CEO Shawn Hogan Takes on MPAA

IAmTheDave writes "Shawn Hogan, CEO of Digital Point Solutions, has found himself on the receiving end of an MPAA lawsuit claiming he downloaded a copy of 'Meet the Fockers' on Bittorrent. Mr. Hogan both denies the charges as well as claims he already owns the movie on DVD. After being asked to pay a $2500 extortion fee, Mr. Hogan lawyered up and has vowed to challenge and help change the MPAA's tactics. 'They're completely abusing the system,' Hogan says. Although expecting to pay well over $100,000 to defend himself, he claims 'I would spend well into the millions on this.'"

Comments

Prediction

[TheSpoom]

My guess: They'll drop the suit against this guy, but continue to threaten those that don't have the means to fight back.

Re:Prediction

[Danse]

Well, if you bothered to RTFA it seems that the MPAA is doing exactly the opposite. The head of their antipiracy division is openly saying they're looking forward to a trial and verdict next summer.

That's what they're saying now. Give it a couple months. They'll probably drop it quietly after everyone has forgotten about it.

Re:Prediction

[TheSpoom]

I must admit, if they do go through with it, it'll be a hell of a lot more interesting than SCO. ;^)

And just like them, they'll have no evidence that proves anything. Whether an IP address from a log from a P2P search bot is enough to convince a judge of the merit of the case... well, that's the interesting part.

Re:Prediction

[jZnat]

They're worried about how you'd have to pay your lawyer by the hour, and the MPAA could afford to drag the case on and on while you go into debt paying your lawyer with little or no hope of getting that money back from the MPAA.

Re:Prediction

[tinkerghost]

Actually, I don't think that any of their suits have actually been through the court system. Right now, it seems that they get up to the point of walking through the door & then drop the suit.
The courts can't rule on if their suits are viable/legal until one actually makes it through the door. If it goes to discovery & the courts uphold that they can't use the name/IP due to improper search/seasure then they're screwed.
Failing that, they have the preponderance of evidence - I think I would pass out the latest figures on botnets, along with reports of Govt/military/police 'puters being botted. "Latest reports indicate 20% of computers connected to the internet are vulnerable to remote control via malware, can **AA show mine wasn't controlled at the time of the alleged violation?"
Have the **AA bothered to track MAC addresses to show if there was an instance of IP spoofing, or simple IP overriding?

Re:Prediction

[TechForensics]

They can't drop the case if the defendant files a counterclaim. Or if they do, they're still in court on the counterclaim. If Hogan wants to teach them a lesson, he'll make sure his counterclaim litigates all of the issues they don't want litigated, including some they'd be forced to litigate if they actually took someone all the way to court.

Re:Prediction

[Dan Ost]

If there is an established pattern of dropping the case at the door, then
perhaps some state attorney general could bring up charges against the RIAA
for extortion/racketeering.

Re:Prediction

[Squalish]

They're filing civil lawsuits, which are a different legal category than crimes here in the US. One key: Civil law goes on preponderence (51% convinced = hold the defendant liable), so a mere 'reasonable doubt' that you were using your computer is not a defense. They just have to convince a judge that you probably were, rather than proving it.

Re:Prediction

[Kadin2048]

I think there's a real risk that if you tried to represent yourself, a team of RIAA suits would be more than capable of just burying you in procedural minutiae, or wait until you slip up and make some sort of unfortunate mistake yourself and then get a summary judgement. You'd have to have a judge who was really on your side, and a lot of judges don't take too kindly to people who represent themselves, because they think it makes the trial take longer and thus wastes their time.

The entire system is based around how many cases they can grind through in a week, not how fair or right the outcomes are. If you're perceived to be slowing things down, you'll have no friends to help you.

The only self-represented, successful civil suits I've ever heard of is where the issue was really clear-cut: the other people were really evil and totally unsympathetic. While you and I might think the RIAA fits that bill, they might be able to pull off "artists rights" in the courtroom and make you look like the bad guy ... and then it's just a matter of the judge yawning as they procedure you to death.

Re:Prediction

[MBGMorden]

"Defending yourself" in court isn't as easy as it seems. That's kind of like telling some random guy on the street that if he works out for a few weeks he can go into the ring with a professional boxer. If you were in shape to start with (or in your example, relatively smart and educated), you MIGHT be able to pull off a win, but 99% of the time you're going to have your ass handed to you.

Re:Prediction

[eric76]

Defending yourself in court can be a real challenge that would pretty much require making it a full-time job.

One problem is that you have to deal with all kinds of procedural issues, most of which are well known by the lawyers, but not by the rest of us. Failing to file the proper papers or filing after a deadline can seriously damage your case. If you fail to bring up the proper arguments at the right time, you may not be permitted to bring them up later.

In other words, when you hit the ground, you have to hit the ground at full speed instead of feeling your way along.

The legal system is designed for the perpetuation of lawyers, not to arrive at a just outcome.

Re:Prediction

[schnell]

No, I meant you defend yourself. With a reasonable amount of study on basic law, it shouldn't be that hard at all.

Describing an intellectual property civil lawsuit against people with law degrees and years of experience like this may just be a little cavalier. Let's try a little substitution here and see how it sounds:

No, I meant fix your transmission yourself. With a reasonable amount of study on basic automotive engineering, it shouldn't be that hard at all.

or:

No, I meant perform a root canal on yourself. With a reasonable amount of study on basic orthodontics, some local anesthesia and a mirror, it shouldn't be that hard at all.

