I'm Being Sued For Piracy...
 

I downloaded "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" off of Bearshare about a week ago and today, when I get home from work, I see a letter from NBC Universal stating that I'm being sued for $50,000 :eek: and that a court date has been set up on the 20th on this month.

I've always downloaded movies and music and have never had a problem until today.

Well, I'm scared shitless because:

1.) I don't have $50,000.
2.) I don't want to go to court because I know I'll lose and
3.) I don't want to go to jail.

So ummm... Does anyone have any advice?

(I hope this is the right forum for this...)

get a lawyer, if you can't afford one, then the courts will appoint one for you for no charge.

you don't need to have $50,000. If they convict you they can just garnish your wages until you've paid off the $50,000.

You can decide to not go to court, that will cause a default judgement against you and you lose automatically.

You probably won't go to jail, but there's a possibility that you could, albeit small.

As far as it only being a week, they probably targetted you a lot longer than just when you downloaded Fast Times.

Each time you took a chance and didn't get caught, that's one time you got away. Sometimes you aren't so lucky as exampled by your letter.

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

Seek advice from a lawyer asap.

Other then that I really have no idea what I would do. I would be scared shitless to be honest.

It is one reason that *if* I were to download somthing such as illegal content, I wouldnt do it by a medium that is so public and allready targeted in previous court battles.

I don't know why they come after me o.0

Why not just go after Bearshare or the company that has it for download because, as far as I'm concerned, it was there to download for whomever wanted to, and I did.

And, to be honest, if I knew downloading that movie would have gotten me sued, I wouldn't have done it.

BTW> I can't afford a lawyer. I'm a poor college student :|...

Because, cases such as this, you go out and tell the public and spread fear. Mission accomplished whether they get money or not.

As for the whole not knowing its illegal thing.. eh.. good luck with that. Did ya miss the whole Napster fiasco?

ignorance of the law is not a reason. if you think that "Why not just go after Bearshare or the company that has it for download because, as far as I'm concerned, it was there to download for whomever wanted to, and I did." well, then that's for a JUDGE to decide who is right or wrong.

also with all the high profile cases that have been about RIAA suing everyone, I have a hard time believing that you are claiming ignorance of the law.

and then you stating in your OP that you don't want to go to court because you know you'll lose implies to me that you know you did something illegal and wrong.

if you don't.. well then you spent waaaay too much time in the titty board since you're still a rookie after being here since Oct 2003

edit: cannot afford a lawyer... READ the FIRST line I posted where it says one will be appointed to you for FREE.

No, I didn't miss the Napster thing but... Bearshare came waaay after Napster. I coulda' sworn that I read somewhere about how it was all right to download shared files as long as the company you were using it from wasn't charging any fees (Or something like that).

No, I'm not saying that. What I am saying is that I know I read somewhere about how companies were getting around that law because, as long as they weren't charging for the service, then it was all right to do. Bah... I need to go find that article because I know I read it.

No. I state that because I remember reading about the same thing happening to another college kid, and some major company came after him and tried to sue him for millions o.0

You know, you're really no help-- At all o.0

And, for the record, I've never viewed that board. Why go look at pictures when I can see them in real life ^_^

Jeez... Well sorry for missing it the first time :\

You downloaded just *one* old movie and they want to sue you for $50K? Perhaps you are not telling us about your history of downloads?

You could have rented that old flick for $3, or paid not much more for a used copy.

Not smart, dude.

thinking hard about the situation... the letter you got it was directly from Universal and not from the courthouse?

If it's from Universal, there should be a contact name and number. Call them and verify it. Or contact the courthouse for the exact date of your docket number.

Ummm... I've always downloaded movies and music (I said that in my first post). I've been doing it since Napster and I never got into trouble. I do try to keep up with the laws concerning anti-piracy, and I know for a fact that I wouldn't have downloaded it if I would have been sued for it.

Bah... Oh well... That's life, I guess.

This is getting heated. Im afraid you are fucked.

My tiny brain would recommend you not try to plead ignorance because if i were the RIAA i would be even more persuant of a ignorant bastard.

Your best bet is to be apologetic to the fact that you were stealing. And maybe play the "what would be the punishment for stealing a hard copy of the movie?" angle.

