auhsoj87
January 14th, 2007, 02:53 AM
When using P2P, the only way someone can tell if you have the source is if they make a connection to your IP to check for the file they are looking for. Using software like Peer Guardian does a lot to prevent lawsuits based on distribution. Also, be aware that you don't get busted for downloading, you get busted for uploading.
I do not condone illegal file sharing, but I joined this forum because I think it's important you all understand that these lawsuits are not something you need to be backing down on. There are many circumstances and practices that have not been brought to light in any courtroom - and all it takes is one reasonable doubt in an RIAA, MPAA, or ESA case to cause the suit and any following litigation to be thrown out, with possible legal ramifications for the organization responsible for bringing the suit to a court-of-law.
What these organizations do not want you to know is:
1. When they make an attempt to get money from you in exchange for not taking the matter to court, they are committing a felony known as "extortion". Formal charges can be filed against these organizations on the claim of "duress" also, as they threaten severe economic harm to you if you do not comply with their demands.
2. These organizations cannot prove you are holding copyrighted material without violating the copyright laws themselves by downloading - and distributing in the process - the work they are claiming you infringed on. A valid argument is that they would have to show physical proof of the right to distribute the infringed content from the copyright holder, and to provide a valid license for their downloading of the material; and that failure to do so surely shows they are no more innocent of the claim of infringement than they claim you are.
3. In order for these organizations to file suit against you, they must have valid proof of your repeated distribution of copyrighted materials without a license. The only way they can do this is by illegally logging information about you, your ISP, and the material you "supposedly" infringed on; without the government's, your ISP's, or your permission to do so. Partnered with repeated attempts to contact you through your ISP, that can legally constitute harassment or stalking.
4. Additionally, a claim I have never heard in any court of law: Lack of evidence to support damages incurred due to your "supposed" infringement of the material in question. These companies cannot legally force you to pay for the 900 other people distributing the file; Nor can they can bring a credible case against you without sufficient evidence supporting their demands in damages.
For those of you who believe they can, understand that there has never been a P2P or BitTorrent protocol that allowed an outside source to calculate the exact number of transmissions of a file through your IP; The only way to determine this is to illegally hack into another individual's network/computer and retrieve the information yourself (if there even is any there to begin with). This, in the end, leads to a federal offense - which leads to the responsible party spending an extended vacation in jail and the possibility of being banned from contact with the Internet or computers (it has happened in the US with some minors and adults responsible for viruses and hacking, and Visas have been revoked from immigrants too).
5. Last, but not least, regardless of these organizations' belief they can legally represent their members through anti-piracy suits, they must provide a written, signed agreement with the legal copyright holder in order for them to represent them. I don't care how much the ESA says they represent their members - without individual contracts that can be presented to you when or before a claim of infringement is made, you - nor your ISP - have no legal standing to act on their claim of infringement until they have furnished this contract and it has been noted that you are aware of their representation.
Under US Copyright Law, only the copyright holder - individually - can act on infringement legally. All other parties that are unable to furnish proof of representation of the copyright holder have no legal right to take a course of action to stop infringement in any form or manner; This is the main reason why formal charges of infringement are not brought against most infringements.
Now, to represent another view:
1. If formal charges of infringement are brought on you, your computer, and all mediums deemed "usable" for the storage of the "supposed" unlicensed materials can be subpoenaed to appear in court as possible evidence, and used against you; though this is rare except in cases of "mass infringement" - meaning you are suspected of running a service that was intentionally or knowingly used to reproduce and distribute copyrighted materials without you having a license to do so.
2. Without proper legal backing, you can - and most likely will - lose a civil suit filed against you to claim damages; but most often, only when you let the pressure of the suit cave you in and you plea guilty or agree to an out-of-court settlement.
Also, should your lawyer present you with an out-of-court settlement during a civil suit, seek new representation immediately; That is a red flag that their will to defend you against the accusation is faulty, and can result in him/her risking your defense.
3. It is, under US Copyright Law, deemed an "infringement" to knowingly be in possession of copyrighted material(s) that you do not have a license to have in your possession.
That's about it for this section!
Just because I mentioned the facts above does not mean that any of these facts will be recognized as valid defenses in a court-of-law; Nor does it mean that any of the latter facts will be used against you in a court-of-law. They are a blunt response from myself - an individual preparing a multi-year review into every lawsuit by these organizations to present as a federal case in the Supreme Court; with the hope of permanently ending the persecution of American citizens by organizations and corporate entities deceiving the public with false claims of record-low profits and the eventual downfall of the entire entertainment industry due to file sharing; And an individual studying copyright law in the Southwestern United States.
I've worked tirelessly since I was accused by a "supposed" legal representative of the MPAA of copyright infringement. After the events of my run-in with these organizations (My case against the MPAA was stronger than the one they had against me, so the accusation was dropped), I've made it a priority to do whatever I could to end the lawsuits against innocent people who just wanted to watch a movie or listen to a song.
I don't plan on stopping until I force them to cough up what they took from us- our respect, our dignity, our friends and family (who turned on us when the accusations were made), our lost wages, our worry, our fear, our right to free will, and our right to be free from terrorism.
