University of San Francisco law professor Robert Talbot is now representing more than 20 people that are being sued for allegedly downloading and sharing copyrighted movies. Some file sharers first faced legal pressure from the music industry, but this is one of the first major lawsuit efforts from movie producers.
Many people head into legal copyright cases uninformed and confused -- but Talbot and his law students are helping to change that by defending a number of alleged copyright infringers.
Thousands of lawsuits have been filed by the U.S. Copyright Group (USCG), a controversial organization responsible for tracking down file sharers. The USCG faces criticism for its continued efforts and numerous inaccuracies. Some subpoenas have been thrown out while movie producer Nicolas Chartier still thinks pirates are "stupid."
I still believe such a public campaign against a small handful of accused pirates is an idiotic way to combat piracy. The Hurt Locker remains a popular pirated movie through BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer networks. The film's director has blamed piracy for poor movie sales.
CNET was contacted by several people who received notifications from their ISPs informing them the USCG was sniffing around. Some admitted guilt, others claimed innocence, and everyone seemed confused and unsure of what was happening.
This uncertainty is an important tactic that allows the copyright group to strong arm and trick people into settling out of court with stiff monetary compensation. Professor Talbot aims to reduce this likelihood, but even attorneys from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) are unsure what to do with these lawsuits.
Some settlements are available for as low as $1,000, enticing some of the accused (wrongfully or not) to strike a deal in order to avoid costly court arrangements. Open Wi-Fi connections, wrongfully accused, and other circumstances continue to complicate these cases. Hopefully Professor Talbot can make a positive difference in this on-going saga.
