US Judge: an IP address is not a person; so keep stealing those movies and songs folks.. *sarcasm*

[ShyWriter]

US Judge: an IP address is not a person

By Matthew DeCarlo, TechSpot.com | Published: May 5, 2011, 3:31 PM EST

In what could be a landmark decision, US Judge Harold Baker has ruled that an IP address is not adequate evidence to pin a crime on someone. For years, the recording industry has sued individuals for copyright infringement based solely on their IP address. This reached a new level when lawyers began collaborating with independent filmmakers to attack large quantities of suspected BitTorrent pirates.

The lawyers logged the IPs of anyone sharing a specific item over BitTorrent. They'd get a court to force ISPs to reveal the account holders behind those IP addresses and those individuals would receive a letter requesting threatening legal action. The alleged pirates could pay a settlement fee ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, or risk being hauled to court for $150,000 plus legal fees.

Naturally, lawyers don't actually want to pursue legal action, they're just hoping to scare people into paying the settlement. This tactic has been against tens of thousands of pirates in the last year or so. In a similar case (VPR Internationale v. Does 1-1017), a Canadian adult film company sought a court's backing to demand customer data from ISPs -- a request declined by Judge Harold Baker.

Baker ruled that IP addresses do not equal persons and cited a recent child pornagraphy case where US authorities raided the wrong people because the true offenders were piggybacking on their wireless connection. "The infringer might be the subscriber, someone in the subscriber's household, a visitor with her laptop, a neighbor, or someone parked on the street at any given moment," he said.

Cases involving pornography are especially delicate because the accused party might feel pressured into quick settlements in fear of the embarrassment that would follow if the case received public exposure. Baker said the court wouldn't support "fishing expeditions" for users' information without evidence that it has jurisdiction over the defendants. Hopefully this decision will prevent future shakedowns.

At least one lawyer believes it will. Robert Cashman, a Texas attorney who represents defendants in similar cases, said "we may have just seen the order that may end all future John Doe lawsuits." "I have no doubt this ruling is the first of many to come, where the judges stop the plaintiff in their tracks by denying them access to the ISPs' subscriber records before a single subpoena is issued," he added.

Source: http://www.techspot....t-a-person.html

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Shy

[ThexDarksider]

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[LDTate]

This is good to hear. Many pirates (including me) go unpunished (figures), while being wrongly accused would really suck, especially for dealing with CP. Do some investigation first, then act afterwards.

That's interesting: IMO, stealing is stealing.

[AdvancedSetup]

That's interesting: IMO, stealing is stealing.

Agreed, but trial without representation such as they were doing was basically a shakedown. Granted many probably were guilty but many innocent were also lumped in with them due to their faulty and misleading tactics. Had you been caught up in one of their sweeps and forced to pay though you knew you were innocent you may have a different view.

[DarkSnakeKobra]

That's interesting: IMO, stealing is stealing.

I can't say I blame them even with my past(all behind me now). Have to agree this isn't the best way to catch them. Especially with external ip's changing every so often.

[ThexDarksider]

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[LDTate]

Many pirates (including me)

I was referring to you.

[ThexDarksider]

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[LDTate]

You are misunderstanding what I was saying.

I wasn't including myself as I don't do that.

You posted: Many pirates (including me)

[ThexDarksider]

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Edited May 9, 2011 by ThexDarksider

[LDTate]

I don't think anyone was thinking about banning you.

Also don't think that I'm on the recording industry's side. Not by a long shot. The price of a music cd? Give me a break.

Then when I don't have the right to make a legal copy of something I paid for, that really "bothers" me.

I hope the ones that were already fined have a recourse to fight back now.