ACS:Law copyright file sharing claims, Gallant Macmillan - and probably some others along the way...

[andydd]

So as I type this, the ACS, the GM and the Ministry Of Sound sites are all down...still (in the case of ACS, its been down over a week now). Ha

 

Andy

[huggy41]

i wonder why

[Jasper1965]

What is MCOL and who is Bryan Carter?

 

Thanks to Cerberusalert for responding sooner.

 

Although ACS and GM etc are getting the headlines there are thousands of unsubstantiated cases causing misery for people pushed through the County Court system every day in this country, many using the MCOL service which has the rather handy feature of not requiring the claimant to serve supporting documentation (ie proof of debt).

Northampton Bulk centre runs at a rate of approx 90% default judgments ie undefended judgments.

the unscrupulous litigant can use these services as a far more effective speculative invoicing operation than anything Crossley and Co could come up with.

[huggy41]

this is an interesting read from the USA do we have somthing similar.

Downloading music track is not a performance but a stream is US Court rules

 

3 October 2010

 

Yahoo and Real conceded that they owed monies in respect of licensing revenues when users made copies when they downloaded music tracks. However Real and Yahoo sought to dispute ASCAP's claim that downloading fell within the definition of a performance under US copyright law.

The court found that "...we turn to section 101 of the Copyright Act, which states that to perform a work means to recite, render, play, dance, or act it, either directly or by means of any device or process...a download plainly is neither a dance nor an act. Thus, we must determine whether a download of a musical work falls within the meaning of the terms recite, render, or play."

The court concluded that: "the downloads at issue in this appeal are not musical performances that are contemporaneously perceived by the listener...they are simply transfers of electronic files containing digital copies from an on-line server to a local hard drive. The downloaded songs are not performed in any perceptible manner during the transfers; the user must take some further action to play the songs after they are downloaded."

The court went to on to draw a distinction between a download and a stream finding that: "...stream transmissions, which all parties agree constitute public performances, illustrate why a download is not a public performance. A stream is an electronic transmission that renders the musical work audible as it is received by the client-computer's temporary memory. This transmission, like a television or radio broadcast, is a performance because there is a playing of the song that is perceived simultaneously with the transmission".

This clarification draws an importance distinction between what constitutes a performance under section 101 of the Copyright Act in the context of online peer to peer file sharing, with an increasing volume of handheld mediums being available to consumers at a relatively cheap price on to which users can download or stream as the case maybe users should be aware that streaming will constitute a performance within section 101.

[STC12]

Proceedings Before the Masters – Chancery Division

 

 

ROOM TM7.08

Before CHIEF MASTER WINEGARTEN

Monday 4th October 2010

 

At 3 o’clock

Ministry of Sound Recordings ltd v Plusnet Plc & others

 

3 hours to go !

[sduffield]

Maybe Cheif Master Winegarten will put a stop to the automated requests by these companies. Watch the pack of cards fall.

[acslaw-no-pay]

How will we find the outcome of this??? - as in what gets said/passed today?

[sduffield]

I don't know whether some on here are going to sit in the public gallery.

[huggy41]

probabley on the MINISTRY OF SOUNDS WEB SITE OOPPPPPPPPPPPPPP'SSS SORRY IT DOWN

[panther12]

This is before things started to even go really wrong:

 

"there are presently over 500 complaints against me thanks to the internet campaign and Which. Each complaint is essentially the same and they are borne out of a determination by some to stop legitimate steps bing taken to curtail illegal file sharing. However, I do not know how I can avoid being found guilty of something, with 500 complaints to choose from.

 

If I stop this work my business will fold and my clients will be big losers, but if I carry on I fear that it will be worse for me in the long run. Have you any view either way, as I have run out of ideas. Presently I feel defeated by it and feel I should shut up shop, which will cause me to go bankrupt for certain"

 

Big loser hmmmm.

My heart bleeds for the cretinis little oik. Should have realised this was going to be his downfall before trying to rip-off the masses with his doomed plan to rake in millions.

 

“...How heart warming it is to see that a man who as a result of being clinically depressed in 1999 suffered a stroke which in turn caused temporary complete blindness which in turn caused him to be unable to file his solicitors accounts on time or even at all for FIVE separate periods totalling FORTY-EIGHT months between periods ending 31st Dec 1999 and 31st December 2003, a period during which coincidentally this poor man was forced to enter into an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement), was fined and ordered to be suspended indefinitely by an SRA tribunal in 2002, a man who had to face the further ignominy and trauma of a second disciplinary hearing in 2006 has recovered from this clinical depression and blindness enough to not only rebuild a career but a career as a successful* solicitor no less...”

 

With any luck his recent shenanigans will tip this useless bloated sweat gland of a human over the edge altogether!!

[Shaggy123]

My friend's girlfriend was one of AC's 'victims'. She was accused of downloading hard porn and could not stop crying. She had three 'threatening' letters and in the end paid to stop the harrassment. She is a junior doctor and was worried silly that the NHS would find out that she had been accused of watching such films.

 

By paying up she's admitted guilt. That looks far far worse.

[Shaggy123]

i got a letter back from gm declining my offer of £100 and still want £370 i dont know what to do as i stupidly admitted it before i found this site they even have the cheek to give me the option of paying in instalements

should i pay i am at my wits end

 

You've done it therefore you should pay. If you havent done it and admitted to doing it then you have learnt an expensive lesson.

[huggy41]

With any luck his recent shenanigans will tip this useless bloated sweat gland of a human over the edge altogether!!

if not i'll lend a hand:whip:

[andydd]

if not i'll lend a hand:whip:

 

Actually I keep expecting to read newflash.."Lawyer found hanging in Hanover square park"

 

Andy

[huggy41]

Actually I keep expecting to read newflash.."Lawyer found hanging in Hanover square park"

 

yes and his death it not suspicious even thou they alledgedly found 8,040 ropes near by

Edited October 4, 2010 by huggy41

[piglette]

A bit about a DDOoS attack on Ministry of Sound and GM http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/04/ministry_of_sound_ddos/

[cerberusalert]

ACS:Law chase church elder accused of sharing Cascada pop song

ACS:Law have targeted a church elder after accusing him of sharing a pop song by dance act Cascada, as well as others who have claimed they are innocent. http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/842891-acs-law-chase-church-elder-accused-of-sharing-cascada-pop-song

[sduffield]

Does anyone know how the court case went?

[huggy41]

porn maybe but Cascada:?:

[STC12]

don't know the result yet ! How long can it take to say no ?

[cerberusalert]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/oct/01/acslaw-filesharing-accused

[crossleyp]

According to the Guardian website the hearing has been adjourned:|

[piglette]

According to the Guardian website the hearing has been adjourned:|

 

Apparently it has been adjourned until January 2011.

[huggy41]

oh that will hurt them:lol:

[nickyorm]

so i take it that none of these companies will be able to get fresh prey till then whoop, shame christmas will be tough for them this year with out the 'bread and butter' payoffs