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Federal Judge Dismisses Movie Piracy Complaint

Posted by Unknown on from the steve-seagal-will-punch-them-instead dept.

cluedweasel writes "A Federal judge in Medford, OR has dismissed a piracy case lodged against 34 Oregonians. Judge Ann Aiken ruled that Voltage Pictures LLC unfairly lumped the defendants into what she called a 'reverse class action suit' to save on legal expenses and possibly to intimidate them into paying thousands of dollars for viewing a movie that could be bought or rented for less than $10." The judge was not enthused that they offered to settle for $7500 while noting that potential penalties could be as much as $150,000.

4 of 225 comments (clear)

  1. About time by willthiswork89 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's about time the court system grow a backbone and say something to these wankers. What really needs to happen is a lawsuit filed for intimidation by the defendants.

    1. Re:About time by h4rr4r · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not at all. The issue I have is the discrepancy in amounts. $7500 is targeted to make it just cheaper than dealing with a lawyer. The $150k is statutory damages designed to deal with commercial infringement.

      Settling out of court is fine if it is in good faith. This is not a good faith offer, it is merely a protection racket. They don't even need to have a case since it will cost you more to fight than to pay.

  2. Mass Extortion by onyxruby · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's about time judges start to see these campaigns as the mass extortion cases that they are. If this was being done by anyone else there would have been RICO charges filed long ago. These cases have nothing to do with preserving copyright and everything to do with extorting the public. A $7500 settlement instead of a $150,000 for a $10 movie, how on earth can this possibly be anything other than sheer extortion?

  3. If it's so wrong... by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The judge was not enthused that they offered to settle for $7500 while noting that potential penalties could be as much as $150,000.

    How is this different han what DA's do with the accused?