If that doesnt work, you could start stocking up on "soap on a rope". ;)

Best of luck to you and you have now scared me away from downloading for at least two days.

i guess you missed this:

It came directly from Universal. I tried to call that number (Was the first thing I did) but I got a message that the number I dialed was not a working number or some BS.

So yeah... I'm totally scared. I don't even think I'm gonna' sleep tonite. I feel REALLY sick o.0

Well that makes a little more sense at least. By reading your first post it appeared as if you were saying you had only downloaded this one movie.

Also not to completly side track but...
How would that work if they are still going to sue you, as such this case we have here.

The person claims they did not know such files were infringing movie files, but will still be sued with no say in it.

Well Cynthetiq, that makes me feel even worse because I don't have that kind of money :|

I think Mexico's looking like a great option right about now. And, no offense, but you don't have to be so harsh about it :\

Out of curiousity do a search of where Universal is located, and then check where the phone number points to.

Also, I would sure think you should get somthing from a COURT office stating when you are to be at a court house, not from a business.

"I didn't think I would get caught because I've done this a lot and never been caught before" is unlikely to go over well as a defense. Why not just pay for the movie in the first place?

Gilda

1984 man... 1984...

Dunno'. I just thought I'd try to see if I could download it and I could. I never thought that it would have gotten me sued, especially since it's an old movie.

sorry i dont' sugar coat things... you should know that from reading any of my posts.

like i said you don't have to have that kind of money. they can just garnish your wages until it's paid off. Garnish wages is just like having another tax coming out of your paycheck...

Its actually from 1982.

That's even worse. The movie is even older than I am :|.

Why do they care about such an old movie, anyway?

intellectual property rights... if you don't defend them vigorously all the time from the beginning, then you cannot later defend them at all.

These cases are generally settled for a few $thousand, on payment plans, with the stipulation that you keep the terms confidential. The vast majority I've heard of were the result of sharing files, not simply downloading. (Though by downloading you're usually automatically sharing.) While their legal tactics may be changing to downloaders I'd be surprised if that's all this was about.

I would contact attorneys in your area and mention the letter until you find someone familiar with the process. Lots of targets are poor students or further down the financial ladder than yourself.

Yeah... My letter says that. It also says something about Section 106 of the US Copyright Act.

I guess I should go look that up.

# Amazon.com Sales Rank:
Today: #4,971 in Video
Yesterday: #4,685 in Video

Amazon easily has over 80,000+ movies.

They are still making money on a movie and dont want to miss a dime.
But also from my original post, its also to spread fear to others rather them going after everyone they hit and miss.


http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#106

-Sigh-

Yeah... I read that earlier. Well, I guess there's not much use in worrying about it tonight. I'm just gonna' go to sleep (Or at least, try to go to sleep).

Thanks for all the input :\

Like someone else mentioned, these cases are almost always settled for a few thousand. Then they'll probably work out a payment plan too.

Honestly though, it sounds to me like someone's messing with you. I would think you'd have actually gotten a summons.

I like SecretMethod70's response there. If the number doesn't work, then I'd assume it's a fake. But just to be safe... find a lawyer friend and have them look it over.

What secretmethod said. In Australia, when you have to go to court, you will have someone turn up at your place of residence, ask for you by name, and hand you a court document. At worst it will be on letterhead from the other party's lawyer. This happens until you have a law firm contact the other party's lawyer to say they are acting on your behalf, at which point the pesky delivery guy will go directly to your lawyer. This is a good thing as it means you wife doesn't see just how much correspondence actually occurs...

My bullshit detector is going red-line. You got served by mail? The phone number is disconnected?

Does this letter have a return address from Nigeria?

A summons would follow later, after your refusal to settle. Still, it does sound like someone is messing with you.

Then again, the studios and trade associations use third party collection agencies which are often fly-by-night operations. I wouldn't write it off without trying from another phone and investigating the contact information thoroughly. You don't want to default to the penalty box.

Something is not right. I'm not sure about your local law, but I think that it's standard procedure in most countries around the world for the court to deliver information about you being sued. In my country, and in most other places I've worked, this information has to be delivered personally, and signed by you. I see two options: that either the company is getting ready to sue you, and the date specified in the letter you got is a date when they'll go to court with all the data to begin the process (so, right nowe, the cour't hasn't actually started you case). If you got this letter, then maybe they want to settle first. However, if the phone number is dead... it sound like a hoax.

