Games firm pursues 500 pinball 'pirates' through UK courts

[Steve]

Now this is an interesting story:

Zuxxex, the German games software developer, has hired lawyers to chase down about 500 British file-sharers, launching the first in a series of swoops by computer forensic experts.

Now what makes this different from the RIAA? Well, aside from people probably being a bit more sympathetic to a company trying to protect its work under a business model that isn't hilariously decrepit, there's the matter of how much they're willing to settle for:

Letters sent to 500 file sharers in recent weeks recommended paying a £600 fine for sharing the £16.99 computer game on a peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Failure to pay would result in prosecution and potential court costs of "tens of thousands of pounds".

Of course, there are reasons why one might be incorrectly identified, so there is still the risk of some people being worried by seemingly random demands for money. However, the fee is much better than RIAA's cynical demands.

So, while still a somewhat rocky road to justice, it seems that Zuxxex really is just out to protect what it owns, rather than intimidate and bully poor users.

Get the full story over at The Register.

[redlight]

Maybe they should read this
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=38538

[Agent]

Id love one of these to go to court with a good lawyer.
How they could prove that the person whos broadband it is downloaded it is beyond me (unless admitted)

If speeding, you get a NIP, not a letter demanding payment.

[danroyle]

that is pretty hilarious if you have a wireless router you can just claim that it wasnt encrypted and someone piggybacked your net

i wonder if anyone did actually pay though

[Agent]

that is pretty hilarious if you have a wireless router you can just claim that it wasnt encrypted and someone piggybacked your net

i wonder if anyone did actually pay though

Thing is, when I was at uni, the students in the area I lived in used to rob any open (and WEP ) wireless networks that were around.
It really does have a chance of happening to innocent users.

[Griffo_]

Damn, piracy is a bad thing is some cases, in games and software I think it is, music can get a little controversial but I love HMV's and Amazon offers!

[JPreston]

Davenport replied in a letter dated 21 March: "In relation to your claim that your computer was hacked into, we regret that the security of your computer is not our concern. It is your responsibility to ensure that your computer is protected at all times."

By exactly the same principle - not doubt well established in law - if someone steals your car and ram-raids a jewellers, then you are liable to pay H Samuels whatever figure they pluck out of the air.

Jokers...

[MadduckUK]

welcome to the cut throat world of crappy pinball games!

[Metier9]

Whos needs pinball when you got plasma pong

[Nickg]

By exactly the same principle - not doubt well established in law - if someone steals your car and ram-raids a jewellers, then you are liable to pay H Samuels whatever figure they pluck out of the air.

...

did you act responsibly - did you leave your car unnatended? with keys in the ignition? did you attempt to secure it and arm an alarm system?

do you have insurance?

so your point may not be exactly the same by principle because ignorance of the technology does not provide criminal immunity...

[dangel]

did you act responsibly - did you leave your car unnatended? with keys in the ignition? did you attempt to secure it and arm an alarm system?

Are you obiligated by law to 'attempt' to secure it? No. Insure, yes - but that's hardly preventative. Weren't you watching it 24/7? Is your car older (and therefore less secure)?

so your point may not be exactly the same by principle because ignorance of the technology does not provide criminal immunity...

It's a civil offence not a criminal one, hence why they're pursuing people privately. If someone stole your car because they 'hacked' the wireless key fob code would it be your fault? No. Enough with the car analogy anyway lol


It's worth noting that this company is famous in Germany for litigation (this isn't the first time they've tried such a thing) and it's proved lucrative for them before. I'm sure this is because people are terrified when they receive letters with such threats - most can't afford the speculative legal fees.

It's pretty nasty way to do business and i'm pretty certain that should it actually go to trial they'll be dead in the water - but it's worth the risk if most people pay up (which undoubtably they will).

[JPreston]

did you act responsibly - did you leave your car unnatended?...

Maybe you sleep in your car, but I don't

Hey I've got antivirus, a software firewall, another firewall in my router (I think), run ad-aware and spybot every now and again, and know a bit more about PCs than the average joe (outside of a tech forum) but I haven't got a clue whether my PC is really secure.

A civil case only has to be proven on the balance of probabilities but I still think they would lose. Thing is; as a professional I'd possibly have a lot to lose from being found against, and as a contractor my lost time would definitely be worth more than the £600 or whatever it is they are asking for, so the sensible thing would be for me to pay up immediately. That's pure racketeering!

Good job I could always fall back on the normal defence in civil law of just ignoring all correspondence and never showing up in court. It's not like they can arrest you for it!

[Spud1]

Well, on one hand I think its great that they are actually pursuing the people that pirate their software - if only more companies would take the time then maybe more people would realise that piracy is wrong, and does impact directly on real people.

However, with that said, they really don't have enough proof to go after these people..as has been said how do they prove it was you at your computer? Or that you haven't been hacked? Most software firewalls aren't an issue for hardcore crackers who know their stuff, and WEP isn't security these days; more like a honey trap now that the tools to break it are readily available.

This is probably the actual reason why most companies don't go after pirates in this way - because they know how hard it will be for them to win. The same applies to lots of computer related crime, it is just so hard to prove who acutally downloaded X or uploaded Y unless they catch you in the act.

[JPreston]

Don't Copy that Floppy!

Saw this today and was reminded of this thread.

Sorry if it's a pea-roast.

[Odc]

Heh I love Don't Copy that Floppy. It'll stay with me forever.