As I stated before, I do not condone illegal downloading; but I also do not condone the BS American citizens are having to deal with at the hands of organizations we built from the ground up. They wouldn't exist without us, and I plan on making sure they understand that "we brought them into this world, and we can sure-as-hell take them out".
I do not condone illegal file sharing, but I joined this forum because I think it's important you all understand that these lawsuits are not something you need to be backing down on. There are many circumstances and practices that have not been brought to light in any courtroom - and all it takes is one reasonable doubt in an RIAA, MPAA, or ESA case to cause the suit and any following litigation to be thrown out, with possible legal ramifications for the organization responsible for bringing the suit to a court-of-law.
What these organizations do not want you to know is:
1. When they make an attempt to get money from you in exchange for not taking the matter to court, they are committing a felony known as "extortion". Formal charges can be filed against these organizations on the claim of "duress" also, as they threaten severe economic harm to you if you do not comply with their demands.
2. These organizations cannot prove you are holding copyrighted material without violating the copyright laws themselves by downloading - and distributing in the process - the work they are claiming you infringed on. A valid argument is that they would have to show physical proof of the right to distribute the infringed content from the copyright holder, and to provide a valid license for their downloading of the material; and that failure to do so surely shows they are no more innocent of the claim of infringement than they claim you are.
3. In order for these organizations to file suit against you, they must have valid proof of your repeated distribution of copyrighted materials without a license. The only way they can do this is by illegally logging information about you, your ISP, and the material you "supposedly" infringed on; without the government's, your ISP's, or your permission to do so. Partnered with repeated attempts to contact you through your ISP, that can legally constitute harassment or stalking.
4. Additionally, a claim I have never heard in any court of law: Lack of evidence to support damages incurred due to your "supposed" infringement of the material in question. These companies cannot legally force you to pay for the 900 other people distributing the file; Nor can they can bring a credible case against you without sufficient evidence supporting their demands in damages.
For those of you who believe they can, understand that there has never been a P2P or BitTorrent protocol that allowed an outside source to calculate the exact number of transmissions of a file through your IP; The only way to determine this is to illegally hack into another individual's network/computer and retrieve the information yourself (if there even is any there to begin with). This, in the end, leads to a federal offense - which leads to the responsible party spending an extended vacation in jail and the possibility of being banned from contact with the Internet or computers (it has happened in the US with some minors and adults responsible for viruses and hacking, and Visas have been revoked from immigrants too).
5. Last, but not least, regardless of these organizations' belief they can legally represent their members through anti-piracy suits, they must provide a written, signed agreement with the legal copyright holder in order for them to represent them. I don't care how much the ESA says they represent their members - without individual contracts that can be presented to you when or before a claim of infringement is made, you - nor your ISP - have no legal standing to act on their claim of infringement until they have furnished this contract and it has been noted that you are aware of their representation.
Under US Copyright Law, only the copyright holder - individually - can act on infringement legally. All other parties that are unable to furnish proof of representation of the copyright holder have no legal right to take a course of action to stop infringement in any form or manner; This is the main reason why formal charges of infringement are not brought against most infringements.
Now, to represent another view:
1. If formal charges of infringement are brought on you, your computer, and all mediums deemed "usable" for the storage of the "supposed" unlicensed materials can be subpoenaed to appear in court as possible evidence, and used against you; though this is rare except in cases of "mass infringement" - meaning you are suspected of running a service that was intentionally or knowingly used to reproduce and distribute copyrighted materials without you having a license to do so.
2. Without proper legal backing, you can - and most likely will - lose a civil suit filed against you to claim damages; but most often, only when you let the pressure of the suit cave you in and you plea guilty or agree to an out-of-court settlement.
Also, should your lawyer present you with an out-of-court settlement during a civil suit, seek new representation immediately; That is a red flag that their will to defend you against the accusation is faulty, and can result in him/her risking your defense.
3. It is, under US Copyright Law, deemed an "infringement" to knowingly be in possession of copyrighted material(s) that you do not have a license to have in your possession.
That's about it for this section!
Just because I mentioned the facts above does not mean that any of these facts will be recognized as valid defenses in a court-of-law; Nor does it mean that any of the latter facts will be used against you in a court-of-law. They are a blunt response from myself - an individual preparing a multi-year review into every lawsuit by these organizations to present as a federal case in the Supreme Court; with the hope of permanently ending the persecution of American citizens by organizations and corporate entities deceiving the public with false claims of record-low profits and the eventual downfall of the entire entertainment industry due to file sharing; And an individual studying copyright law in the Southwestern United States.
I've worked tirelessly since I was accused by a "supposed" legal representative of the MPAA of copyright infringement. After the events of my run-in with these organizations (My case against the MPAA was stronger than the one they had against me, so the accusation was dropped), I've made it a priority to do whatever I could to end the lawsuits against innocent people who just wanted to watch a movie or listen to a song.
I don't plan on stopping until I force them to cough up what they took from us- our respect, our dignity, our friends and family (who turned on us when the accusations were made), our lost wages, our worry, our fear, our right to free will, and our right to be free from terrorism.
As I stated before, I do not condone illegal downloading; but I also do not condone the BS American citizens are having to deal with at the hands of organizations we built from the ground up. They wouldn't exist without us, and I plan on making sure they understand that "we brought them into this world, and we can sure-as-hell take them out".