Share a Single Song on BitTorrent, eDonkey, Get Fined $400
Written by enigmax on May 11, 2007In March we reported on an anti-piracy outfit and its legal partners taking action against UK file-sharers, having already done so against thousands in Germany. Now, thousands of Italian file-sharers have been issued with demands totaling over one million euros. The cost of sharing a single song in Italy? A cool 300 Euros.
TorrentFreak readers will already be familiar with the Swiss anti-piracy company Logistep who partnered German games publisher Zuxxez in tracking down hundreds of file-sharers in the UK alleged to have uploaded the game Dream Pinball. These actions were preceded by massive legal action against thousands in Germany, costing the tax payer many millions. At the end of our article we warned that Italy would likely become a target for the next actions. VedoVa_NeRa, an administrator of Italy’s largest file-sharing forum, p2pforum.it, has picked up on this story;
“In a case that’s bound to strongly affect the way Italian Internet users’ privacy is safeguarded by laws, a notorious recording label from Germany, Peppermint Jam, has sent 3636 recorded mails to as many file-sharers “found” guilty of uploading some copyrighted songs (by Mousse T, founder of the label, and other artists in the Peppermint rooster: Warren G, James Kakande, Colin Rich) on such P2P platforms as eMule, eDonkey and BitTorrent.”
The letters, sent by law firm Mahlknecht & Rottensteiner, demands that alleged file-sharers remove songs on the Peppermint Jam label from their shared folders. As in the previous German and British cases, the recipient of the letter must then agree to pay a ‘fine’ of 300 euros, to be deposited into the lawyers bank account before May 14th 2007. According to the documents, non-payment will result in civil and/or criminal charges being brought.
As with the other cases, the settlement amount demanded far outweighs the cost of the original product. Indeed, VedoVa_NeRa reports that every user in these cases has been accused of sharing just one specific song. That’s a 300 euro ($400) ‘fine’ for ONE song. Additionally, the whole thing is being rushed through - once the demand letter is received, just a single week is allowed to accept the charges and pay the settlement amount - the same strategy employed by law firm Davenport Lyons in pursuing the alleged ‘Pinball Pirates’ in the UK, instilling a sense of panic in the recipient which the lawyers hope will result in rapid settlement.
VedoVa_NeRa also gives some background to the cases;
“The letters follow the last year’s ruling of the Court of Rome which compelled Italian ISPs to disclose users’ sensible data in behalf of the law firm handling the interests of Peppermint Jam. The attorneys have, so, come into possession of the physical names and addresses matching the IPs that an unorthodox (let’s call it so…) first phase of “investigation” - involving the infamous Logistep software for monitoring filesharing networks - had detected as engaged in the uploading of the Peppermint-copyrighted songs. The strange thing is that the Court of Rome has ruled the disclosure of private data relying upon “evidence” found in a way that is not contemplated by current Italian laws.”
Indeed, there are also serious questions to be answered in respect of the methods that were employed by Davenport Lyons to convince the English courts to force ISP’s to give up their customers personal details.
Anyone affected by these legal actions should head over to P2P Forum Italia, where they are giving support to anyone who has received one of these letters.
Previously: Use BitTorrent in Germany, Get Your Internet Disconnected
Next: Booty Plundered from Pirate Bay is Useless
12 Responses
well my mate had one in the uk for pinball,strange thing is they have made it impossible for her to pay,in the first letter they say she has to sign a dissclaimer before she can pay,in that dissclaimer it state,s she has to remove it from her hd,right in the second letter they say it may not be on her hard drive and that her pc could have used from another source,how can she pay when you have to sign the dissclaimer,she cant cos it was never on her hd,
300 Euros? that’s Rp.3.600.000 in indonesia currency!! i can buy 6 gigabytes of RAM.
P2P Forum Italia link seems not to work :-(
[quote comment="99186"]P2P Forum Italia link seems not to work :-([/quote]
I am very sorry, my mistake. That link is fixed now. Thanks for letting me know
Well with 300 euros, I can buy 10GB of RAM…
“The letters follow the last year’s ruling of the Court of Rome which compelled Italian ISPs to disclose users’ sensible data in behalf of the law firm handling the interests of Peppermint Jam.
When was that last year?, it looks as if this has been several months in planning, just like the dream pinball 3d crap here in the uk.
The ISP’s will all argue that they have to comply with a court order, the really worrying aspect of all this is just how easily these court orders are being obtained, virtually with no real proof, a list of ip addresses obtained dubiously, a bit of technical gobbledegook to accompany it and voila here’s your court order.
“Thanks Judge, here’s your bung as promised” in Italy - the fucking corruption capital of Europe I have no doubt the judges will all be lining up for their handouts, very lucrative this intimidation of file sharers!
The only response now can be mass non compliance with the demands in these letters, if the law firms have to pay out thousands in order to get the info from the isp’s and end up out of pocket, that would be a start in ended this scam.
Are there consumer protection groups in Italy prepared to take this on?
Hopefully some of the accused are well connected enough to send Luigi and the boyz round to dispense some street justice to these so called lawyers.. (not sure if that’s a joke or not, I would be grinning from ear to ear all day if it actually happened)
to anyone in italy or france,
dont sign the dissclaimer,if you do there will be a massive introduction after with the criminal law,
then they make massive news, you have said yes i did do it waving in front of your nose,
better still get te shirt,s promoting p2p,kid,s will love it waste your money on that not on them?????????
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