Speculative Invoicing re. copyright infringement

[Beenherebefore]

A new round of "claims" is circulating initiated by a company called Golden Eye International Ltd.

The UK Governement has seen fit, at last, to issue formal advice to anyone receiving such a "claim"

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letters-alleging-online-copyright-infringement/letters-al...

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letters-alleging-online-copyright-infringement

And ISPreview :

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2016/04/uk-government-publish-guidance-isp-users-hit-piracy-thr...

"It is the responsibility of the copyright owner to prove who has committed the infringement. This may not be the internet account holder."

"It’s important to understand that the copyright owner can only take action against the person who actually committed the infringement. This may not be you. Your internet service provider (ISP) can only provide them with details of the internet account holder. Who may not be the actual infringer."

[jonsie]

In other words tell them go whistle. If Golden Eye get a 5% success rate they are more than happy and their aim is simply to bully and scare people into paying up.

[Beenherebefore]

Yes, simply the copyright owner must prove the actual person did it, it's not up to that person to prove that they didn't.
And there is no way a copyright owner can do that.
That is why not one claim has actually reached court.

[jonsie]

Against all my good advice, my son in Germany fell victim to this. Not Golden Eye but he has for the last couple of years downloaded the latest American series as they aren't available in Germany. He paid up nearly 1000 Euros but being an English guy in Berlin he was scared of prosecution and deportation. The world of litagation....bully and scare....

[Beenherebefore]

Ouch !!
I don't think any EU country would/can deport a person for a civil offence.....it's difficult enough when it's a criminal offence !

[Anonymous]

Wasn't there a similar issue surrounding this particular company some time ago 

[Beenherebefore]

Yes.....these people are so desperate they never give up.

They've hit O2 once and Sky twice with court orders to release names and addresses.

They have never taken any of the cases to court because they know that the Judge will throw it out due to lack of proof. They rely on people being ashamed enough to pay what they demand....it's legalised blackmail. What they're doing is within the law, how they do it is borderline.

[Martin-O2]

Its a tricky one. Obviously file sharing is illegal but I think the amount of money they demand for copyright infringement is far greater then the loss the content creator has suffered. 

[Beenherebefore]

File sharing is not illegal.....there are legitimate uses and some large companies use torrents.

[Martin-O2]

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@Beenherebefore wrote:
File sharing is not illegal.....there are legitimate uses and some large companies use torrents.

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Sorry I phrased that badly. Sharing copyrighted materials without the owners permission is whats prohibited. Not file sharing in general.