How soon before they demand royalties for singing "their" songs?

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

meembo

Do you think there is any appropriate claim for intellectual property of any kind? You seem to suggest that as soon as any human production is out there, it belongs to everybody and nobody. There is genuine work that goes into the production of "the noise a person makes when they sing or play". The fact that someone demands payment for a song of their own creation is not exploitation, unless you think compensation is a form of exploitation.

__________________
less I say, smarter I am

Cimarron29414

Me thinks that many of you missed the lesson on "Personal Accountability" while growing up.

This is how life works: if you believe that the RIAA is gouging prices, then you call your D.A. and have them file suit over the matter. You don't get to steal and then use their gouging, your ignorance, or your "I couldn't afford it, so I stole it" defence.

__________________
Gives a man a halo, does mead.

"Here lies The_Jazz: Killed by an ambitious, sparkly, pink butterfly."