Fight the Good Fight

[eldavojohn]

I personally would like to extend a helping hand to Shawn. If he wants to take this to court, I would like to pay him a simple $10 through Paypal for fighting the good fight. I've given the same donations to Slashdot and many many opensource projects (especially those on SourceForge) that have made my life easier.

I would like to live in a world where I'm not worried about some organization of rich bastards strong arming citizens out of hard earned cash. There have been several cases so far where people have been charged with little or no evidence. The methods by which they obtain their evidence is even shadier.

If you're reading this, Shawn Hogan, please leave some contact info so we can donate small sums of money to aid in your defense.

Not gonna happen

[BigNumber]

He won't get a chance to 'defend himself' unless he decides to counter-sue. The MPAA will simply drop the case and move on to a less aggressive victim.

Re:Not gonna happen

[Elsimer]

http://www.zeropaid.com/news/6466/MPAA+v+Shawn+Hog an:+The+Zeropaid+Interview

According to the interview, he's decided to force the issue into court no matter what the MPAA does:

CH: So your position is that you aren't going to settle and that you didn't do anything wrong?

SH: Yep. At this point they have pushed me enough to where I'm going to do whatever I can to keep them from dropping the case. I can't prevent them from dropping it, but I am going to try and force them to go to a full trial. Basically, my lawyers aren't even going to file a motion to dismiss.

CH: That would be great, it would have to be pretty embarrassing for them to go to a full trial that ends up clearing you completely.

SH: It will set a precedent for everyone else, that's the whole point. Between the RIAA and the MPAA it's almost 20,000 people that have settled. All John Doe lawsuits, not a single one has gone to a final judgment. All these people settling for basically what adds up to extortion, I want to put a stop to it. At this point, I don't care what it costs. If they drop it, I will find something to counter with to keep it in court.

Give 'em hell

[10100111001]

On behalf of the little guy everywhere... Give 'em hell, Shawn.

Re:Extortion fee?

[PrescriptionWarning]

Okay? Having the thing doesn't give you a right to download a copy

why not? its just the same as backing it up yourself, only someone else did the hard work for you.

That's Not What I Want

[eldavojohn]

I admire your generosity, feel it is a little misplaced. I think he can afford to defend himself. It seems to me that you would be doing much more good by finding some regular joe that lives from paycheck to paycheck that is being harrassed by the MPAA or RIAA and donating to their defense.

I don't think it's misplaced. Every case I've seen so far has been from someone folding under the MPAA or RIAA. I don't want to support that. I don't want to support money that came from an out of court settlement. I want the justice system to take a look at itself and really reconsider what the MPAA is doing to people. I want judges to stop handing out fines because the MPAA lawyers tell them the right things. I want to support the people that stand up to it. I don't care if he's a CEO or peon grunt with no cash, I'm going to support the person pushing for reform. I'm not going to support the person who just pays the obscene fine because they want to avoid the trial and lawyers. I want to support this guy if he's willing to bring the lawyers and cast doubt on the MPAA.

This will not go to court.

[91degrees]

Unless the MPAA are 100% certain that they're going to win. They don't really believe that a pirated movie costs them $2500. They do know that these threats have a huge effect as a deterrent. If they lose the case, they'll lose the deterrent. If they drop the case (after costing Mr. Hogan a modest amount in legal costs), they'll retain the deterrent.

In what way is it in the MPAA's interest to see this all the way to the court?

Re:Extortion fee?

[voice_of_all_reason]

Having the thing doesn't give you a right to download a copy. I've yet to see a respected scholar in the field of IP law say anything like that.

They wouldn't have to. In this country, the person bringing the suit/charges is supposed to prove THEIR point. If they can't do that, you can come to court and draw funny pictures all day if you like -- they (shouldn't) win.

Re:class action

[dr_dank]

Yes, so the lawyers walk away with ungodly sums of money and the settlement class gets a shiny nickel. I'm all for the MPAA having to cough up, but I cringe when I think about who that directly benefits and who gets next to nothing.

Re:Meet the Fockers?

[Junior J. Junior III]

I don't see how ownership of the original media serves as "proof" that he didn't download it.

Besides, with BitTorrent, you upload chunks of the torrent even as you download the file. What if he didn't download the .torrent of MtF, but rather seeded a .torrent of the ISO of the DVD he ripped?

What if he purchased the DVD after viewing the downloaded torrent? It's still an unauthorized distribution of a copyrighted work, even if it did end up resulting in a sale that benefits the Plaintiff... if they want to sue because to them the principle of control is more important than the short-term profit of a unit sale, who are we to question such prioritization?

Re:You can own meet the fockers in 10 minutes

[punkr0x]

Guilty until proven innocent, eh? I'd like to hear what proof the MPAA has that he downloaded this movie, before I worry about whether or not it was legal of him to download it. The "ownership" is far from irrelevent... it's him saying, "Look, I already bought your damn movie, what motive do I have to download it?" He has no burden to prove he bought it, they have to prove he downloaded it.

Attorney's fees

[LuminaireX]

Although expecting to pay well over $100,000 to defend himself, he claims 'I would spend well into the millions on this.

Is he kidding? If he wins he's obligated to seek reimbursement for his attorney's fees.