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How Mass BitTorrent Lawsuits Turn Low-Budget Movies Into Big Bucks

57 points by kerben 15y ago

nkassis 15y ago
If you are suing 5000 people could they not pool up resources and get a good legal team? I think this might play against the studios in this case, it's large enough that it might start getting real media attention and maybe just maybe some senators would see this a vote grabbing opportunity.
- nickolai 15y ago
  If I read this correctly, the "business model" is largely based on nobody wanting to go public about downloading that kind of movies.
AdamTReineke 15y ago
Can't wait for US courts to figure out that IP addresses aren't people. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/court-confirms-ip-addresses-arent-people-and-p2p-lawyers-know-it.ars http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/court-confir...
- armandososa 15y ago
  I can't wait for anonymous to make this idiot's life miserable.
- wmf 15y ago
  IP addresses don't necessarily map to people, but we should be wary of creating a massive "get out of court free" loophole.
  - burgerbrain 15y ago
    Why?
kylelibra 15y ago
This is like the RIAA asking LimeWire for $75 Trillion.
unexpected 15y ago
This is not real. This is another April Fool's Joke.
- burgerbrain 15y ago
  Are you sure? The timestamp on the article is "March 31, 2011 | 2:36 pm" which, unless they botched timezones, is pretty absurdly early to post an april first joke. Also, the content is not at all surprising...
  - unexpected 15y ago
    I'm skeptical - this lawsuit was filed on March 7, 2011, but the only time you hear about it is now? There's nothing on their website about their lawsuit, additionally, if you google around for it, the only thing on it is this Wired article.
- kerben 15y ago
  The movie featured was an actual production - see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1352388/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1352388/ - plus the story seems plausible - i doubt its a joke.
Jun8 15y ago
Interesting concept, more of a PR ploy probably. Actually this is a good thing, will show the ridiculousness of such tactics. On another note, "Openmind Solutions Does 1-2925" would make an interesting adult film title.
Estragon 15y ago
Where is wired getting the list of IP addresses they're using for their "IP detective" app? http://admintools.wired.com:8080/lawsuit_app/ EDIT: Oh, it's from this PDF: http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2011/03/openmind.pdf

57 points by kerben 15y ago

If you are suing 5000 people could they not pool up resources and get a good legal team? I think this might play against the studios in this case, it's large enough that it might start getting real media attention and maybe just maybe some senators would see this a vote grabbing opportunity.

nickolai 15y ago
If I read this correctly, the "business model" is largely based on nobody wanting to go public about downloading that kind of movies.

AdamTReineke 15y ago

Can't wait for US courts to figure out that IP addresses aren't people. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/court-confirms-ip-addresses-arent-people-and-p2p-lawyers-know-it.ars http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/court-confir...

armandososa 15y ago
I can't wait for anonymous to make this idiot's life miserable.
wmf 15y ago
IP addresses don't necessarily map to people, but we should be wary of creating a massive "get out of court free" loophole.
- burgerbrain 15y ago
  Why?

kylelibra 15y ago

This is like the RIAA asking LimeWire for $75 Trillion.

unexpected 15y ago

This is not real. This is another April Fool's Joke.

burgerbrain 15y ago
Are you sure? The timestamp on the article is "March 31, 2011 | 2:36 pm" which, unless they botched timezones, is pretty absurdly early to post an april first joke. Also, the content is not at all surprising...
- unexpected 15y ago
  I'm skeptical - this lawsuit was filed on March 7, 2011, but the only time you hear about it is now? There's nothing on their website about their lawsuit, additionally, if you google around for it, the only thing on it is this Wired article.
kerben 15y ago
The movie featured was an actual production - see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1352388/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1352388/ - plus the story seems plausible - i doubt its a joke.

Jun8 15y ago

Interesting concept, more of a PR ploy probably. Actually this is a good thing, will show the ridiculousness of such tactics. On another note, "Openmind Solutions Does 1-2925" would make an interesting adult film title.

Estragon 15y ago

Where is wired getting the list of IP addresses they're using for their "IP detective" app? http://admintools.wired.com:8080/lawsuit_app/ EDIT: Oh, it's from this PDF: http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2011/03/openmind.pdf