Check the name of the person that signed the letter. Google it. If that person really works at Universal or a law firm, than you might be onto something. Call them. If not, call the cops.

1. You are not entitled to an attorney in this situation. At worst, this is going to be litigated in a civil court. You do not have a right to legal representation in a civil trial. You may ask the court, but you will not likely recieve it. Requests may be granted for litigants claiming their civil rights have been violated, but they aren't entitled to them. You don't even have the sympathy of the law on your side in this issue.

2. You might be able to mount some defense that someone else did it. But once again, this is not criminal law. You are not entitled to the same protections or standard of guilt in a civil trial. It operates under the preponderance of the evidence, not beyond reasonable doubt. If the fact finder comes to the conclusion that you are 51% likely to have committed the grievance or somehow liable, the ruling will be in the plaintiff's favor.

3. Posting here was one of the worst things you could have done. A) remove all of your logged posts, B) beg Halx to purge the database of your statements, and C) contact a real attorney.

This is by far the best advice you could get in this situation. The simple reality is....You need to take this as the real deal, and act accordingly. Personally, I have never downloaded Music/movies because if the risks involved (illegal and Virus content) but, it seems you decided the risks were arbitatry compared to the entertainment value. The only thing left to say here.....Good Freakin' Luck.

Go buy the movie, then scrach it with a key, then tell them you downloaded it because you already own the movie, but can't watch it.

I don't think shit like that really works though.

I don't know about Universal and the movie industry but I thought the RIAA was only targeting those who uploaded (provided) music files for others to download.

I wouldn't admit to downloading the movie until you talk to a lawyer. Perhaps it will be up to them to prove that you and not someone using your computer without your permission is at fault. I really have no idea, but I would consult an attorney, at least buy an hour of time with one to start.

Also do some searches for Universal and piracy, there must be more people with your problem and you may be able to find out something about how these cases are being handled.

I thought most of the RIAA lawsuits were settled out of court like the following example:
Schoolgirl Settles With RIAA

Just coz there is a bank down the street, doesnt mean ya should rob it.

First of all, I googled the name on the letter (Aaron Markham) and he is the director of internet anti-piracy, worldide anti-piracy operation (So I know at least that much is real).

Anyway, inside of the envelope was the letter stating what the infraction was and then there was another letter stating a court date at the local courthouse or something. So yeah, I guess the first thing I'm going to do this morning is try to re-dial that number and then I'm going to call the courthouse.

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. And... I really don't want to have to pay anything, because I can't o.0

And, for the record, I kinda' don't need to hear anymore, "That was a really dumb thing to do". I think at least 9/10 people download music off the internet. So yeah... It could happen to you :|.

I think we need a transcript of the letter. Just because it has the name of the director of internet anti-piracy on it, doesn't make it real. Who ever sent you the letter could have googled that too.

I would be highly suspicious if you haven't received anything from the court itself. Make sure you verify it with them.

I'm interested to know how much you were sharing. I've always understood that the music and movie industry tries to target people who are sharing primarily, because that most efficiently stops distribution. Were you sharing movies and/or MP3s? If so, were you sharing a lot of them?

Your college should have a student legal aid office - ours is located in the student union. Go there immediately, with the letter, and be perfectly honest with them regarding what you've downloaded and when. Get their help on what to do. Colleges normally keep a few lawyers around to help out students with problems.

Good luck. It still seems really really odd that you would be contacted about a court date by the company and not summonsed by the court, but it's entirely possible. We considered pursuing civil action against a slum lord and we were told we would either have to pay a summons fee or deliver the notice ourselves. Definitely get confirmation from the courthouse. If so, talk to a lawyer. Afford or no, that will save your ass in the long run. There's a way out, even if this is legit, but you have to follow the procedure. If Universal is pursuing this through local courts, you can bet for damn sure the local district doesn't want to have to deal with this and Universal knows it.

Also -- lawyers are worth the money. Get one if at all possible. They can't stop you from being prosecuted, but they can help mitigate the outcome and minimize your liabilities.

