You can try to write and file one of these motions without a lawyer but that requires considerable diligence and writing skills. Hiring a lawyer gives you several advantages, most notable is that when you are represented by a lawyer, the plaintiff is no longer allowed to contact you except through your lawyer, which will prevent harassment.
Communicating through a lawyer means you will not incriminate yourself by inadvertently revealing personal information, or by admitting anything you shouldn't. What are you risking if you fight? Sometimes you can't fight without revealing your identifying information. Even if your name and personal information are not revealed, if you reveal which IP address you are, or which Doe, the Plaintiff may decide to make an example of you and sue you individually.
If this happens, the Plaintiff is far less likely to settle for a small amount, and you may end up with a larger judgment against you. Sharing or downloading copyrighted files without the permission of the copyright holder violates the law, and you might end up paying for it in court.
Many people do not want to risk having their identity revealed, or do not want the risk, time commitment, or attorney's fees associated with a legal battle. In this case, you can settle with the plaintiff, often for a few thousand dollars. If you choose this route, we recommend you do this through an attorney, who can protect your personal information and your rights. As we noted above, when you are represented by an attorney, the plaintiff can no longer contact you except through that attorney.
This means no harassing phone calls or letters. Also, an experienced attorney can sometimes get a better deal on settlement and can make sure negotiations stay anonymous and do not incriminate you in any way. Finally, an attorney's review can make sure the settlement agreement legitimately settles your case and protects your interests.
To defend yourself, you will need to show real evidence that you would not or could not have been involved in downloading or sharing the file. In one case, our law firm was able to prove that the client did not have the IP address at the time the alleged downloading occurred. However, that is not the norm. If someone accessed your wireless router, you would not be legally liable, but you would have to have real evidence to back up your assertion. Many people claim that someone else did it but they lack evidence to prove it.
For example, a year-old great-grandmother with a wireless router that is not password-protected is going to get more people to believe that she didn't download something than a college student with a password-protected router.
The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site. The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising.
In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. There are many ways to defend yourself or someone you know, who is facing allegations of copyright infringement. The only best way to deal with it is to talk to a national torrent defense attorney who has experience with intellectual property cases.
With professional guidance, you can mitigate the harsher impact of a lawsuit in such cases. Another important mention is that if your name gets inserted into the lawsuit then that may appear in online searches that are carried out during employment-related background searches, and that can hinder you from fetching a job in the future on having to explain why you had been a defendant in a movie piracy case.
Generally, the copyright statute of limitations is three years and you may get a notice for infringement before the period expires. Sometimes a movie company may wait to allow you many downloads so that the cases of infringement against you get racked up and then take legal action. This is done to increase infringement damages and claim more penalty from you. A common defense is an unsecured Wi-Fi network where you can show that a third person, maybe your roommate, friend, family member, or a neighbour is responsible for the illegal download through the Wi-Fi.
But know that many ISP agreements may show that you could be held responsible for any activity from your account. It is an essential responsibility of a lawyer to represent you rightly and guide you well through the legal proceedings and carry out all paperwork.
Do not waste tour valuable time, and find an expert in this niche to efficiently and effectively settle your case. Do not lie or misrepresent the facts. If you do contact the Plaintiffs, either do not answer questions that cause confusion or hurt your case, and if necessary, break off communication.
You do not have to answer any questions, so do not lie or misrepresent facts. Keep in mind that even if you own and paid for a physical DVD of a movie, the law generally still does not allow you to download another copy of that movie from an improper source like BitTorrent simply for entertainment purposes. Therefore, telling the Plaintiff that you did download the movie in question but that you also own the movie will NOT help your case.
It will actually HURT your case significantly. In a few uncharacteristic cases, the courts have prevented Plaintiffs from continuing for a variety of technical reasons. Defendants like you in those cases were in a much more favorable position simply because they waited to settle while actively monitoring their case.
In many cases, the courts allow Plaintiffs to obtain individual names from your Internet Access Provider. Once your name is released, there is a possibility that they could amend the lawsuit to include your name or file an individual lawsuit against you in your jurisdiction if you do not settle in the time requested. The prospect of suing hundreds or thousands of people individually is time and resource intensive for plaintiffs, but there is always the possibility of individual suits even if the chances are low that an individual lawsuit would be filed.
Lawsuits like these are based on the fact that it's much less expensive for an individual to settle rather than hire a lawyer and fight this process. We realize what a bad position that puts defendants like you in. We hope this guide provides a bit of orientation so you can figure out the best path forward. If you thought you gained something from this discussion, please consider supporting our work at by donating , sharing this guide through Twitter and liking us on Facebook.
Why is this happening to me? An analogy might help. Imagine the Plaintiffs collect IP addresses like tuna fisherman cast their tuna nets. Also, some of the tuna they caught in the net will manage to swim out before the net is pulled up.
Can I report them? Can I sue them back? Said differently, while a number of courts are having less patience for these lawsuits, many suits have been allowed to proceed and individual names released. Am I liable for my adult children's or their friends' internet activities while they are using our internet access?
Once again, we want to thank the California Consumer Protection Foundation for their support, which allowed this guide to be created. Value free legal services for internet users like you? Support them. What's the best way to avoid legal problems for your business or creative work?
Read our book! Paperback Ebook Audiobook. Ever wonder when you can reuse music, photo, or film clips from other sources? Find out with our interactive Fair Use App.
You can find our video guides here. Legal Services we provide. Law school IP and entrepreneurship clinics list. Frequently Asked Questions about Copyright Law. How to find free music, images, and video you can use or remix in your own creative works.
Stop unwanted texts and calls. Taking a few simple steps upfront to protect your business or project can save time and money down the road. Professors can request a FREE evaluation copy. Skip to main content. What are your options right now? Things to know about the settlement letter you will receive Things to consider when responding to the settlement letter Should I hire a lawyer? Should I settle now? At this time, New Media Rights is not acting as counsel in these cases because of our limited resources.
Whether you should spend money on a lawyer or not in these types of cases is also an unsettled question. There are so many different plaintiffs and different modes of trying to do business that it's impossible to know C whether that lawyer's negotiation would be so successful in lowering the settlement that it would be worth the cost of the lawyer. For those who clearly know they have downloaded the file, it will be less prudent for them to ignore the settlements, and the benefits of hiring a lawyer are more dubious.
B what specific results have been achieved for other defendants like yourself in the past by taking those steps and.
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