EPTDon't admit to downloading anything as stated before, show the court that this company is using scare tactics to trick a large amount of people into paying, and show them how this evidence could be forged. You should be fine. Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on German law obviously. Always consult a lawyer, although you don't necessarily need to use one to defend yourself ($$$))
First time getting sued, Info needed. - Page 4
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Forak
Netherlands64 Posts
Don't admit to downloading anything as stated before, show the court that this company is using scare tactics to trick a large amount of people into paying, and show them how this evidence could be forged. You should be fine. Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on German law obviously. Always consult a lawyer, although you don't necessarily need to use one to defend yourself ($$$)) | ||
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StorkHwaiting
United States3465 Posts
 Light of your plight, but I have to admit there is some degree of hilarity in knowing that your favorite SC player is  Movie. | ||
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Grumbels
Netherlands7031 Posts
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Zanzabar Haberdasher
United States510 Posts
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besiger
Croatia2452 Posts
Good luck with this | ||
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Chairman Ray
United States11903 Posts
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Grettin
42381 Posts
On September 30 2010 04:27 Zanzabar Haberdasher wrote: Send the letter back and enclose a picture of a cat. Make it clear that the picture of the cat is their payment. This somehow reminds me of this, i dunno why. http://www.geekologie.com/2008/11/good_idea_man_submits_drawing.php Yeah, sorry for off-topic.  | ||
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jungsu
United States279 Posts
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Lord_of_Chaos
Sweden372 Posts
From what I've read on TorrentFreak through lots of various articles these kind of letters are being mass sent out regularly in UK and more recently in Germany. These are law firms that together with movie companies have these schemes simply to make quick easy money and they have no intention of getting bogged down in court with any of this, especially since it would mean they would run the risk of actually losing. Which would quickly put an end to this right away. It's in their interest to not take you to court. So far I've not heard of a single person being taken to court after a letter like this. So it's most likely not a scam letter, but neither is it to be taken seriously. Just because there is an actual law firm behind it doesn't mean there is actual proof and/or threat to you. I'm going to tell you what I would have done in the situation, which by no means means you have to do the same. That's completely up to you. It's your money, time and, ultimately, pride. 1. Write a letter back to them saying you have not downloaded Blood, challenge them to take you to court. Most likely they will not do so, possibly replying with more threat letters. 2. Currently Sony has the licence for distribution of Blood+, according to Wikipedia, "in several regions". Find out if this applies for Germany at the time you downloaded it, since it's very common for animes to be unlicenced and free to download outside Japan up until there is an English DVD version released. Should be easy to find out by contacting Sony about it. 3. Assuming you get taken to court, and assuming Blood+ was licenced in Germany at that time (ie, worst case scenario), don't mention Blood+ at all. It's their job to prove that you downloaded the movie Blood, and since you didn't they will probably have problems proving that beyond reasonable doubt. | ||
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Diaspora
United States140 Posts
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lindrup
Denmark115 Posts
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Lurker87
United States172 Posts
On September 30 2010 05:02 Grettin wrote: This somehow reminds me of this, i dunno why. http://www.geekologie.com/2008/11/good_idea_man_submits_drawing.php Yeah, sorry for off-topic. Classic... at the risk of getting warned for being off topic, all of the author's stuff is hilarious: http://www.27bslash6.com/ | ||
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luckybeni2
Germany1065 Posts
For the US guys here, the european right is in many parts much more in favor of the person than the corporation and the stakes are much lower. | ||
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Skygrinder
Greece241 Posts
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Hadraziel
Russian Federation114 Posts
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/86167/german-movie-studio-demands-1064-from-file-sharers/ This news is from May 2009, back then 500 people had already received a letter like you. It might be possible to find what happened to them with a deeper research. Constantin Film AG, a major German film production and distribution company, has reportedly been sending pre-litigation settlement letters to people it accuses of illegally downloading its movies since this past March. It says it’s identified more than 10,000 IP addresses, but has sent letters to only 500 of them so far . CEO Bernhard Burgener says the movie studio is asking only for a "symbolic" 800 euros ($1064 USD) in damages, and those that refuse can expect further legal action. Nevermind the fact that BitTorrent is prone to false positives for copyright infringement and that the "proof" they cite merely identifies an address, not an actual person. | ||
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justle
United States174 Posts
First, the company handling distribution/licensing for the film (especially in foreign markets) is usually not the production company (and most of the time the distributor won't be listed on IMDb). Second, if they're accusing you of downloading something called "Blood" and you downloaded something called "Blood+" you are guilty. Obviously we can speculate about semantics (calling it a movie vs. a series, dropping the "+" out of the title), but you downloaded a product illegally and have been caught doing so. You don't know what company handles the licensing for either of these products and you shouldn't be looking at IMDb for the answer-- you SHOULD be calling the law firm and asking questions, asking for an extension while you look into this alleged piracy and try to clear it up, etc. You should also follow that up with professional legal advice. A lot of distributors are putting files up as bait, meaning there is a very real possibility that what you are downloading is being tracked by those handling the licensing. They will send out similar letters to everyone they catch. Some will pay (that's a bonus), and some will fight it. They'll make the money back from piracy based on those that pay, and figure out if it's worth their while to fight the others. You might be able to save some money by paying a lawyer to get you out of this mess or you might save money by just paying the fee. | ||
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Zocat
Germany2229 Posts
But make sure it is just from a law-firm not from a German court. You can ignore ALL letters from lawyers. But if you receive one letter from court (afaik those are yellow) you should respond immediately (and definitely get a lawyer). Also - did you sign anything when you got the letter? Or was it just in the mail? If it was just in the mail you always can say "I didnt receive anything from you" it's their job to prove, that you received the letter (via 'eigenhändig mit Rückschein' sent letters) | ||
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sushiman
Sweden2691 Posts
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justle
United States174 Posts
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KurtistheTurtle
United States1966 Posts
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