The court date mentioned in the letter by the studio is likely used to formally begin your prosecution and that of tens or hundreds of other people. You will likely receive a summons or something like it via the mail, a marshall, or the sheriff's office. Good luck

Someone is fucking with you. If you didn't get a court summons from the court district, then there is no court date. Universal has no authority to set court dates. Go to your county's court web site and check the calendar. Or you can do a little more snooping and get revenge on whoever is pulling your leg.

*IF* for some odd reason this is real, you shouldn't worry much. They will make a bargain with you. Even people who shared tens of thousands music files and movies online got to make a deal that was way less than what they wanted in the onset. Just chill, do some research and contact a few legal people.

Well, I download everything off of Bearshare. I mostly download music and things like episodes of "South Park" or something, but I do occassionally download movies (I think I have like 4). Once they download they're automatically shared with other people.

I was thinking that, if they wanted to go after someone, why not go after the person whom I downloaded it from :confused:.

There was never a problem in the past (As I said), and if I knew I would be sued for "Fast Times" I wouldn't have downloaded it :|. I didn't want to watch it *THAT* badly.

Although, I do think that they're going a bit overboard with the piracy thing...

That's easy for you to say. I'm scared shitless :|.

no offence, but i believe this thread as much as a I believe I am going to win the lotto tonight. But to add to the fun of it all. I would ask for them to prove it was you downloading the movie, maybe it was a friend sitting on your pc, maybe you have trojans and someone is tapped into your pc, if you have a wireless router, maybe someone is stealing your bandwidth and they downloaded the movies......etc.


btw i could careless about downloading right or wrong. not on my "get panties in bunch-o-meter".

Yes, of course. Who prosecutes people for breaking the law nowadays?

In a nutshell I'd borrow money for an attorney to represent you as soon as you receive a summons. You can protest your ignorance all you want, but it means nothing in court after the deed is done, so deal with the here and now. You might be initially scared of a fine (and there will be one if you're prosecuted), but you also ought to think about what a criminal conviction might mean for you down the road as well. Definitely get an attorney to minimize the damage.

First of all, I *REALLY* have no reason to lie about this.

Second of all, I'm holding the letter in my hand. The first part is the letter they sent to my school, the second part is the letter my school sent me and the third is a page with a bunch of costs and numbers and states a court ate :|

First of all, here's the letter my school sent me:

Please be advised that the University of West Florida information technology system administrators received the attached notice of claimed infringement. The University's Student Computer Use Policy prohibits students, faculty, and staff from using the University's data netword to download, copy, reproduce, and otherwise distribute copyrighted material.

The University will not intervene or mediate in instances of copyright infringement. It is your sole responsibility as an inividual and not as a student, representative, or affiliate of the University of West Florida.

And the letter NBS Universal sent my school:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please be advised that NBC Universal and/or its subsidiary and affiliated companies (collectivel, NBC Universal are the owners of exclusie rights protected under copyright law and other intellectual property rights in many motion, pictures, including the title(s) listed below (the NBC Universal Properties). NBC Universal diligently enforces its rights in its motion pictures.

It has come to our attention that the University of West Florida is the service provider for the IP address listen below, from which the unauthorize copy and distribution (downloading, uploading, file serving, file "swapping" or other similiar activities) of NBC Universal's motion picture(s) listed below is taking place. WE believe that the Internet access of the user engaging in this infringement is provided by the University of West Florida or a downstream service provider who puchases this connectivity from the University of West Florida.

This unauthoried copying and istribution constitutes copyright infringement under Section 106 of the US Copyright Act. Depending upon the type of service the University of West Florida is providing to this IP adress, it may hav legal and/or equitable liability if it does not expeditiously remove or disable access to the motion pictur(s) listed below, or if it fails to implement a policy that provides for termination of scubscibers who are repeat infringers (see, 17 USC 512).

Despite the above, NBC Universal believes that the entire Internet community benefits when these matters are resolved cooperatively. We urge you to take immediate action to stop this infringing activity and inform us of the results of your actions. We appreciate your efforts toward this common goal.

The undersigned has a good faith believe that the use of the motion pictures in this manner described herein is not authorized by NBC Universal, its agent or the law. The information contained in this notification is accurate. Under penalty of perjury, the undersigned is authorized to act on behalf of NBC with respect to this matter.

