Court Rejects Law Firm's Bid to Directly Obtain BitTorrent Users' IdentitiesAndy Maxwell, 22 May 10:58 AM In many countries around the world there a
 | In many countries around the world there are long-established, well-worn legal processes that allow rightsholders to obtain the personal details of suspected pirates. Requirements vary from region to region but when certain conditions are met, few courts deny genuine copyright holders the ability to enforce their rights under relevant law. One of the most fundamental requirements is that the entity making the claim has the necessary rights to do so, yet over the years there has been no shortage of attempts to the contrary, sometimes with disastrous results. Law Firm Seeks Rightsholder-Like Rights In an application submitted to Finland's Market Court on March 15, 2024, the law firm Hedman Partners Oy sought a court order to compel an unnamed internet service provider to provide the personal details of an unspecified number of subscribers. According to Hedman's application, all are suspected of sharing copyrighted movies via BitTorrent, without first obtaining permission from two Dan...Read More | At the end of 2014, a novel type of lawsuit appeared on the docket of a Virginia federal court. BMG Rights Management and Round Hill Music sued Internet provider Cox Communications for failing to terminate the accounts of pirating subscribers. This was the first in a series of "repeat infringer" lawsuits which continue to this day. Most notable thus far is the $1 billion damages award against Cox in favor of several major record labels, which is still under appeal today. $25 Million Piracy Damages The BMG lawsuit is no longer active. After the court initially awarded $25 million in damages, plus $8.5 million in costs, Cox appealed the matter. Not much later, the dispute was settled for an undisclosed sum. Without mentioning any figures, BMG said that it was "extremely happy" with the "substantial settlement." Not just that, the music rights company said that it had set a new standard for all U.S. Internet providers. "This was a landmark case in which BMG took on the third-biggest...Read More |
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