Friend just got slapped with a lawsuit from Time Warner

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TheNinja

Lifer
Jan 22, 2003
12,207
1
0
Originally posted by: yougotdeals
Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Originally posted by: TheNinja
Originally posted by: GoodDad
Originally posted by: FoBoT
Originally posted by: GoodDad
how can they prove that he dl'd it?

ISP's keep logs

pirate boy is going to be poor

no way that will stand up in court. His neighbor must have hacked into his wireless network and dl'd it.

I agree. I just don't see how they have proof that it was actually him. Just erase the movie from the HDD, heck do a low level format of the thing. All other evidence in circumstantial. For all he knows, some guy snuck into his house and downloaded Harry Potter, then burned in on a DVD.....that bastard! I hate when people sneak into my house to use my computer.

I used the key under the flower pot.

lol

That's it, I'm moving the key to the ol' "fake rock with a hole in it", or the "fat frog" garden ornament where his mouth is puffed out.....and here's the surprise....it's actually a key holder!!!
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
Next, the parents should sue Rockstar Games because it was the GTA series that turned little Johnny into a criminable.

If Rockstar settles for more than $4K, they'll come out ahead!
 

flashbacck

Golden Member
Aug 3, 2001
1,921
0
76
Originally posted by: Eli
Originally posted by: FoBoT
you guys don't get it

they don't have to prove anything

a middle class family is going to have a dent in their budget to hire a lawyer to defend against this

it will be easier/cheaper to settle than to fight it, so the pirate boy's family is going to be out 5-10% of their annual income because of this
I guess that's the price we pay for the society we live in, but it just seems fscking wrong for a multi billion dollar corporation to even care about 4k, let alone stiff a working-class family out of 5-10% of their annual income, as you say..... just seems wrong...

Well, the company should have the right to sue no matter the dollar value, because it's their intellectual property. What's bogus is that defending yourself against such things without a lawyer is damn near impossible because the laws and legal system are so complicated.
 

Chadder007

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
7,560
0
0
Originally posted by: notfred
How important is your friend's credit rating? Let them sue, he can represent himself (free), and if he loses, he files bankruptcy. If he wins, well he wins. Either way, the studio gets nothing.

WiNNaR
 

Rebels7

Senior member
Mar 5, 2000
450
0
76
What people fail to realize is that this is a civil case and not a criminal case. Meaning that anyone can sue anybody for anything. Unlike criminal cases, in a civil case you have to prove yourself innocent!!! If you go before a jury in a civil court, 51% of the jury (or 7 out of 12 jurors), are needed to find you innocent or guilty. If a judge presides, it only takes his opinion. Most of the time the court cost incurred and the lawyer fees amount to far more than the settlement cost, the suing party knows this when they set the settlement amount. In the above lawsuit scenario which is $150,000 or settlement of $4000 this means if the person being sued does nothing and the lawsuit is moved to the default status, then the suing party gets a $150,000 judgement against the sued party (if you fail to pay, this info is a big black mark on your credit history). However, if the sued party wants to settle, then the amount is $4,000 not to go through the discovery phase and trial phase which can be lengthy and somewhat expensive, counting lawyer fees. The music industy and Direct TV have been doing this for some time. It really is legal extortion without any real proof of wrong doing. --From someone who knows first hand.
 

SludgeFactory

Platinum Member
Sep 14, 2001
2,969
2
81
All the suggestions to erase movies and get new hard drives are pointless, nobody's going to show up at his house and demand his computer as evidence. They already have records of the transfer, they couldn't care less whether he still has the stupid harry potter movie.
 

alent1234

Diamond Member
Dec 15, 2002
3,915
0
0
Originally posted by: Eli
Originally posted by: FoBoT
you guys don't get it

they don't have to prove anything

a middle class family is going to have a dent in their budget to hire a lawyer to defend against this

it will be easier/cheaper to settle than to fight it, so the pirate boy's family is going to be out 5-10% of their annual income because of this
I guess that's the price we pay for the society we live in, but it just seems fscking wrong for a multi billion dollar corporation to even care about 4k, let alone stiff a working-class family out of 5-10% of their annual income, as you say..... just seems wrong...


it's called punitive damages. you know the remedy that a lot of people here say we need to sock corps with when they do a boo boo?
 

alent1234

Diamond Member
Dec 15, 2002
3,915
0
0
unless pirate boy is going to pay up he needs to go see a lawyer with experience in these things ASAP. www.findlaw.com is where he needs to surf on over.

a judgement is no joke and BK won't get rid of a public record on your credit report. The judgement will stay on longer than any negative entry on a CR and in many states it can be renewed. The judgement also allows the winner to garnish wages, tax refunds, seize bank accounts you name it. Anyway to get their hands on the loser's cash. In some cases they may be able to seize real property like a home.
 

vwtankgirl

Member
Jan 13, 2005
62
0
0
Originally posted by: pkananen
if he was only caught downloading, couldn't he just go buy the dvd and was only dl'ing for a pc copy?

If I remember the law correctly, you are allowed one backup copy of whatever you own. I did download some stuff that isn't in print anymore, I found a copy on Cassette and had my backup copy on CD.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
Originally posted by: SampSon
Go go court with a public defender.
Excellent suggestion, I second it!

Too bad it's probably a civil suit :( -- maybe if your friend beats up the process server it can get changed to a criminal trial. Worth it for the free legal aid!
 

James3shin

Diamond Member
Apr 5, 2004
4,426
0
76
pfft, the kid is pwned. He DL'd(pirated) a movie and got caught. 4k or 150k, he knew the risks and still did it...
 

SludgeFactory

Platinum Member
Sep 14, 2001
2,969
2
81
Originally posted by: vwtankgirl
Originally posted by: pkananen
if he was only caught downloading, couldn't he just go buy the dvd and was only dl'ing for a pc copy?

If I remember the law correctly, you are allowed one backup copy of whatever you own. I did download some stuff that isn't in print anymore, I found a copy on Cassette and had my backup copy on CD.
These people always get busted for sharing (uploading), i.e. unlawful distribution.
 

CTrain

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2001
4,940
0
0
I call shen....if its really true, we would have probably read something about it already.
I never ever heard of any company going after someone downloading a movie yet so if this is true, it'd be all over the news.
We've all read about them going after people dowloading music before but I've never read anything about movies.

I'm not ready to call the OP shen but his friend is.