Voltage Pictures, producer of the hit 2010 movie "Hurt Locker", is taking piracy of its movie seriously. Voltage has hired the U.S. Copyright Group to oversee the litigation of the alleged file sharers.
The plaintiff will soon start subpoenaing 5,000 ISP addresses in an attempt to identify the users who have allegedly downloaded the pirated film illegally. According to the complaint, available HERE, the plaintiff is seeking redress for the infringement of its exclusive rights. Vintage is seeking $1,500 per act of infringement to relieve a potential defendant from liability. Each defendant will be made aware of this via a demand letter that will be distributed after the infringing users are identified from their ISP address.
Interestingly enough, internet users are already trying to plan a counterattack against Voltage for invasion of privacy.
Suing individual infringers is not a new tactic. The Recording Industry Association of America tried a similar practice, spending a whopping five years filing suits against illegal file sharers, but was never able to slow down the practice. However, the Motion Picture Association of America has modified this failed RIAA tactic by requiring Internet Service Providers to send warning letters to customers beleived to have been infringing to serve as a deterrent from future downloads and to inform these customers that litigation will be pursued if downloading continues.
Whether Voltage Pictures will have any success on this attempt to dissuade infringers remains to be seen. In the mean time, the best thing individuals can do to avoid potential liability is to steer clear of file sharing
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