Civil lawsuit for downloading copyright movie on bittorrent protocol

[cjd88]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Iowa

My father in law received a letter from Mediacom (his ISP) regarding the downloading of a copyrighted film.

It basically states that Mediacom has received a subpoena requiring them to disclose his name address and other information pursuant to a court order in a civil lawsuit for the southern district of Iowa.

I was the one that downloaded the film whilst I was visiting his home but aparently that doesn't matter because the acount holder is responsible.

It says he hasn't been charged with a crime but the plaintiff is undoubtedly seeking monetary damages from him.

My question is really how much monetery damages are we likely to be looking at. I can enclose other details if need be.

I downloaded it from my laptop not his and used the bittorrent protocol.

Thankyou

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Iowa

My father in law received a letter from Mediacom (his ISP) regarding the downloading of a copyrighted film.

It basically states that Mediacom has received a subpoena requiring them to disclose his name address and other information pursuant to a court order in a civil lawsuit for the southern district of Iowa.

I was the one that downloaded the film whilst I was visiting his home but aparently that doesn't matter because the acount holder is responsible.

It says he hasn't been charged with a crime but the plaintiff is undoubtedly seeking monetary damages from him.

My question is really how much monetery damages are we likely to be looking at. I can enclose other details if need be.

I downloaded it from my laptop not his and used the bittorrent protocol.

Thankyou

How much monetary damages are you looking at? Anywhere from $0 to $30,000 (or potentially more). It depends on FAR more facts than what you have provided here.

BUT, I caution you against providing too much information here. Admitting to illegally downloading copyrighted material is not always the wisest thing to do on a public forum. You, or actually your father-in-law, should probably consult with an attorney in Iowa to go over the specifics.

The $0 would be if the entity suing does not have standing to sue (has no rights in the work), if the work in question is not registered or was not registered in a timely fashion, if the suit can be dismissed for other reasons. . . . . . or damages could go as high as $30,000 if the work was registered and good evidence of the illegal download exists and other factors come into play and the matter winds up in court and the plaintiff can show costs to support damages that high.

When copyrighted works are registered in a timely fashion, the copyright holder will be eligible to collect statutory damages ($750 to $30,000 per infringed work, or $150,000 per infringed work if certain facts exist).

It has been a recent trend in these suits to send out settlement demand letters once the ISP has disclosed the identity of the account holder, and the amounts demanded to settle have ranged from $200 to around $5000. Those suits that have made it to court with no settlement agreement reached have had damages in the $10,000+/- range for a single illegal download.

In some cases it can make sense to file a motion to quash the subpoena (to protect one's identity from being disclosed) or to file a motion to dismiss. This would be if facts support these motions.

But these are really things that should be discussed with an attorney after the attorney has been able to personally review the matter, so this personal review is what I recommend.


edit to add: Although BitTorrent has claimed that it is impossible to illegally download on BitTorrent, I would not count on this working as a good defense to a suit.