Got an interesting call from a law firm (Loeb & Loeb) representing the MPAA today. They want me to settle out of court and pay $2,500 for some movie I never downloaded (and ironically enough I actually own the DVD). Of course, I declined their settlement offer and told them I would rather let it go to court.
They are TOTALLY extorting money from people because when I told her I would rather let it go to court, she started to get rather huffy…
Me: Yep.
Her: We are able to get a default judgement against you which will be substantially more than $2,500.
Me: Okay.
Her: I will let them know to go ahead and file a federal lawsuit against you.
Me: Okay, sounds good.
If you *really* think you have a case against me, why are you “letting me off” for $2,500? You can make much more with a court ruling.
Someone has to stand up to these clowns… their scare tactics make them sounds pretty foolish IMO. First of all, I would rather spend $100,000 and not pay them $2,500 than to just give them $2,500 (it’s about the principle).
Secondly, it should be interesting to see how they are able to get a default judgement against me. I would have to fail to appear in court after receiving a summons. As long as I actually GET a summons, I will be there. Even if they go the route of Winn and Sims (filing a proof of service that never happened), it can be reversed once I find out about it.
I wonder how many people just roll over and cough up the cash. Looks like they called the wrong person this time. 🙂
Just as a heads up, loeb-and-loeb.com is available. 😉
Please contact me if they pursue this. [email protected]
Haha, exactly what I would say to those blokes as well..
I have a friend of a friend who also was falsely accused of downloadimg a movie as well. He got a letter in the mail from someone saying they were the MPAA. Rather than just paying the $X they asked him for, he went on to get a lawyer and finding out that the letter itself was forged by some phishing people. I hope noone else falls for those jerks.
Yeah I can imagine there are a load of phishers trying similar things. Grrr
Screw RIAA/MPAA and thieves in general.
I read the other day that RIAA is now going after XM radio for the player that allows you to record. Funny as they said they would never go after digital players.
Just happens that XM is suppose to be renegotiating the royalty rights soon. Sounds like they are strong arming them a bit before.
This time they messed with the wrong person.
Keep up the good work Shawn
Way to go Shawn, make them suckers bleed!
I think its great that you are fighting back, somebody with enough money needed to stand up against these people.
Couple things that I’m highly curious about.
What information did the MPAA supply in order to subpoena your confidential information from your ISP.
I don’t need to go into alot of detail as I’m sure you can read between the lines.
Dynamic IP’s
What software logged your IP at what time (see above).
Does the ISP even catalouge clients previous IP’s.
When you win this case, there should also be an arguement towards the ISP for providing your confidential information based on false information.
God Bless you Shawn. These greedy, parasitical extortionist have finally encountered someone with the courage & means to contest their extortion attempts. I hope 2 things for your outcome.
1. You win
2. You receive damages for this frivolous lawsuit.
Since RIAA & MPAA began these lawsuits, I have been boycotting the parasitical big labels. If I want a certain cd from the big 5 or almost any DVD, I buy it used on eBay, Amazon, etc…. Since copyright law is politically corrupt & broke, I’ve decided never to give another penny to these greedy pigopolist.
Hey Shawn,
where is your “donate” button actually? I also want to help fund your fight…
best regards,
Christoph
I’m totally support you and your principal Shawn! i’ll also do the same thing if i were in your position, Woohooo!
Regards!
Ridwan
Hey Shawn,
Good for you for standing up to the clowns. You’ve got the law on your side and you can always claim costs against them.
I’m sure the public will back you and you’ll get a lawyer pro bono to help with the case.
Shawn — Give me a shout, will be glad to help you out. Interesting that you receive a letter from a high powered firm where the bill from your conversation is practically as much as the entire case!
So what happened to the case now?
Bazkaz is right – not many afford to have your attitude Shawn but you’re definitely someone to admire.