More Popcorn Time Users Sued

An anonymous reader writes: The torrent-based video streaming software Popcorn Time has been in the news lately as multiple entities have initiated legal action over its use. Now, 16 Oregon-based Comcast subscribers have been targeted for their torrenting of the movie Survivor. The attorney who filed the lawsuit (PDF) says his client, Survivor Productions Inc., doesn't plan to seek any more than the minimum $750 fine, and that their goal is to "deter infringement." The lawsuit against these Popcorn Time users was accompanied by 12 other lawsuits targeting individuals who acquired copies of the movie using more typical torrenting practices.

Comments

WHOA

[Anonymous Coward]

Hold the fucking phone. They're seeking damages that won't financially ruin entire families, and whose effects won't be felt generations down the line?

What the fuck?

Re:WHOA

[Anonymous Coward]

They have learned something that civilized society has known for a very long time.

High severity of punishment is not an effective deterrent. High likelihood of getting caught is an effective deterrent.

Ramping up monitoring and blanketing infringers with minor fees that they would rather pay than fight will further the media group's agenda much better than permanently impoverishing single moms after wildly expensive court battles.

They have not become kinder. Just wiser.

If their goal is to deter infringement

[h33t l4x0r]

Then they should leave Popcorn Time users alone. That app does more to deter infringement than anyone.

Re:I have the right to watch it.

[Anonymous Coward]

I paid a fee to a cable company which gives me the right to watch any movie they are currently playing.

It should not matter where I get it from.

I don't think it works that way...

that 750 seems a little convenient...

[nimbius]

The goal is to deter infringement

and avoid judicial scrutiny. The RIAA for example has long had an infringement website where you can "pay" your "settlement" should you receive one and dont wish to be burdened by your constitutional right to a trial by jury for what --unless all those DVD warnings are wrong-- is a federal felony.

the problem is if this becomes a federal trial, media companies and their attorneys have to do things like disclose evidence. depending on the nature, and how far down the rabbit hole defense wants to go, media companies understand they can eventually begin to risk the legality or constitutionality of the DMCA itself. They can call severe attention to the disparaging, clandestine, and overzealous nature of copyright itself and in turn through a simple federal case could open the door to the possibility of copyright reform. In some cases, like the well published instances where media companies file lawsuits totalling in the millions against child plaintiffs or single mothers, the damages can be knocked down to a fraction of what it costs them to prosecute something like this or worse, thrown out entirely.

Or, you know, just pay for the fucking movie.

[Brannon]

Or better yet, go to the library, check out a good book, and read it.

Re:Or, you know, just pay for the fucking movie.

[Anonymous Coward]

Never paying for a movie, never again.

Never fucking ever.

I *tried* playing by their rules once. Turns out, I was not allowed to use the tv-out on my graphics card, to view the dvd I *bought*, on my tv.

Fuck them. They are *not* trying to be fair or just. Do not be fucking fooled. Do *not* fall into the "you gotta pay, you freeloader, you're stealing" guilt-trip. Because when i PAID for it, I got screwed over.

Re:after the right people

[Penguinisto]

Even more interesting is the attorney who's pursuing this. Carl Crowell (based out of Salem, IIRC) is pretty damned prolific about this - enough that he has a rather slick operation (see article) that chews through a lot of these each month. I find it interesting that they're willing to settle for $750/ea (though IMHO that's still a bit too high), while most settlements average $5k-$7.5k or so.

Like most copyright suits, he almost always gets the money via settlement. It all still hinges on IP addresses, the ISP, and how well they keep records, though. I'm guessing that Popcorn Time likely blares your IP addy out nice and loud for the world to see by other torrenters, though one would wonder about sharing a movie in order to sue other sharers over the same movie...