Using BitTorrent to copy music, movies, and software over the Internet is currently very common. Sandvine ranks BitTorrent, the fourth application behind the main application traffic volume, Netflix, YouTube, HTTP, as the 1st upstream application, 4th downstream application, 4th overall application did. Even worse is that many people do not know that copying content using BitTorrent or another file sharing program is illegal. Against this background it is not surprising that copyright holders are becoming more aggressive about taking Internet file sharers.
File sharing lawsuits began several years ago based on sharing music with Napster, Grokster, LimeWire and other services, but most copyrights currently focus on BitTorrent. Trent proceedings are usually in the form of copyright holders claiming numerous "John Doe" or "Doe" defenses. The defender is named John Doe. Because the copyright owner knows only with individual IP address. However, once the lawsuit is initiated, the copyright owner can allow the court to issue summons to the Internet service providers of various lawsuit defendants in the case. A subpoena warrant for the ISP requests identification and contact of case cases that include each case. Name and address, usually telephone number and e-mail address.
If you receive an ISP summon announcing that your information will be handed over to a large number of copyright litigation in the near future, you and your family are under severe stress. In addition, there are many inconsistent information on the Internet. Most of them are posted by non-attorneys, or by lawyers with little treatment of either of these lawsuits. In addition, most of the online sources do not offer practical executable advice. Below are action plans I recommend to clients and will help you resolve your copyright litigation.
Action plane
1. Do not ignore the summons. Please do not mistake that copyright infringement is charged by copying the content on the Internet and the copyright owner is filing a lawsuit. This is not a laughing matter. There are many advice to the Internet that you can ignore the subpoena of ISP. However, in multiple file sharing lawsuits that have chosen to ignore the ISP's summons, default judgments exceeding $ 1 million ($ 1,000,000) are allowed. Ignoring the subpoena of ISP, literally your life may be ruined.
2. Act quickly. Please take seriously the subpoena of the ISP and immediately shift to it. In each case, the important parameter of your action plan is whether you fight or settle the claim. We recommend that you decide this before the date the ISP transfers your information to the copyright owner. In particular, unless the copyright owner is prohibited from publishing you publicly, the copyright owner can make it free if you have your information (in particular, if you do not agree to copy Porn content received). Likewise, obtaining information on a file sharer is expensive for copyright holders. If your name is "there", the possibility that the second copyright holder will pursue you will be higher.
3. Get facts. The first step in deciding whether you will fight or resolve the case is to judge whether the complaint raised against you is true. A checklist for your investigation is here:
General background questions
- Who is the computer user of your home?
- Which of the computer users is under the age of 18?
- Are you or someone at your home copying the content on the Internet?
General computer questions
- What is the model and model of your home computer, including desktop computers, laptop computers, servers, smart TVs, game platforms, DVD players, Blu-ray players, game consoles, handheld gaming devices, digital media players such as smart media Is it? Mobile phone, tablet
- Are BitTorrent clients installed on any computer in the house? If so, which ones?
- Is any antivirus software installed on any computer at home? If so, which ones?
- Who is your broadband Internet service provider?
- Who is your cable or satellite service provider?
- Who is your wireless service provider?
Questions about the network
- Is the network completely wired, is there a wireless router?
Wireless router question
- What is the network configured for wireless access? For example, it is common to configure "full access" networks and "guest" networks.
- Do each network have a password or are it open?
- For each network that has a password, who knows the password?
- Does the router maintain network access logs? Does it show unknown activity?
Based on your research, you should assemble pictures of what actually happened. Did you or someone at your home actually used BitTorrent to copy copyrighted content? If so, who did it? Is there a possibility that your computer was hacked? If so, is there evidence to support it?
4. Consult a lawyer. A skilled lawyer can explain your options far more in detail than such short articles. In addition, if you need to choose to negotiate a contract, a lawyer can arrange to keep your identity a secret from piracy. Most importantly, a skilled lawyer can provide guidance to take the right approach in your case.
Ideally, you should (1) handle a number of these lawsuits, (2) contact lawyers who can appeal to events other than "settlement negotiation", and (3) practice in your state It is recognized that in certain United States District Courts you live,
First, the case of file sharing is deeply involved in copyright infringement. Most attorneys never deal with copyright infringement problems, and we may not even know about the specific singularity of allegations of copyright infringement. Correspondingly, it is illegal that a lawyer who has dealt with personal injuries of someone you know is the right choice to handle this kind of allegations. The same applies to lawyers dealing with DUI claims or divorce.
Second, many intellectual property attorneys who are familiar with copyright laws rarely sue the case in fact. Therefore, you do not feel the actual trend of your case, such as the experience of the counterparty's lawyer, the extent of reasonable settlement.
Third, attorneys can defend themselves only when approved by the court. For example, my company copyright litigation attorneys are recognized in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. Most file sharing cases are resolved without major lawsuits, but important lawsuits may be required. If change lawyers can not accept the verdict, you need to hire a lawyer Please add to your expense.
Ask your lawyer for demand. Once you know what the copyright owner wants, you and your lawyer can decide on the best way to take in your case. In particular, if the demand is low enough, consider paying it or letting the lawyer negotiate. On the other hand, if demand is high, your lawyer can advise you if you can win. You should be aware that litigation of copyright litigation is quite expensive. Many companies like my company provide ordinary families who have to sue these claims under favorable conditions so that you can fight bills as necessary. Furthermore, copyright plaintiffs may have to pay for your attorney if you win the claim. Fee
If you receive a subpoena of ISP, there is no doubt that you are under much stress. I definitely want to solve the situation as soon as possible. However, it is important to carefully and non-emotionally approach this decision. I hope the action plan outlined by me will help your actions.
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