Please be advised that this letter is not and it not intended to be a complete statement of the facts or law as they may pertain to this matter or of NBC Universal's positions, rights or remedies, legal or equitabl, all of which are specifically reserved.

Very truly yours,




Aaron Markham
Director of Internet Anti-Piracy, Wordwide Anti-Piracy Operations
NBC Universal

(Sorry for any spelling mistakes)

And then there's another letter stating legal action and a suit for $50,000

How about a transcript of the other one stating legal action and the suit? These two don't seem very threatening, and the gist I get from the last one is that they were willing to let the school take action and have you remove all content and let it go, or something of the sort. Did these all come at the same time? Also, have you tried any of the other numbers? The court, for example?

If I ever want to fuck with someone, this would be a great way to do it.

I want to read the legal letter. I still think someone is fucking with you.

in fact, I may just copy all that and send it to some friends.. hahaha

Oh! Call the IT department or legal offices at your school. If these are for real, they'll definitely know something about it.

This sounds better put together than the standard prank. We're talking West Florida, not M.I.T. here (no offense, I didn't go to MIT either).

But still, it sounds more like a request to cease and desist. Universal won't be going after a West Florida student over Fast Times at Ridgemont High with the expectations of garnering a $50k payday, nor would they want the publicity generated by ruining a kid over a trifle piece of shite.

if it is for real, i would just buy all the movies you downloaded and clean off your harddrive of everything, or have a seperate new one that you can switch back and forth with, (or borrow someone elses for this). they can never prove on someone elses computer that you downloaded something off a different pc, as far as i know that is, if some of the more pc saavy people dont say im wrong then it would be a decent move.

dude you are getting hosed....the suit is bogus....you are going to school as well....just say someone else used your computer while you were away!! Don't be so gullible...and all these people in this thread saying its your own fault....and don't download......get real....like any/all of you haven't downloaded mp3's etc...don't be hypocrites. I suggest you take this letter and post it up on your wall.....as a reminder to the time you got 'duped'....

Doing a DoD wipe doesn't sound like a bad idea, but I would wait until finding out if this is real or not.

It still boggles the mind how people in this day and age think that they can't be sued for downloading shit. This is so widespread that you would have to live under a rock in order to not know anything about this.

And it doesn't matter which movie you downloaded, they are all copyrighted. You did the crime, so don't bitch about being caught. If you went to Blockbuster and stole Fast Times at Ridgemont High you'd be caught. It's no different on the internet anymore, as long as you are using shite programs like Kazaa or Bearshare. Tough luck dude, but it's your own fault.

I don't have a scanner so I'll have to manually write out what the other letter says. It's kinda' long so it'll take a while, if you don't mind waiting.

Not correct. Court appointed representation is only applicable in criminal matters. This is civil.

If you can not afford a lawyer, you should immediately contact legal aid.

Ignoring this will not make it better.

Only if they are awarded $50,000.

Also not correct. Failure to appear means only that you have no opportunity to address any evidence against you. To obtain default judgement, they must satisfy the court to a preponderance of the evidence that you did what they say you did, that they were damaged as they say they were. They would have to show that they were deprived of $50,000 in revenue by your activities.

If they choose to contact the FBI and file a criminal complaint, it will be investigated. Whether or not you are charged would be up to the U.S. Attorney's office in your district.



Very likely.

Get a lawyer. You definitely need one.

do you have a camera, take a pic of the letters.

Don't confess shit. Demand a trial, and they will lose without your testimony. There is no way in the world these people can win these cases if you keep your mouth shut. They cannot prove YOU downloaded those files, only your computer...and that is not enough. Play your cards right, find a lawyer who is young and sharp , who will accept the case for a limited fee...when you win, stop downloading. Oh yeah, most of us have not passed the bar or have a JD so take all of this with caution. Make sure you research the lawyer you hire in depth, they could be a snake who will play both sides.

Who's side are you on? Are you benefitting from the industry in any way? If so, we don't care what you have to say. The damn industry, it's laws and new tactics are all about protecting wealth of a few. The industry has ripped us off and will continue to do so for decades by limiting access to technology, severe regulations, intimidation and deception.

