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IP subpoena

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24Cadilac

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tn
I received a letter from my ISP stating my IP address had be identified as allegedly infringing on XPAYS, Inc's copyrights. The letter was addressed to my late grandmother whom I bought the house from but I never changed the internet service to my name. I have since canceled the internet service. The letter said that my ISP will release the contact information on Feb 24. Since the information released isn't going to include my name should I still try to settle? The reported infringement date was after I bought the house.
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tn
I received a letter from my ISP stating my IP address had be identified as allegedly infringing on XPAYS, Inc's copyrights. The letter was addressed to my late grandmother whom I bought the house from but I never changed the internet service to my name. I have since canceled the internet service. The letter said that my ISP will release the contact information on Feb 24. Since the information released isn't going to include my name should I still try to settle? The reported infringement date was after I bought the house.
You can't do anything as you are not a party to it.
 

tranquility

Senior Member
The whole thing could be over if the OP wrote "deceased" on the envelope and gave it back to the mail carrier.

Instead, unless he's the executor for grandma, he may have committed a crime. I'm not sure admitting it by replying to the letter is the best course.
 

24Cadilac

Junior Member
I was the executor but she's been dead a while (few years). I was living at the house at the time of her death and never changed any of the utilities to my name after purchasing the house which I'm sure was a mistake. So I'm doing that today. So according to other posts I'm going to start receiving calls and letters in my grandmother's name now that they have the contact information. How should I handle the 1) mail: write "deceased" on it and return it? 2) the phone calls: I can tell them she is deceased but will they ask for estate attorney? and I don't want to incriminate myself. Would I be better off just disconnecting the phone? I was going to change the name on the account and keep the same phone number.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Write "deceased" on the letter and return it and see what happens.

Then I suggest you speak with an attorney in your area when it is discovered your grandmother died several years ago and you never switched accounts out of her name.
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
OK may have actually dodge a huge bullet here.

I would not provide a single shred of additional information to anybody except your attorney if you get one. No matter what the threaten to do, do not give them anything else they might use against you.
 

davidmcbeth3

Senior Member
Write "deceased" on the letter and return it and see what happens.

Then I suggest you speak with an attorney in your area when it is discovered your grandmother died several years ago and you never switched accounts out of her name.
I would do nothing ... why tell them she is gone .. then they'll just look for someone else...they know the IP address is active.

Let them sue the deceased and get a judgment. Then they cannot claim later that the OP did it ...
 

quincy

Senior Member
The problem with doing nothing is that the ISP will then release grandma's account information and grandma will be sued. Grandma will not appear in court (I assume) so a default judgment will be awarded the plaintiff XPays.

When it is discovered grandma is dead, XPays will have to convert their personal action against grandma to one against grandma's estate and the executor of the estate will have to handle it.

The executor of the estate is 24Cadilac. As executor, he is charged with responding to any action filed against his grandmother or her estate.

In other words, 24Cadilac will wind up having to provide XPays and the court with grandma's death certificate, which will show she died several years ago and that 24Cadilac has been using her account as his, and was, in fact, using the account as his at the time the illegal download was tracked to the ISP account.

Probably 24Cadilac's best course of action, other than consulting with an attorney in his area to handle the matter for him which is wise and advised, is to send the letter back with "deceased" written on it, hope that XPays does not request or search out a copy of the death certificate as proof, and hope that the infringement action ends there.

A lot of infringers have taken to claiming the ISP account holder is dead, by the way (I believe this was a suggestion offered on another site about "copyright trolls"), so this is not exactly a new or unusual tactic used to get out of an infringement suit. ;)

I sort of doubt that XPays will pursue the action once they determine the grandmother is dead. It becomes too costly for them to pursue, even if they could potentially turn around and make a case against 24Cadilac.

The statute of limitations for a copyright infringement suit filing is three years after discovery of the infringement.
 
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quincy

Senior Member
Mostly because the executor is charged with handling the estate of the deceased - including the handling of any legal actions filed against the deceased and in closing the accounts of the deceased.

The account, however, was still active, under the grandmother's name, as shown by the tracking of the illegal download. Depending on how long ago the grandmother died, XPays could recover damages from the estate/heirs. So XPays will need to see the death certificate to convert the action to one against the estate.

The return of the infringement notification with the word "deceased" on it may or may not halt the infringement action. XPays is known for aggressively pursuing infringers, but they may not want to expend any time, energy or money pursuing a dead one. Unfortunately, writing "deceased" on these notices has become a common avoidance tactic among very much alive infringers, so XPays may investigate the death.

And here is where 24Cadilac can run into trouble.


As a note: This is crossing into an area of which I know very little. Perhaps anteater can provide better information on the duties of an executor in a matter such as presented here. I will see if I can get him to visit and offer advice and correct anything here that I may be misinformed on.
 
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