I am sick of buying E.T. in the "new and cool format", and trust me DVD is not the last media you will want to have movies to watch. Something new is around the corner, so that we'll all pay $20, for the same shit, just cause the technology is better. these people milk us for every penny, so I say FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT.

Oh yeah, don't post any of that correspondence here, and watch what you say on-line. Your own carelessness is now one of your biggest threats.

Oh yeah, this applies to all above with similar warm tingly feeelings towards the entertainment industry and their evil new tactics.

Haha, me benfit from the industry? Far from it. I do as much as I can to fuck them over, but I realize that some things are illegal and they have consequences. I just utilize better, lesser known methods of obtaining what I want.

Alls I'm saying is that he made his bed and now he has to sleep in it. It definitely sucks, and I hope I never get caught, but if I do get caught I won't whine about how I didn't know this or that or whatever. I'm sure as hell not going to rollover and accept it either, but I'm not going to bitch about it.

EDIT: here's my advice: DENY DENY DENY and FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT. Don't let those industry fuckers take any of your money if you can help it.

I've never heard of this happening before . . . I know a couple students who got a letter from Universal for downloading movies, but they were just required to get rid of the files and the downloading software from their computers, and these guys were addicts who had hundreds of files.

Suing for 50K for one file copy? I'd like to hear how they can justify that in court.

Heh, my thought exactly after reading that part. See if you can find someone you know who is a lawyer and have them glance it over anyway.

Sounds like a hoax to me, but even if it's not, if this company's anti-piracy crusade is anything like the RIAA's, they will let you go if you promise to not do it anymore. More of a scare tactic than anything.

Until you look into the validity of that court date, who's to know?

You'd better play it safe, because while there may be no suit, there could be a collection agency behind this looking for a bite. Call your local Legal Aid office right now and nip this in the bud.

:lol: seems about fair eh, 1 movie you could buy in the discount bin for 3 bucks, download it and it will cost ya 50g's. sounds about right.....if it was a true lawsuit!

... wait a minute...

this was a letter in your mail box? You were not served by a process server? Was it a certifed letter that you signed for?

Something isn't right here.... can you post a pdf of the letter?

You are missing the point. If you break the law, don't be surprised if you're prosecuted for it. It doesn't matter if you have some sort of moral justification behind it.

Sound lie a sabatoge that is on Liquid Generation, I sent it to a buddy a year or so ago and had him scared shitless, here's a copy of the LG letter they send out.

From: Jack Meihoff
Subject: Bureau of Motion Picture Executive Rights

Illegal Movie Downloads
Bureau of Motion Picture Executive Rights
Washington, D.C.
March 3, 2005 5pm



MAC ADDRESS: 00-11-2F-41-BD-21
Case No.: Case No.: 30CO999ZQ93HCD1C



It has been brought to our attention by ******** that you have been involved in the unauthorized downloading and transferring of licensed movies.

Federal laws mandate that you immediately cease and desist all illegal activities pertaining to movie theft. Further, you are required by law to pay all incurred penalties in conjunction with Amendment 34-C, officially passed on January 30, 2005.

In accordance with state jurisdictions, your failure to pay these penalties in full within 30 days of receipt of this notice will result in a warrant for your arrest. We are also required by law to inform you that a second offense will result in a minimum jail sentence of 90 days.

Penalties incurred in your particular case may be reviewed on our government Web site. All cases are deemed confidential. Penalties are assessed by each individual download, charged at a nonnegotiable rate of $1,200 per infraction. Click your specific case number (Case No.: 54rjnir1t20z1trn http://www.saynotopiracy.org/mpaa.aspx?54rjnir1t20z1trn) to view the total amount due or to dispute your case.

Sincerely,

Jack Meihoff
U.S. Agent
Bureau of Motion Picture Executive Rights

ha! I knew it!

something sounds fishy to me about this whole situation. the RIAA and movie people generally only go after the ones downloading newer movies and music, not old shit like Ridgemont High. I would seriously look into this before doing anything drastic like paying a lawyer thousands of bucks! :thumbsup:

what kind of postage did this come with? Also, what was the postmark?

I have a feeling that should answer your questions about it being real right there.

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...

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

meh,

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

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.

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.

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

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'd say he missed the refference comletely.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.